Market System Development; MSD Team Lead

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Join to apply for the Market System Development (MSD) Team Lead role at Youth Impact Labs East Africa

Position Title:
Market System Development (MSD) Team Lead

Duty Station:
Addis Ababa

Open Position: 1

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.

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.

In Ethiopia, our strategy focuses in the four outcome areas:
1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets;
2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food;
3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis-affected communities; and
4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use. Currently, we operate in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Ethiopia. Working with a diverse base of donors that includes United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations (UN), JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations, Mercy Corps Ethiopia empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

About Livelihoods Improvement For Women And Youth (LIWAY)

The Livelihoods Improvement for Women and Youth (LIWAY) is a nine-year programme (July 2017 to June 2026) funded by the Embassy of Sweden and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The program aims to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and social stability in Addis Ababa by increasing incomes through improved wage and self-employment opportunities, primarily for poor women and youth.

LIWAY has the objective of increasing incomes of 257,000 poor people in Addis Ababa, of which at least 128,500 (50%) are women (young and adult) and 192,750 (75%) are youth (female and male).

LIWAY stands out for its focus on enhancing economic opportunities for women and youth, two of the most vulnerable groups in Ethiopia. To do so, it applies a Market Systems Development (MSD) approach that involves identifying the root causes of market failure that disadvantage or exclude poor women and youth from wage and self-employment opportunities and identify private companies and public institutions with the incentive and ability to deliver change.

The program works in four interrelated market systems (Labour, Micro and Small Enterprises-MSE, Medium and Large Enterprises-MLE, and Skills) that were selected based on their relevance to the target group of poor women and youth, the opportunity for positive impact, and the feasibility of interventions. These four systems are interconnected and together contribute to structural transformation.

While the program is running through June 30,2026 under the Netherlands Embassy funding, additional Sweden funding for a second phase of LIWAY is anticipated to be secured in early 2025, for an extension period of four years ending in December 2028. The aim of the extension phase is to broaden and scale the…