AGRICULTURE & MARKETS ADVISOR - NATIONAL

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.

PROGRAM / DEPARTMENT / TEAM

Mercy Corps has worked in Liberia since 2002, initially responding to the humanitarian impacts of the country’s civil conflicts and subsequently evolving its programming to address the changing needs and priorities of Liberian communities. Over the past two decades, Mercy Corps has implemented a diverse portfolio of programs focused on food security, agricultural livelihoods, nutrition, financial inclusion, youth economic empowerment, renewable energy, water and sanitation, and community resilience, supporting sustainable development and improved opportunities across the country.

The USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program in Liberia is a five-year, $35 million initiative implemented by Mercy Corps to improve literacy, school attendance, nutrition, and food security among primary school children in four counties: Grand Bassa, Rivercess, River Gee, and Grand Gedeh. The program will reach approximately 50,000 students in 234 public primary schools through the provision of nutritious daily school meals, strengthened early grade reading instruction, and integrated school health and nutrition interventions. In addition to reducing short-term hunger and improving educational outcomes, the program seeks to increase the Government of Liberia’s capacity to manage and sustain school feeding and literacy systems beyond the life of the award.

The program combines direct school meal provision with system-strengthening activities that support literacy, health and nutrition, school infrastructure, community engagement, and government leadership. Key interventions include strengthening teacher training and instructional support systems, improving WASH and food safety practices, promoting school gardens and local procurement, building the capacity of school and community management structures, and supporting national and sub-national government institutions to plan, finance, monitor, and sustain school feeding and early grade reading programs. The program is designed around a gradual transition strategy that shifts responsibility for implementation and oversight from Mercy Corps to the Government of Liberia, schools, and communities, ensuring long-term sustainability and local ownership of both education and school feeding outcomes.

Position Summary

The Agriculture & Markets Advisor provides technical leadership for school gardens, local procurement, market linkages, and community-based agriculture activities that contribute to school feeding sustainability, nutrition education, and local ownership. The position supports implementation of ASCEND's transition strategy through strengthened linkages between schools, communities, local suppliers, and government-led school feeding systems.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Support the development of implementation strategy for agriculture components of the project.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

Program Management

• Lead implementation of Activity 3 and provide technical oversight for school gardens and local procurement activities.
• Ensure agriculture-related interventions contribute directly to nutrition education, school feeding sustainability, and community ownership.
• Conduct meetings and build linkages with various stakeholders and organizations including MoE, and MoA.
• Support government-led planning, coordination, and sustainability efforts related to school gardens, local procurement, and Home-Grown School Feeding approaches.
• Visit schools in target counties to gain understanding of current school garden status and issues.
• Promote diversified production and consumption of nutritious foods through school gardens, community engagement, and linkages with school feeding activities.
• Collect and review available documents (studies, training manuals, policies, etc.) on school gardens.
• Provide timely technical advice and guidance on school garden establishment, management, and sustainability so that school gardens support nutrition education, experiential learning, community participation, and school feeding objectives.
• Provide management and project oversight during implementation of school gardens to ensure the work is progressing within the schedule and towards the targets.
• Assist the Senior Management Team and other team members with management, oversight, coordination and monitoring of all the school garden operation and implementation of activities.
• Analyzing data for reporting.

Team Management

• Assist team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Market Systems Integration and Local Procurement

• Support phased introduction of locally procured commodities consistent with approved school feeding plans, procurement mechanisms, and sustainability objectives.
• Lead the development and implementation of market linkage strategies that connect schools, PTAs, FMCs, farmer groups/cooperatives, aggregators, SMEs, and local suppliers to school feeding supply chains, supporting the gradual transition to sustainable local procurement systems.
• Conduct market assessments and supplier mapping; facilitate relationships and simplified supply agreements between schools, PTAs, FMCs, producer groups, and local market actors to strengthen reliable, safe, and quality food supply systems for school feeding.
• Work with schools, PTAs, FMCs, local suppliers, and government stakeholders to strengthen sustainable local procurement systems that support long-term school feeding objectives.
• Monitor the performance of school gardens, local procurement systems, and community contribution mechanisms and recommend actions to strengthen sustainability, local ownership, and transition objectives.
• Contribute to program sustainability and transition assessments related to school gardens, local procurement systems, and community participation in school feeding.

Farmer Capacity Strengthening and Value Chain Development

• Provide technical guidance and coordinate capacity strengthening for farmer groups, aggregators, cooperatives, and SMEs on production planning, aggregation, post-harvest handling, quality standards, food safety requirements, and business management to improve access to school feeding markets.
• Collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture, extension services, private-sector partners, and relevant authorities to promote compliance with quality standards, strengthen buyer-supplier relationships, and support sustainable market opportunities for locally produced complementary foods and agricultural products.

Child Safeguarding Policies and Practices

• Liaise and work with community groups and the schools to ensure accountability and best use of project resources.
• Comply with the requirements of Mercy Corps Protection Policy to ensure maximum protection for children,

Finance & Compliance Management

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to financial transactions and programming.

Influence & Representation

• Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, Program contractors, donors, local governments, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall program targets and donor obligations are met.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary 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.

Supervisory Responsibility: N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Technical Director

Works Directly With: Government and Partnerships Director, Program Manager, MEL Lead, Operations team, Finance team.

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree in agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, agri-business, agricultural economics, food systems, rural development or related field, with a minimum of seven (7) years’ experience.
• Demonstrated experience working with farmer groups, producer organizations, cooperatives, SMEs, or local market actors.
• Experience supporting local procurement, market access, value chains, institutional procurement, or food systems development.
• Experience working on school feeding, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, Home-Grown School Feeding, or institutional procurement programs preferred.
• Proven ability to think strategically and conduct dialogue on local procurement, food systems, school feeding sustainability, market development, and community-based agricultural initiatives.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead teams and organize tasks to meet tight deadlines within budget.
• Ability to communicate ideas effectively, and to write clearly and concisely.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, and Power Point.
• Written and verbal fluency in English.

Desirable:

• Experience with school feeding programs.
• Experience with Home-Grown School Feeding.
• Experience working with government institutions, particularly Ministries of Agriculture and Education, county authorities, or extension systems.
• Experience integrating agricultural activities with education or nutrition objectives.
• A mix of work experience in both the public and private sectors would be an advantage.

Success Factors

The Agriculture Advisor should pay attention to details, have the ability to work in a diverse team, be approachable, supportive, willing to learn and apply new ideas, have time management skills, be able to multitask, set priorities, and be willing to travel to and work in remote areas.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

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 by 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.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).