Position Title: Adolescent Girls Program (AGP) Officer
Duty Station: Gode
Open Position: 1
Duration: 5 Months
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in five regional states – Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara – and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible. Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and communities. Mercy Corps envisions contributing to the emergence of a peaceful, prosperous, and resilient Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic focus in the country includes promoting dynamic and inclusive markets; natural resource management; peace and social cohesion, and humanitarian responses.
General Position Summary
The Adolescent Girls Program (AGP) Officer is responsible in providing targeted interventions for adolescent girls in HACAP program, which is under operation in Adadle, Berano, and Abakorow Woredas of the Somali Region, the position holder will ensure the technical quality and integration of these activities across humanitarian programs and address related concerns through direct service and referral. The Adolescent Girls Program Officer will provide curriculum-based life skills sessions for adolescent girls, capacity-building training, lead organizational and staff transformation on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), and represent Mercy Corps in relevant coordination forums and platforms.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision
Collaborate closely with all Mercy Corps team members to ensure effective integration of gender, protection, social inclusion, and GBV concerns across all humanitarian programs.
Work with relevant government and non-governmental actors to effectively address gender, protection, GBV, and social norm issues, informing project designs and activities.
Program Management
Engage in assessments and contribute to intervention strategies based on feedback from adolescent girls in the program.
Strictly adhere to GBV guiding principles when interacting with adolescent girls and their parents or caregivers.
Provide formal and informal supervision and training to mentors to ensure the delivery of high-quality life skills sessions.
Collaborate with implementing partners and community leaders to develop selection criteria for engaging adolescent girls in life skills curriculum sessions.
Adapt the Adolescent Girls Curriculum to the local community context.
Conduct capacity-building training related to Adolescent Girls Programming for mentors, community leaders, implementing partners, and parents or caregivers.
Directly engage with adolescent girls and parents as needed and work with mentors to ensure program quality.
Coordinate with Women Social Affairs to provide case management services for adolescent girls when necessary.
Develop monthly and weekly activity plans for mentors.
Monitor supply and logistical needs of the Adolescent Girls’ safe space and life skills sessions.
Enhance relationships with relevant GBV program stakeholders, community leaders, and parents or caregivers to promote communication and collaboration.
Strengthen coordination by working closely with local actors, including schools, WSA, health, and legal entities.
Participate in monitoring and evaluation activities, including assessments and surveys.
Support GBV prevention activities, including implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all relevant stakeholders.
Facilitate training and workshops on gender and GBV-related issues for various groups.
Develop and implement work plans, including quarterly, monthly, and monitoring plans.
Provide prevention and risk mitigation services in collaboration with community and social workers.
Conduct assessments and community meetings and develop relevant communication materials.
Ensure the success of SASA! implementation, updating training materials and supervising community activists.
Assist in capacity building for community workers to support GBV safety audits.
Monitor prevention supply needs and manage procurement processes.
Compile and submit prevention reports and support coordination meetings with relevant stakeholders.
Team Management
Provide technical guidance for adolescent girl program mentors, including on-the-job training.
Support and liaise with all project teams and provide capacity building, including training and coaching on gender mainstreaming, protection, GBV, and social inclusion.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback both formally and informally.
Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
Influence & Representation
Coordinate with government, development, and humanitarian actors to promote gender equality, protection, social inclusion, and prevention of GBV.
Represent Mercy Corps in various platforms, networks, and coordination forums focused on gender, GBV, and protection.
Uphold the image and values of Mercy Corps.
Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion (GESI)
Support the recruitment of diverse teams and promote an inclusive and safe work environment.
Lead by example to promote a gender-equal and inclusive workplace culture in day-to-day interactions with team members, partners, and program participants.
Program and Proposal Development
Provide humanitarian teams with technical support, coaching, and capacity building to ensure high-quality gender integration in programs.
Conduct assessments to determine community needs.
Document community meeting minutes and data for use in new initiatives.
Supervisory Responsibility
Provide technical support to all project teams, especially social workers, and community volunteers, to effectively deliver GBV services such as psychosocial support, gender, protection, child protection, and social inclusion.
Provide capacity-building training.
Security
Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, and other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring, and evaluating our field projects.
Ongoing Learning In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion are a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity Mercy Corps is an equal-opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination based on race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status, or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
About You
Knowledge and Experience
BA degree in Gender and Social Development, Sociology, Psychology, Social Work, or other similar social science fields.
Minimum of four years’ work experience in gender, protection, and GBV-related roles in both development and humanitarian settings.
Previous experience/exposures to the location/region he/she is applying for.
Good verbal and written communication skills in English, and speaking the local language is a plus.
Success Factors: The Protection and GESI Advisor will demonstrate experience managing programs in the field, further enhancing their ability to adjust technical theories to meet real-world complexities. The individual should have the proven ability to influence donors, partners, and peer organizations. The role requires strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and a level of emotional intelligence proficiency that quickly builds and maintains productive relationships across teams. Being aware and sensitive to international development issues and diverse cultures
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.