Mercy Corps’ mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. In more than 40 countries around the world, over 5,400 team members work side by side with people living through poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change. Mercy Corps supports communities and those most vulnerable within them to cope, adapt and thrive in the face of these challenges, with a priority focus on improving food security, water security, economic opportunity and governance and peace.
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.
The Program / Department / Team
The Mercy Corps Global Policy and Advocacy (GPA) team works to support Mercy Corps’ mission by advocating for better policies and practices of bi-lateral donors, multilateral institutions, national governments and other power-holders to enable Mercy Corps’ programs in fragile and conflict-affected countries to achieve greater impact. The GPA team includes a US-based team focused on the US government, a European team focused on European governments and other Europe based institutions, and team members based in regions/countries of operation.
The team are looking to recruit our first Geneva based advocate to influence the policies and practices of UN agencies, government representatives and the wider community based in Geneva.
The Position
The Senior Advisor will work in tandem with advocates across the policy and advocacy team to influence policy and practice around Mercy Corps’ priority humanitarian crises and broader humanitarian policy, particularly in relation to localisation, use of cash and market based responses, and the links between humanitarian response and climate change. The senior advisor will have a particular focus on engaging with and influencing relevant UN entities (UNHCR, UNICEF), humanitarian missions of major donor countries represented in Geneva and key policy forums (notably the Grand Bargain).
Essential Responsibilities
STRATEGY AND PLANNING
● Works with and supports the Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, the Humanitarian Policy Director and the VP for EmergencyResponse to develop Mercy Corps overall strategy on influencing key institutions and policy debates in Geneva
● Supports country- and region-focused advocacy efforts to engage with key UN/Geneva based institutions on humanitarian issues.
EXECUTION
● Develops and manages advocacy and policy engagement in Geneva through:
○ Tracking relevant funding and policies of key institutions
○ Implementing policy-focused advocacy and outreach strategies
○ Drafting policy documents and messaging in support of policy and advocacy goals
○ Communicating information internally on Geneva-based institutions to relevantMercy Corps staff
● Leads collaborative work in Geneva within the NGO sector and among other NGO, Red Cross, UN and governmental partners, including through IASC groups and ICVA.
● Engages substantively with Mercy Corps’ policy, technical, evidence and programme teams to track and understand our experience, evidence and policy positions around key humanitarian policy issues and to inform our advocacy and engagement in Geneva.
INFLUENCE AND REPRESENTATION
● Represents Mercy Corps with key institutions in Geneva, significant policy forums and public forums, think/policy tank panel discussions and briefings, and relevant international and multilateral institutional events.
● Builds and maintains strong relationships with senior level officials in key Geneva based institutions and Geneva based representatives of peer organizations.
● Contributes to or leads on written pieces including policy pieces, thought leadership and other external facing communications.
● Supports Mercy Corps senior leadership’s engagement at high level events and policy opportunities in Geneva, including through drafting remarks, developing policy positions, and providing staffing assistance.
Supervisory Responsibility
None, except for occasional interns.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy (Europe)
Works Directly With: The Policy Advisor will work closely with and support the Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy (Europe), the Executive Director for Europe, the Director for Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy (based in Washington DC) and the VP for Emergency Response.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, 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.
Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
● Bachelors degree in international relations, development, public policy, law or related fields of study.
● 5 years of relevant professional experience working on humanitarian/development policy issues, ideally with UN institutions and processes.
● Strong political and strategic skills, with a demonstrated ability to develop and advance advocacy strategies individually and through coalition work.
● Strong analytical skills and the ability to effectively gather and utilize large amounts of information from various sources towards clear policy goals.
● Excellent verbal and written communications skills.
● Demonstrated sensitivity, skill and experience in working diplomatically and effectively within different cultural settings and in public relations and correspondence with a wide variety of public constituents.
Preferred Qualification
● Graduate degree in international relations, development, public policy, law or related fields of study.
● Experience working in policy and or advocacy with Geneva based institutions.
● Experience with international relief and development fieldwork, and familiarity with emerging development and humanitarian issues.
● Proficiency in one or more foreign languages, particularly French, Spanish or Arabic.
Success Factors
Ability to use evidence, persuasive argument and insight to influence key decision-makers. Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with colleagues, peer groups, officials and relevant stakeholders. Motivation to seek out and establish new relationships. Motivation to find new solutions to pernicious policy problems. A clear understanding of Mercy Corps’ mission and collaborative style of operation. Ability to work simultaneously on multiple tasks in a fast paced, sometimes stressful environment and meet deadlines under those conditions. Ability to work as part of a team and coordinate with both HQ and global personnel. Computer literate with strong organizational skills. Ability to operate with a significant degree of autonomy within agreed upon parameters. Flexibility, commitment to transformative change, and sense of humor.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
This position is based in Geneva with the expectation of travel up to 10-15% of his/her time to field locations that may include insecure or harsh environments.
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 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 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 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 prevention of sexual exploitation andabuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. 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 in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.