Regional Seed System Coordinator Opportunity

About Mercy Corps

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.

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, academic institutions, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently in six regional states – Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), and in Dire Dawa Administration and the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

Program / Department Summary

The Ethiopia Seed Partnership Plus (ESP+) is a bilateral program between Ethiopia and the Netherlands in international trade and development cooperation. The goal of the proposed extended program ESP+ is to ensure the delivery of quality seed of new, improved, and adapted varieties to one million farming household across the country for food security, nutrition, and resilience to shocks and stresses. ESP+ is implementing in Tigray, Oromia, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Somali regions, which are more prone to shocks and stresses. The program will have four components that are Private sector development, Innovation &empowerment, Seed Insecurity Response, and Enabling seed sector transformation. Mercy Corps Ethiopia will be leading the third component of the program that mainly deals with Responding to seed insecurity. The ESP+ program will be implemented over four years period from 2024-2027.

General Position Summary

The regional Seed Insecurity Response coordinator is responsible for the overall planning, implementing, coaching, and monitoring, reporting of the Program intervention in the targeted Woredas of the region. S/he is also responsible for stakeholder management for engagements, strengthening B2B networks, technical capacity of the beneficiaries, strengthening the informal seed system through deploying improved varieties, local seed business through supporting innovation fund/business development, ensuring seed emergence response for purpose, and strengthening the regulatory provision of seed systems. S/he reports to the Program Manager. The key role and responsibilities of the position is summarized as follows.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Mapping key stakeholders, including humanitarian and development partners who directly support food security, engagements for collective action towards resiliently responding to seed insecurity in shocks/stress-prone targeted areas.
• Actively participate in annual planning, implementation, monitoring of each intervention, reporting.
• Identifying the existing seed systems, particularly local seed business owners and community-based seed banks, and assessing their strengths, weakness, and areas of their support.
• Participating, facilitating, and coaching region context, and Seed Security Systems (SSS) assessments in collaboration with other humanitarian, and development actors.
• Facilitating and organizing technical capacity training, workshops, evaluation events, field days, seed fairs, experience-sharing events, quick assessments, etc.
• Conducting/supporting, and facilitating the demonstration of participatory variety selections, and variety deployments through crowdsourcing/tricot approaches in collaboration with potential implementing partners, such as agricultural research centers, BoANR, and Universities.
• Facilitating/following up sub-grant/smart-subsidy supports for implementing partners, local seed businesses, and community seed banks, and closely monitoring the performance of physical progress.
• Closely working with humanitarian and development actors who are directly involved in response to food security in general and seed insecurity response in particular.
• Facilitating joint monitoring and evaluation events in collaboration with other Humanitarian and development actors through the guidance of MEAL Specialists.
• Closely working with woreda BoARN to ensure access to inputs and extension services to local seed producers, community seed banks, private seed producers.
• Supporting potential seed producers to ensure access to early-generation seeds (EGS) at the local level.
• Facilitating region-specific Disaster Risk Management (DRM) plan implementation in context to seed insecurity response.
• Facilitating business-to-business (B2B) networks to enhance seed marketing through the guidance of a senior seed system advisor.
• Facilitating, organizing, and coordinating multi-stakeholder platforms to enhance joint collective strategy and actions to ensure resilient seed insecurity response.
• Closely coach and supervise the implementing partners and local seed producers, collecting and compiling data as per outcome and output indicators.
• Regularly update the progress of the intervention, narrate field trips, outputs and action items of training and workshop events, monthly/quarterly/bi-annually/annual reports to MEAL Specialist and/or Program Manager.
• Regularly assess risks associated with conflict and other shocks/stress situations and suggest context mitigation measures.
• Additional assignments as per the policy and/or regulation of MERCY CORPS.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Adherence of gender minimum standards
• Allocate budget for GESI related activities and staff capacity building on GESI
• Make sure GESI issues are properly reflected during program management!
• Support the organization’s commitment to age and gender inclusive team building process
• Promote an inclusive and equitable workplace culture
• Support Staff Capacity Building on Increase staff knowledge of GEDSI

Supervisory Responsibility

Technically support and supervisor the implementing partners, local seed producers, Community Seed banks, and other seed sector actors, including humanitarian working on food and seed in security response

Knowledge and Experience/ Minimum qualifications

• Should have a minimum of Master of Science in Agronomy, crop production, Seed science and technology, agricultural economics, and other related field of study.
• Should have a minimum of 8 years of working experience mainly related to research (e.g. participatory variety selection), of which at least 3 years in humanitarian and development work experiences.
• Experience in NGO, project management, and humanitarian organizations in shock/stress-sensitive areas is very much preferable.
• Very good knowledge about the Ethiopian farming systems in general and the Seed Systems in particular, such as seed insecurity response in fragile areas due to shocks/stress situations.
• Have a good concept or experience of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus for joint action to achieve collection outcomes, and to ensure resilient response to seed insecurity response through enhancing effective coordination.
• Very good experience in stakeholder mapping, analysis, engagement, and management
• Very good quality of communication skills, analytical skills, critical thinking, proactive to changing environments/situations, capable of shouldering multiple assignments under stress conditions.
• Fluency in English, and regional working language (Somali language) is mandatory.

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.

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 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 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.

Skills Required:

• Agricultural / Studies
• Applied / Natural / Science
• Environmental / Natural / Resource