Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program/ Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been working in Mali since 2012 to support vulnerable and at-risk Malian women, men and youth to cope with food security and conflict-induced shocks and stresses, restore peace and stability, and address humanitarian and development structural challenges. With a growing portfolio of funding and programming, Mercy Corps Mali is increasingly striving to integrate its humanitarian, development and conflict-prevention programming to create a sustainable and impactful improvement in the human security of some of Mali’s worst conflict-affected areas.

The Programme Support consultant’s role encompasses critical responsibilities within Mercy Corps’ Mali program portfolio. They will lead efforts and support the ongoing proposal/concept note developments in alignment with the organization’s country strategy, working closely with the Director of Programs (DoP) and collaborating with field teams for technical input and strategic guidance from the Country Director and Senior Management Team (SMT). The consultant will also oversee grants management and developing a partnership database for both Mercy Corps and its donors.

Additionally, Mercy Corps’ Crisis Analysis (CA) teams play a vital role in data-driven decision making during complex crises. They analyze data from primary and open sources, along with programmatic data, to inform decisions. The CA consultant will help establish a Crisis Analysis capacity within the Mercy Corps Mali Country Program. This involves hiring an international and national consultant to create initial Crisis Analysis outputs.

The consultant’s deliverables are aligned with the strategic goals of the Mali Country Program and ongoing projects like the Building Resilience in Kayes and Sikasso (BRiKS) program. These deliverables aim to establish Crisis Analysis capabilities and produce products that demonstrate the program’s capacity to donors for potential future opportunities.

Purpose / Project Description:

The consultant will primarily support the Mali Country Program team in the production and delivery of a range of analytical outputs, as well as supporting the engagement of external stakeholders through workshops, briefings, and bilateral meetings.

Consultant Objectives:

Partnership Management

• Create a partnership database that maps out partner capacity, areas of expertise aligning with Mercy Corps Mali country strategy.

Programme Support

• Work with the BRiKS team in identifying best practices, lessons learned; document and develop program materials for wider dissemination to internal and external stakeholders, especially for BRiKS close-out.

Crisis Analytics

• Coordinate with the Crisis Analytics team at HQ and Mali team members for CA data collection.
• Coordinate with the team to conduct qualitative interviews with community leaders and key actors at the cercle level.
• Conduct qualitative interviews with Mercy Corps staff members.
• Analyze data from the Early Warning System (EWS).
• Validate the collected data for accuracy and reliability.
• Initiate the report drafting phase.
• Coordinate with the HQ Crisis Analysis team to draft a report for review.
• Incorporate feedback received during the review process.

Consultant Deliverables:

Partnership Management:

• Creation of a comprehensive partnership database mapping partner capacities aligned with the Mali country strategy.

Programme Support:

• Work with the BRiKS team in identifying best practices, lessons learned; document and develop program materials for wider dissemination to internal and external stakeholders, especially for BRiKS close-out.

Crisis Analytics:

• Support and collaborate with the Global Crisis Analysis team to conduct qualitative interviews with community leaders, key actors, and Mercy Corps staff.
• Data analysis from the Early Warning System (EWS) and analysis report produced.
• Validation of collected data for accuracy.
• Support the international Crisis Analysis HQ team to draft, review, and finalize a comprehensive report.

Timeframe / Schedule:

1 September – 6 October 2023

21 billable days over the consultancy period.

The Consultant will report to:

Director of Programs

Consultant will work closely with:

Program Managers, MEL Manager, Finance Manager, Country Director, HQ & Regional Technical Support Unit, donors, NGO partners, Mali country program, and Global Crisis Analysis.

Experience & Skills:

• 5-10 years of technically relevant experience
• Bachelors/ Masters in international development and/or relevant field (government, political science, international relations, etc.).
• Strong Writing and analytical skills
• Experience with European and US institutional donors, including grant management, and proposal development.
• Field experience in conflict and development environments. Exposure to gender, protection, and social cohesion programs will be appreciated
• Fluency in French and excellent oral and written English skills required
• Ability to deliver high quality reports within short deadlines, as well as support, coordinate and lead proposal writing.
• Ability to juggle several competing priorities from different projects at the same time.
• Excellent communication and networking skills, to build and maintain contact networks across a broad range of partners.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, following procedures, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.

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

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 on the basis of 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 team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.