Jordan: Regional Livelihood Advisor

May 31, 2019 | Relief International
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Relief International specializes in relief and development programs that benefit people in acute distress. A registered non-profit in the US, UK, France and Belgium, our work targets those fragile countries or communities that suffer from recurrent man-made or natural crises that impede human development. The people that we serve live in seventeen countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia where the debilitating effects of political instability, forced displacement, and natural disasters are pervasive. Often, RI is the only organization providing healthcare, education, logistics, energy, capacity building, economic development, sanitation, and many other forms of assistance to these highly vulnerable communities.  

 Summary:

Relief International (RI) is a humanitarian, non-profit, non-sectarian agency that provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, and development services throughout the world. RI operates countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and has extensive past performance providing humanitarian and development programming. RI’s goal is to empower the most vulnerable communities to develop lasting solutions to their most pressing challenges and to build an environment that creates permanent well-being.              

Essential Position Responsibilities and Duties:

The Regional Livelihoods Advisor will support the development of a livelihood program across the Middle East that will be attractive to multiple donors and take into account the fragile setting conditions and humanitarian Development Nexus.  The Regional Livelihoods Advisor will investigate and develop economic opportunities across multiple sectors that include opportunities for women, men, youth, and persons with disabilities. Given the countries which RI operates a knowledge of how to expand livelihoods for IDPs and refugees is required? The position will require expertise and experience in engaging the private sector as well as developing local partners’ capacity to deliver sustainable economic opportunity impacts.  Key duties include:

• Develop and guide economic opportunity assessments for strategic planning and specific donor and other investment opportunities. Design with RI team economic opportunity programming that addresses the humanitarian development nexus.
• Engage and cultivate the private sector for business partnerships, market research, and as purchasers of products and services developed by RI’s target economic opportunity beneficiaries. 
• Conduct systems approach analysis and integrated value chain analysis for key sectors. This should be done with RI staff and partners to develop their capacity in these areas. Analyze and summarize contextual opportunities and constraints for employment/self-employment within RI’s Middle East countries; make recommendation for focus areas by sector and target beneficiaries (e.g. youth, women, refugees, etc.).
• Assess local partners and devise strategy for how RI should engage with local partners further to advance its economic opportunity expansion goals for the Middle East.
• Take lead with Program Development and Country Teams on technical design of donor proposals for economic opportunity programs.
• Represent RI externally (donor meetings, conferences, partner meetings) to discuss, advocate for and present learning in the area of economic opportunity programming.
• Prepare case studies on economic opportunity learning and approaches.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Advanced university degree (business administration, development economics, agriculture economics, or labor economics) or related field. 
• Minimum 8 years’ of relevant practical field experience in livelihoods or similar programming; with at least half in long-term (more than 3 years) enterprise development or value chain development programs that have resulted in measurable increases in jobs and incomes.
• Value chain experience in rural and urban dominated sectors.
• Experience with both entrepreneurship and vocational training models to expand jobs and income.
• Demonstrated experience conducting assessments for proposal development.
• Track record in engaging with the private sector and brokering public-private partnerships in the Middle East.
• Experience in mentoring clients, staff and partners to build capacity in sustainable economic development programming.
• Ability and interest in traveling to support country offices throughout the Middle East (up to 50% time)
• Fluency in English and strong writing and presentation skills in English.