Mercy Corps Consultant - Resilience Storytelling Jobs in Kenya

Mercy Corps Consultant - Resilience Storytelling Jobs in Kenya

Background:

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.

Mercy Corps and its consortium partners are implementing a five-year USAID/Food for Peace funded program entitled Nawiri in Turkana and Samburu Counties of Kenya focused on nutrition resilience.

The program aims to sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition in the two counties using a multi-sectoral program approach that integrates resilient livelihoods, access to improved water, health, and sanitation services, and strengthening enabling systems for nutrition from household to national level.

Nawiri has dedicated the first two years (Phase 1) to implementing an action research agenda to inform the program design to achieve the program’s goal in the remaining three years (Phase 2).

The program is currently embarking on an ambitious implementation plan to layer and integrate a series of interventions that address both immediate and systemic drivers of acute malnutrition, while addressing the effects of extreme drought and the global food crisis in implementation areas.

Throughout all stages, the program is working closely with government, community, and private sector partners.

Purpose / Project Description:

After the submission of its Year 5 PREP and three-year cost extension, the Nawiri program is working to scale implementation to 35 wards based on newly refined technical models in the form of intervention standard operating procedures (SOPs), and the team is looking for support in the following areas:

Guidance for and framing of technical brief, success story, and learning product creation, including:

Liaising with technical leads to unpack key technical approaches and existing data to understand gaps in Nawiri’s technical story

Synthesizing additional qualitative data collection to fill these gaps through both technical and narrative storytelling

Supporting the documentation, prioritization, framing, and production of learning products

Mentorship around Nawiri resilience story identification, collection, and production

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

Provide technical backstopping around drought response technical brief (Jun):

Led by CLA, contribute to and participate in key informant interviews with technical teams to support the framing of Nawiri’s approach and lessons-learned from the drought response, including outline, lessons-learned, and key messages

Support the team in assessing what data is required to build a powerful narrative to integrate within the technical brief and what gaps in resilience stories remain

Provide feedback/comments on technical learning briefs outlines and drafts

Directly support team production of the poverty graduation technical brief (Jun-Jul):

Review reports, SOPs, and existing success stories to understand Nawiri’s current framing of poverty graduation and related integrated approaches

Conduct key informant interviews with technical teams to support the framing of Nawiri’s technical approach to the drought response, including key messages and lessons learned

Support the team in assessing what data is available to integrate within the technical brief and what gaps in the story remain

Begin developing qualitative data tools to fill data gaps

Develop 3 externally facing products for use in August learning event (Jul-Aug):

Collaborate with team to prioritize 2 high-level learning products for creation that may be used in August learning event

Provide support for team to develop 2 learning products with input from technical leads

Solicit and incorporate feedback in refined draft

Collaborate with graphic designer to outline and execute any design elements

(e.g., figures, diagrams) and finalize the overall design

Finalize and submit designed drafts - at least 1 product will be the same as those identified in the processes above

Input into August review and reflection meeting processes, including themes and structure, based on review

Provide ongoing mentorship regarding story/learning identification, collection, and documentation (Jun-Oct):

Engage with Communications Lead during technical visits (i.e., activity #1) to support deeper program learning around technical approaches and reflect on implications for storytelling systems

Discuss feedback (i.e., provided through activity #1) on team’s existing stories, further unpacking technical approaches and potential pending questions

Strengthen Nawiri processes, systems, and capacity for technical learning and story production (Sep-Oct):

Synthesize approach to technical learning and story identification, including guidance and templates

Facilitate feedback session on technical learning and storytelling process

Partner with Communications Lead to refine approaches around story/learning visit preparation, documentation, and story writing

Serve as sounding board for Communications Lead in developing a strategic communications process and guidance

Deliverables:

Light touch support for technical framing of Nawiri’s drought response approach

High-level technical framing of Nawiri’s poverty graduation approaches

Three to four potential additional storylines/technical narratives to explore during review

Feedback on brief outline, draft, and revisions of drought response technical brief

Development of four learning products:

One technical brief focused on poverty graduation approach - inclusive of short success story

One technical brief focused on resilient livelihoods and integration - inclusive of short success story

One success story building off of poverty graduation brief or other data from field visit

Catalog of learning themes and story opportunities with suggestions for way forward

Ongoing mentorship around storytelling Communications Lead

Feedback on existing stories and tools

Collaboration with Communications Lead to refine approaches around visit preparation, documentation, and story writing

Support for and sounding board around around strategic communications

Timeframe / Schedule:

Through Aug 15 (remote):

Provide technical backstopping around one and lead another technical brief

Develop 3 externally facing products (inclusive of technical learning brief above) for use in August learning event

Sep 1-Oct 31 (remote, in country):

Strengthen Nawiri processes, systems, and capacity for technical learning and story production, including synthesizing approaches to technical learning and story identification, including guidance and templates

Ongoing (remote, in country):

Provide on-going mentorship support in story/learning identification, collection, and documentation

The Consultant will work closely with:

Strategic Learning Advisor

Senior Director, Resilience Portfolio, East Africa

Communications Advisor

Resilient Livelihoods Focal Point - TBD

Field Coordination Focal Point - TBD

Experience and Qualifications:

5-10 years of experience in a technically relevant field

Strong understanding of resilience and its technical application in a program context

Extensive experience with capturing program outcome stories from a resilience perspective

Knowledge of and experience in Northern Kenya

Knowledge of and extensive understanding of USAID BHA programs, and multi-sectoral approach to resilience-building

Strong capacity-strengthening and facilitation experience

Ability to work in diverse cultures

How to Apply

For more information and job application details, see; Mercy Corps Consultant - Resilience Storytelling Jobs in Kenya

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