Knowledge Management & Learning Lead (KMLL) – Market Systems

Job description

**Contingent upon Donor Funding**

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 they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact.

Resilience building is an agency priority and involves using a systems-based approach that builds on proven solutions, accesses new ideas and information, and integrates multiple sectors and partnerships to strengthen food and water security, economic opportunities, and climate change adaptation. Southern Africa continues to experience recurrent environmental and economic shocks that affect the wellbeing of its communities and undermine development investments. Mercy Corps will continue to contribute to the wellbeing of communities by building household’ capacities and strengthening systems and institutions.

The Program / Department / Team

As part of its’ strategy in Zambia, the Embassy of Sweden is exploring Programme ideas that can contribute to achieving the strategy result: “Increased productivity and competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector,”. This initiative aims to boost enterprise development and employment creation for the rural poor including, women, and youth.

The anticipated five-year Market System Development (MSD) programme, includes a 12-month inception phase. The inception phase shall include a comprehensive sub-sector selection analysis, in-depth Market System Analysis (MSA), thorough environmental analysis and gender analysis.

The Position
Mercy Corps is seeking a Knowledge Management & Learning Lead (KMLL) who will support the implementation of an anticipated five-year SIDA funded Market Systems Development (MSD) programme.  The KMLL will be responsible for developing and overseeing a suite of assessments and analyses during the one-year Inception Phase, and a full communications and knowledge management strategy for the 4-year Implementation Phase.

Essential Responsibilities
Provide leadership in the development of a knowledge management strategy and operational plan and oversee the implementation of the learning and knowledge management plan.
Establish and strengthen systems and team capacity to achieve knowledge management and learning objectives
Foster a culture of learning and adaptation, focused on documenting, sharing, and improving program analysis and implementation
Effectively identify and use evidence to represent programme learning in strategic communications, and work with MEL staff to identify and address evidence needs
Manage MEL staff and provide guidance on MEL systems, in line with the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development’s (DCED) standard for results management, including but not limited to the development and use of results chains, measurement methods, knowledge management systems to ensure use of data in decision-making, and processes that support program reflection and adaptation
Strengthen collaboration and cross-learning within the programme team, private sector, government counterparts, and other investments to contribute to regional and global knowledge sharing and community of practice.
Lead the development of and author programme reports and updates including overseeing quarterly donor reports.
Proactively identify stories and communications to share results with various audiences,
Lead or actively contribute to the organization of external events and fora focused on enhancing programme visibility, cross-partner collaboration, and peer learning
Play a central role in learning and facilitating a culture of collaboration, learning, and adaptation through documenting and sharing learning
Manage internal document storage, adhering to Mercy Corps’ policies and data security standards
Train, mentor, and build the capacity of others the programme team in communications and knowledge management practices

Supervisory Responsibility
MEL team

Accountability
Reports Directly To: Team Lead

Works Directly With: All programme team, partners, regional and global technical teams

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
BA/S degree in communication, public relations, development studies, or relevant field, master’s degree preferred.
7+ years of progressive work experience in communications and knowledge management for donor-funded development programs.
Familiarity with the DCED standard for results measurement or experience working on programmes taking an MSD approach is preferred.
Exceptional writing, editing, and public speaking skills in English are required.
Ability to summarize and simplify complex information and communicate it to targeted groups.
Familiarity with graphic design, photo editing, and video editing.
Experience in market systems development in agriculture or economic development donor-funded programming preferred.
Demonstrated experience in training and capacity building across diverse teams and partners.
Excellent stakeholder and relationship management skills.
Familiarity with SIDA is helpful.

Success Factors
A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures, and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem-solving. This position requires an ability to think creatively to achieve sustainable impact and enhance long-term resilience. They will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results. They will understand the larger picture while remaining focused on problem-solving and effectively navigating complex and sensitive political, conflict, and security dynamics. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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 the design, monitoring, and evaluation of 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 is 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.

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 the 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 professionally, respect local laws and customs, and adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.