About the Job
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. Our vision is to enhance the resilience of climate and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. Our strategy focuses on the four outcome areas of: 1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets; 2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food; 3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis-affected communities; and 4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use. Currently we operate in the regional states of Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, Tigray and Addis Ababa city administration working with a diverse base of donors that includes the U.S. Department of State, the European Union (EU), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the United Nations (UN), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA), and a range of other institutional and private foundations.
Location: Yabello, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, with frequent travel to EALBSP program locations within the assigned field area
Position Status:
Full-time, Regular
This position is contingent upon confirmation of program funding.
Salary Level: In accordance with the relevant Mercy Corps Ethiopia salary scale
Risk Level:
Level 3
The Program / Department / Team
East Africa Land Border Security Program – Ethiopia
The East Africa Land Border Security Program (EALBSP) is an FCDO-funded regional program designed to disrupt organized immigration crime (OIC) and contribute to safer borders and safer communities. The program works through four mutually reinforcing outcome areas: evidence and analysis; stronger law-enforcement capability; community engagement, reporting and early warning; and witness support and protection.
In Ethiopia, EALBSP is implemented as a dedicated country component aligned with the regional programme, Ethiopian law and institutions, Government of Ethiopia priorities, and the realities of selected border and migration corridors. Mercy Corps works with relevant government institutions at federal, regional and local levels, consortium partners, Ethiopian civil-society and specialist partners, communities and other stakeholders to strengthen existing systems and locally grounded responses rather than establish parallel structures. Program implementation is evidence-led, conflict-sensitive, rights-respecting and adaptive to changing border, migration and operational dynamics.
The Position
The Project Officer supports the day-to-day implementation of EALBSP-Ethiopia activities managed from Yabello. Reporting to the Field Program Coordinator, the position translates approved activity plans into well-organized field delivery and works directly with government counterparts, communities, implementing partners and Mercy Corps colleagues to ensure activities are properly prepared, implemented, documented and followed through.
The position is highly field-oriented and requires consistent follow-through from activity preparation through implementation, documentation, feedback and closure of agreed actions.
The Project Officer supports implementation across EALBSP’s four outcome areas as assigned, while respecting the technical authority of specialist outcome leads and the functional responsibilities of MRELA, Finance, Procurement, Security, Grants and other support functions. The role is responsible for maintaining reliable field documentation, tracking activity actions and commitments, identifying implementation constraints early and providing timely information to the Field Program Coordinator.
The position requires regular engagement in sensitive operating environments and must apply conflict sensitivity, Do No Harm, safeguarding, community accountability, confidentiality and responsible-data principles in all program interactions.
Essential Responsibilities
FIELD IMPLEMENTATION AND ACTIVITY COORDINATION
Support day-to-day implementation of approved EALBSP-Ethiopia activities within the Yabello field area, following agreed workplans, technical guidance, budgets, timelines and Mercy Corps standards.
Work with the Field Program Coordinator to prepare detailed activity schedules, task lists and readiness checklists and to track implementation actions through completion.
Organise and support workshops, consultations, trainings, community dialogues, meetings and other approved program activities, ensuring participants, venues, materials, transport, documentation and other requirements are ready on time.
Observe and document implementation quality as well as activity completion, including whether activities are relevant, inclusive, conflict-sensitive and delivered as intended; promptly flag quality concerns or corrective actions to the Field Program Coordinator.
Maintain accurate activity files, participant and attendance records where appropriate, meeting notes, action trackers, field observations and other source documentation required by program and MRELA systems.
Identify implementation delays, stakeholder concerns, resource gaps or changes in local conditions early and raise them promptly with the Field Program Coordinator.
Support delivery across the program’s four outcome areas as assigned without assuming technical responsibilities reserved for specialist outcome leads or partners.
GOVERNMENT, COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Maintain routine and respectful working relationships with authorized Oromia Region regional, zonal, woreda/local government counterparts and other stakeholders relevant to assigned activities.
Support scheduling, preparation and follow-up of government and stakeholder meetings, including activity briefings, invitations, minutes, agreed actions and required documentation.
Support inclusive community consultations, dialogues and awareness activities, ensuring women, young people and other relevant groups can participate safely and meaningfully.
Support community engagement in ways that are voluntary, appropriately informed and sensitive to local power dynamics, and take practical steps to avoid exposing participants to retaliation, stigma or unnecessary contact with enforcement actors.
Identify participation barriers, community concerns, misinformation, tensions or emerging stakeholder issues and communicate them promptly to the Field Program Coordinator.
Engage professionally within delegated authority and do not make commitments on program scope, funding, partnerships, donor positions or politically sensitive matters without approval.
PARTNER IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
Coordinate routine field implementation with assigned Ethiopian partners, including joint activity planning, schedules, participant arrangements, field follow-up and documentation.
Attend and observe partner-supported activities as requested, documenting implementation progress, quality observations and issues requiring follow-up.
Track agreed partner implementation actions and communicate operational or program-quality concerns to the Field Program Coordinator and relevant technical or functional teams.
Support constructive problem-solving with partners while recognizing that formal subaward compliance, financial monitoring and contractual decisions remain with designated Grants, Finance and Compliance functions.
Promote respectful, locally grounded partnership approaches and ensure partner perspectives and implementation experience inform field-level learning and adaptation.
MRELA, CARM, LEARNING AND REPORTING
Collect, organize and submit routine implementation evidence and source documentation in accordance with EALBSP MRELA requirements and agreed reporting timelines.
Support field monitoring visits, surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions, community perception work, institutional assessments and other approved MRELA activities as requested.
Contribute field observations and implementation evidence relevant to the Progress Marker Framework, emerging outcomes, implementation quality, contextual change and unintended effects.
Support basic verification of activity and partner data and promptly flag missing, inconsistent or questionable information to the MRELA team and Field Program Coordinator.
Ensure participants and stakeholders are informed about appropriate CARM/feedback channels, pass routine progra feedback into the established system for follow-up, and respect need-to-know restrictions on sensitive complaint information.
Do not investigate, retain copies of, or informally manage safeguarding, ethics, fraud or other sensitive complaints; immediately route such concerns through designated Mercy Corps reporting and referral channels and access case details only where formally required on a need-to-know basis.
Prepare concise weekly/activity updates, meeting records and contributions to programme reports, learning products and management updates as requested.
OPERATIONS AND ACTIVITY READINESS
Work closely with the Field Program Coordinator, Finance Officer, Procurement Officer, Driver and other support colleagues to...