Organization: Mercy Corps
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 30 Oct 2015
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:
Mercy Corps defines thought leadership as "the ability to shape and influence the norms, beliefs and decisions that affect our work and those we serve – at a variety of levels from local to global – based on recognized expertise and credible evidence." Through research and substantive engagement such influence of policy makers, donors, peer organizations and the general public has been a hallmark of the agency"s work in recent years, with contributing teams at headquarters and across Mercy Corps" 40+ country teams. Having influence with a broad range of external actors (government, donors, business and other influential leaders) is critical to our mission. This puts thought leadership at the heart of Mercy Corps current strategy. The FY2016 Strategy is outlines Mercy Corps vision for strategic thought leadership to deliver higher impact at scale for the communities with whom we work.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The Thought Leadership Senior Advisor will collaborate at a high level in order to drive the direction of thought leadership at Mercy Corps. S/he manages the Task Force of executives and other senior leaders and manages specific products and efforts to advance the current Thought Leadership Strategy. S/he works closely with a Senior Director, making decisions on priority areas of thought leadership for the agency and working with senior leadership on crafting and communicating high-level goals, plans and products. Thought leadership goals at Mercy Corps are achieved through working within and across complementary systems internal to Mercy Corps and in the organization"s operating context. The Thought Leadership Senior Advisor will also lead capacity building for field offices by offering professional development opportunities and designing resources and tools to expand knowledge on Thought Leadership Taskforce.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Thought Leadership Management and Coordination
- Influences new directions in thought leadership for Mercy Corps in consultation with executives and other leaders.
- Manages specific thought leadership products/efforts, including coordinating the development and execution of dissemination plans on major thought leadership products.
- Proactively coordinates and identifies responses to emerging thought leadership opportunities.
- Provides information and consultation facilitation necessary to make decisions on thought leadership priorities for the organization.
- Works with senior leadership on crafting and communicating our high-level thought leadership goals, plans and products; and reporting on annual goals and objectives to the Executive Team and Board.
- Leads overall Thought Leadership Task Force and supports working groups currently youth, resilience, complex crises.
- Organizes and facilitates After Action Reports following significant thought leadership efforts.
- Incorporates lessons learned and recommendations into future processes and modifying tools as necessary with Sr. Director – Strategy and Learning.
- Experiments with new thought leadership approaches/ audiences/ partners/ funders.
- Recommends use of the Media/Consulting Fund and manages the Field Travel Fund and c coordinates the hiring and deliverables of short-term consultants.
- Keeps track of and follows up on working group strategies and workplans and deliverables.
- Facilitate communication across teams to get workplans deliverables completed.
Internal Capacity Building
- Organizes webinars and other professional development/awareness opportunities for teams on the Thought Leadership Task Force and interested field teams to expand influence, stretch knowledge/ resources on communications, advocacy, etc.
- Provide technical expertise and best practices with country teams as they generate content as per country influence plans.
- Supports with tools and linkages to other teams as needed.
- Captures thought leadership content from country influence plans, technical teams and other parts of the agency, ensuring content gets into the right hands for external influencing and internal learning.
- Embeds the lessons from research and influence to accelerate positive change for communities everywhere Mercy Corps works.
Organizational Learning: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve – we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTY TO: Sr. Director – Strategy and Learning
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Thought Leadership Task Force and participating teams: Policy and Advocacy, Marketing and Communications, Digital Marketing, Internal Communications, Research Team, Technical Support Unit, Regional and country teams, Executive team.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master"s degree in Communication, International development, or related field.
- 7+ years of professional experience in program implementation, research, policy and advocacy, communications related field.
- Required 2-4 years overseas experience in the development sector with strong understanding of a corporate environment and field offices.
- Excellent knowledge of PowerPoint, Data Visualization and Project Management platforms.
- Phenomenal organizational skills, demonstrated ability to convene and coordinate different interest groups to successfully come to decisions.
- Familiar with learning and development principles.
- Outstanding writing and verbal communication and presentation skills.
- Experience in influencing different stakeholders and building solid working relationships with other teams, departments and at all levels of an organization.
- Skills in leading matrixed teams for successful results.
- Experience in preparing and giving presentations in varying formats (traditional and creative).
- Knowledge of French, Spanish and/or Arabic an advantage.
SUCCESS FACTORS:
The successful Thought Leadership Senior Advisor is a self-starter, demonstrating leadership in leading organizational initiatives. S/He will show passion for the role that INGOs can play in influencing other stakeholders). S/He will demonstrate flexibility in a non-hierarchical environment and an outstanding ability to communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles, follow procedures, and meet deadlines. S/he is a multi-tasker with the proven ability to organize and prioritize competing priorities and demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. S/He has the proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, be accountable for results and understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details. S/He finally knows how to maintain a sense of humor in stressful situations.
LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
The position is based in Portland or Washington DC with 25% travel including international to field locations where Mercy Corps works. Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Travel 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.
How to apply:
Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=dGNoYWJvdW5pLjY5NzU0LjM4MzBAbWVyY3ljb3Jwcy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20
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