Project Manager - Jobtech for Refugees and Youth

About the Organization

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long-term impact.

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. With the launch of Mercy Corps Global Strategy, Pathway to Possibility, the country office is poised to operationalize its three-year strategy with a vision to enhance the resilience of climate- and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. Currently, we operate in five regional states – Afar, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and Tigray. Working with a diverse base of donors that includes the United States Government, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations, JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations, Mercy Corps Ethiopia empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

Job Summary

Jobtech refers to digital platforms that connect people to work opportunities that build livelihoods. The taxonomy of what we mean by jobtech and examples of technology companies that are solving Africa’s unemployment problem can be found here (https://jobtechalliance.com/what-is-jobtech/). Jobs within jobtech could range from gig-work (think Uber, Glovo) to digital services for microenterprises to tech-enabled skilling.

We believe that jobtech, the use of technology to enable, facilitate, or improve people’s productivity to access and deliver quality work, is the future of work, and has the potential to create millions of jobs and/or improve livelihoods. However, it is significantly underdeveloped on the African continent, limiting its promise of job creation. Despite the scale of potential impact, it is poorly understood, the ecosystem is nascent, few start-ups have scaled successfully in this space, and the learning and community infrastructure around it is not consolidated (particularly compared to sectors like Fintech). There has never been a more important time to harness and shape jobtech’s enormous potential to drive meaningful employment for young people.

The Jobtech Alliance, launched by Mercy Corps and BFA Global in 2021, has a portfolio of grants which allows us to conduct a range of acceleration activities with jobtech start-ups, and to conduct wider ecosystem-building activities. We partner with jobtech start-ups across 10 African markets to support strategy, product and operational innovations which make their services more viable and scalable, more inclusive and/or delivering better quality jobs for the users they serve. We conduct research to better understand what makes these innovations work (or not), and conduct exploratory research on emerging themes to help guide the sector. To-date, the program has worked with 50 platforms and created over 40,000 quality jobs across the continent.

The Jobtech for Refugees and Youth program is a multi-country initiative focused on creating jobs and improving livelihoods for refugees and displaced youth through technology-enabled platforms. Building on the progress of initial programming in Uganda, the program has expanded to include Ethiopia, with Uganda remaining a key implementation country. We support jobtech platforms that are looking to scale, expand, or overcome growth barriers, and work with refugee youth to equip them with the skills, assets and capacities to access these opportunities.

Reporting to the Platform Inclusion Lead, the Project Manager will serve as the primary implementer and day-to-day operational lead of the Jobtech for Refugees and Youth program in Ethiopia. He/She will lead the recruitment and enrollment of refugee and displaced talent onto jobtech platforms, coordinate and facilitate collaboration between refugee job seekers, partner organisations, and digital work platforms. Additionally, he/she will take ownership of procurement, contracting, and administrative processes for Ethiopia and participate in the documentation of insights and lessons learned for knowledge products published by the Jobtech Alliance.

The role requires strong coordination skills, a proactive leadership orientation, and the ability to work across multiple stakeholder groups including donors, ecosystem actors, private sector partners, implementing organisations, and refugee-led organisations.

Key Responsibilities

Programmatic Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for delivery of the program in Ethiopia, translating the strategy agreed with the Platform Inclusion Lead to achieve set targets.
• Identify, vet, and develop partnerships with refugee-led organizations, CBOs and other potential partners capable of recruiting and placing refugees into work on platforms
• Lead the recruitment and enrollment of refugee and displaced talent onto jobtech platforms through trusted partner organisations and channels (see above)
• Contribute to identifying, assessing and engaging jobtech platforms in Ethiopia that are well-placed to onboard refugee and displaced talent, helping shape which platforms the program prioritises and partners with.
• Own the day-to-day relationship with jobtech platforms operating in Ethiopia and coordinate their interactions with partner organisations while feeding market insight back into program design and Jobtech Alliance’s wider learning.
• Serve as the program’s primary liaison with relevant government and refugee-authority stakeholders in Ethiopia (e.g. RRS, relevant line ministries, local authorities) on issues affecting delivery coordinating closely with Mercy Corps Ethiopia country office
• Coordinate procurement, contracting, and administrative processes within the Mercy Corps Ethiopia country office, ensuring compliance with organisational and donor policies.
• Track and manage activity progress against workplans, ensuring adherence to scope, timelines, and budget allocations for Ethiopia-based activities; reviewing budget-versus-actuals and flagging variances to the Platform Inclusion Lead
• Act as the bridge between platforms and talent translating platform needs into partner onboarding
• Support hiring, onboarding and capacity-building of team members and implementing partners.

Community of Practice (CoP)

• Plan and facilitate regular CoP engagements (e.g. convenings, webinars, knowledge exchanges) that bring together the diverse set of members (e.g. donors, ecosystem stakeholders, private sector actors, jobtech platforms etc.)
• Drive CoP membership growth, with a particular focus on incorporating new members from emerging geographies with support from the Program Manager
• Track CoP performance against targets outlined in the program proposal and report on progress to the Program Manager.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Reporting

• Conduct field visits to verify data accuracy and collect qualitative insights that will help adapt and improve the program.
• Assist in gathering insights and lessons learned, contributing to research as well as donor reporting while ensuring it meets both organisational and donor standards.
• Support the alignment of program activities with key performance indicators (KPIs) and help maintain data integrity for accurate reporting and informed decision-making.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

• Reports Directly To: Platform Inclusion Lead (based in Kenya)
• Works Directly With: Director of Programs (Mercy Corps Ethiopia), Venture Partners (Jobtech Alliance), Results Learning & Research Team (Jobtech Alliance), Ecosystem Lead (Jobtech Alliance), Finance and Operations Teams, Human Resources

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.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated Experience and understanding of the refugee working context is a must
• A history of excellence in achieving results and self-management.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in project management, livelihoods, employment or a related field, including experience managing teams and implementing programs.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning, workplanning, and managing project budgets and donor compliance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies, Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or other related fields
• Experience engaging with the private sector (as placement partner/collaborator or as a staff) is required. Experience working with refugees is strongly preferred. Experience working in a start-up or with technology solutions is a plus.
• A dynamic, “outside-the-box” attitude is required, with proven ability to think and act creatively in challenging environments.
• Excellent planning, management and coordination skills, with the ability to organize a workload among different tasks and team members
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), and a collaborative approach to working with others.
• Working and written fluency in English, given work with a regional English-speaking team.
• Outstanding analytical capacity, with capacity to bring clarity for others and make quick decisions.
• Comfortable using shared document platforms including GSuite, as well as Microsoft Applications (Word, Excel and Powerpoint).

Required Skills and Competencies

• You are a self-manager who is passionate about refugee livelihoods and the role technology can play in creating economic opportunity.
• You are great at managing relationships with a diverse set of actors.
• You are comfortable leading and steering delivery independently in Addis, while keeping the team close on strategy and major decisions.
• You are geared around impact rather than effort, honest about what is working and what isn’t.
• You have strong analytical instincts, can quickly spot opportunities for intervention, and are always ready to get your hands dirty.

How to Apply

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically through this: >>LINK.

Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: September 19, 2026 / 4:00 PM