Market system development intern 53 views1 application

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in Six regional states: Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), Amhara, Gambela and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible. Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and participating public. Mercy Corps has a growing portfolio of programs in Ethiopia that focus on food security; agriculture and livestock market systems development; maternal and child health and nutrition; youth economic productivity; resilience and humanitarian response. Some of our donors include USAID, SIDA, EU, DFID, and WFP.

Mercy Corps Ethiopia invites motivated and qualified candidates to apply for the following vacant position.

 Position Title:  Market system development Intern.

 Location: Addis Ababa

 Dates of Internship:  1 October 2021 to March 2022 (possible extension)

 Length of Internship: Six months

 Mercy Corps responsibilities

For the duration of this internship assignment the intern will receive:

• Work Station
• All required office supplies
• Transport Allowance/ 3,000 ETB/month
• Per diem during field visit
• Coverage of lodging expense during field visit
• Coverage of Transportation expense during field visit

 Intern responsibilities

Intern will remain responsible for all costs associated with

·        Transport from/to office

·        Medical and any Insurance

 Project Description: 

 Mercy Corps in partnership with other Organizations is implementing Livelihood Improvement for Women and Youth (Li-WAY) project funded by SIDA in Addis Ababa. The LI-WAY program will be implemented for a five-year period. The aim of the program is to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction, improved gender relations and social stability in Addis Ababa. Specifically, the program aims to improve the livelihoods of 200,000 poor people, of whom at least 50% are women and 75% young people within the age group of 15-29, by increasing incomes, more employment opportunities and better working conditions in Addis Ababa. The major sector areas selected, after a thorough market assessment and analysis for implementation, are 1. Micro enterprises; 2. Labor market; 3. Growth sectors; and 4. Skill sector.

Mercy Corps under the LIWAY consortium will be leading the Labor Market System Development. The assessment on the principal Labor Market has identified three key support functions to contribute to the main objective of the labor market system development. These support functions are: Exchange Infrastructure, Childcare Services, and Trust and Risk.

 About the internship Position

As part of its organizational commencement on promoting gender equality, diversity and social inclusion (GDI), Mercy Corps Ethiopia seeks enthusiastic, intelligent and ambitious female graduate and post-graduates who are passionate about international development in which the organization is aiming to narrow the imbalance exist in a formal workplace structure including INGOs.  This position will provide the intern an opportunity to develop their professional skills and expand their knowledge of market-based and community-driven development while supporting the country program towards rigorous learning and integrated programming.  The intern will be provided with technical guidance designing and implementing a market system program Under the project LIWAY.

At the beginning of the internship period, the intern will receive orientation on Mercy Corps’ mission, vision, strategy and programming.  She will work with the program team lead and the LIWAY team members on the day to day implementation of the program and provided with a mentorship and coaching opportunities to meet her career to be well familiar with a formal workplace culture and to be ready for future career paths

At the end of the internship period, the combined professional and technical skills development plan will be the milestones against which the internship will be evaluated and will be the basis of a strong recommendation letter for future employment.

The intern will also be interviewed to assess the degree to which the internship period helped her to achieve her professional goals.

Learning Objectives:  

By the end of the internship, the intern will have developed the following knowledge and experience:

·        Understanding of the basics of a market system development

·        Understanding of the importance of implementing a market system program contrary to other Development programs

·        Experience in conducting a market assessment and analysis for different markets to inform programing

·        Understanding the Gender mainstreaming in the MSD approach

·        Participate in designing and implementing interventions based on assessment findings

·        Learn how to engage market actor’s, private sectors during interventions

·        Knowledge of soft skills required to professional success in an increasingly competitive market

·        Increased self-awareness, confidence, and assertiveness.

·        Learn how to develop plans, report writings, and write change/success stories including good practice and learnings

Deliverables:

·        A final report on the challenges and learnings of her internship Journey.

 Ideal Candidate Should Posses the Following Qualifications:

·        Minimum academic score of 2.75

·        Completed courses in international development, management, business administration or field related to social sciences with minimum score of 2.75

·        One letter of recommendation from a university Lecturer on the candidate’s academic performance

·        One letter of recommendation from a non-family member on the candidate’s personal integrity and sense of responsibility.

·        Any other supporting document that candidate consider as valuable to consider

Living Conditions: The internship should be based out of the intern’s home location.

Mercy Corps interns and volunteers represent the agency both during and outside of work hours and 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.