Consultant - Resilience Event Facilitation and Knowledge Management - Kampala and Remote

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 has been working in strategic zones of influence in the Karamoja year since 2012 year, beginning with the $60 million BHA-funded Development Food Security Activities from 2013-2017, followed by Apolou, a six year, $55 million, Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA).  Mercy Corps’ investments have been focused on building resilience, ensuring food insecure and economically marginalized households have access to, and ability to use, key capacities to help them cope, adapt, and thrive in the shock and stress context of Karamoja.

Over the years, Mercy Corps, as well as partner institutions have accumulated rich programmatic experience on what works, and what else is needed to strengthen the resilience of communities in Karamoja, to support food security and economic growth.

Mercy Corps’ existing BHA-funded work in Karamoja is ending in 2023, as future USAID investments will come through Feed the Future.  Mercy Corps seeks to capitalize on its presence and experience in Karamoja to influence future investments, and support impactful resilience programming.  Mercy Corps currently has the support of the USAID/BHA in Uganda to lead a high-level Karamoja-focused learning event to influence donors, government and implementing partners in how to best operate and sustain impact in Karamoja in the future.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps seeks the support of an event facilitation and knowledge management consultant, to support Mercy Corps and partners appropriately develop content for and shape a high-level influence event around resilience-building, food security and economic opportunity in the Karamoja Region.

Consultant Objectives:

• Provide overall coordination support for the Karamoja Learning event, including invitations, logistics, and branding
• Support the Apolou program in refining and organizing all knowledge products to align with key influence objectives of the learning event

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Partner with the Apolou team on all event logistics and coordination
• Develop guidance for the development of presentations and knowledge products, in line with objectives of the event and key messages
• Support Mercy Corps to package and finalize key learning documents for external audiences, for presentation at event
• Work with event partners, including USAID, KRSU and other implementing organizations in prepping for the event, including ensuring key knowledge products are refined and aligned with event objectives and key messages

Consultant Deliverables:

• Complete participant list and send invites: June 1, 2023 (1 day)
• Identify and manage communications support: June 15 – Aug 10, 2023 (4 days)
• Develop 7-8 product summaries (Governance, Gender, Financial Inclusion, POVE, Permagarden, RCF story, Liquidity profile): May 1 – June 30, 2023 (20 days)
• Develop/refine event presentations: June 30 – Aug 2, 2023 (4 days)
• Develop guidance for partner knowledge products: June 1, 2023 (3 days)
• Coordinate all event logistics: June 1 – Aug 10, 2023 (5 days)

Total: 37 days

The Consultant will report to: Strategic Learning and Adaptive Management Lead

The Consultant will work closely with: Technical Director, Implementation Director, M&E Director, Purpose Managers, Nuyok staffs, USAID, KRSU staffs

Required Experience & Skills:

• At least 7 years of experience in resilience technical work, which must include experience with food security development programs in international contexts
• MA or MS preferred in a relevant field
• Demonstrated experience creating and facilitating resilience logic technical design sessions in a development programming context using adult learning methods
• Demonstrated experience developing materials to improve program-level adaptive management / CLA systems (collaborating, learning and adapting)
• Excellent cross-cultural facilitation skills.
• Excellent English writing skills.

**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
**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 team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. 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.