Closing Date: 27 November 2025
Work for Home as a Senior Advisor Climate Adaptation at Mercy Corps: Apply Now
Position Summary
The Senior Climate Adaptation Advisor will join the Technical Support, Evidence, and Program Quality (TEQ) Unit. The goal of TEQ is to support program impact at scale. Mercy Corps conceptualizes achieving program impact at scale as a combination of doing programs well (program foundations), adopting the best approach (technical excellence), achieving outcomes (program effectiveness), and influencing more programs that work by Mercy Corps and/ or others (impact at scale). The TEQ Unit has twelve thematic teams: Climate and Water Security, Economic Opportunity, Food Security, Peace and Governance, Global Resilience & Infrastructure, Social Integration & Development, Cash, and Program Standards, Evidence Use, MEL, Research, and Crisis Analysis.
This Senior Climate Adaptation Advisor position will be part of the Climate & Water Security team. The Climate & Water Security team supports (directly through working in partnership with teams, and indirectly through development of knowledge products and tools) country and regional teams to develop, implement and learn from high impact climate adaptation and water security programming, while supporting relevant global fundraising opportunities, policy and advocacy efforts and other relevant global operations.
The Senior Advisor Climate Adaptation provides climate adaptation technical support to Mercy Corps program teams. Support includes designing and developing programs, assessing and enhancing program quality, writing proposals for donors, providing training, developing humanitarian networks, maintaining current knowledge on industry best practices, disseminating information to internal and external partners, and representing Mercy Corps at key events.
The Senior Climate Adaptation Advisor will also build the capacity of their peers and the organization. Supporting and leading business development will be a critical component of the work of the Sr. Advisor. As such, the Senior Advisor Climate Adaptation will be expected to both lead and at times support efforts to engage public and private donors, including climate finance institutions such as the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund as well as the development of proposals and concept notes.
Essential Responsibilities
PROGRAM DESIGN AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
- Write and review proposals and concept notes for donors including foundations, corporations, government agencies and climate finance facilities (ex: Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund).
- Research, analyze, and assess data to determine program needs, priorities, and Mercy Corps’ advantages for funding; Maintain knowledge of development strategies by governmental, academic, and non-profit groups.
- Collaborate with program, country, regional, and TEQ teams on prepositioning and strategy development, and designing multi-sectoral programs that meet the outcomes and commitments in Mercy Corps’ 10-year strategy.
- Lead write complex, competitive proposals following Mercy Corps’ best practices in proposal development, team management, and the appropriate sectoral area.
PROGRAM QUALITY
- Provide technical support to Mercy Corps’ teams globally, including those in complex crisis environments; Support effective interventions through integrated approaches and systems thinking.
- Maintain standards of program delivery through application of agency approaches and compliance with relevant regulations and requirements.
- Increase program capacity within Mercy Corps through developing and circulating tools such as training and workshops, manuals, case studies, webinars, and monitoring and evaluation tools; Collaborate with Director to set and execute strategies addressing agency-wide program quality needs.
LEARNING AND IMPACT
- Provide in-country and remote training for Mercy Corps staff, partners, and programs with assistance on assessment, implementation, research, and evaluation.
- Build a strong community of practice across Mercy Corps in your technical area to strengthen program quality and build a community of technical experts.
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
- Represent Mercy Corps at academic events, conferences, media forums, and other events; Contribute to thought leadership in area of expertise.
- Identify and nurture strategic partnerships with other organizations and institutions; Present concepts and ideas to donors, partners, and peer organizations that influence them to drive innovation and positive change.
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
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
- Demonstrate exceptional leadership by consistently delivering expectations and maintaining composure, even in challenging situations.
- Embrace a growth mindset, actively seek diverse perspectives, and welcome feedback to drive continuous improvement.
- Maintain the highest ethical standards, treating all individuals with respect and dignity.
- Demonstrate professionalism in all aspects of life, ensuring that your conduct reflects positively on Mercy Corps and does not compromise its mission or work.
Minimum Qualification, Skills and Abilities
- Proven track record of project management, with the ability to transfer technical theories to real world complexities.
- Experience in coaching or mentoring team members on adjusting their methodology to fit the context or program need.
- Strong familiarity with the ecosystem of climate finance institutions.
- Comfortable working with diverse teams; fosters an environment of inclusion and collaboration
- Creative, adaptive, and flexible; consistently acts with integrity
- Detail-oriented with the ability to multitask, prioritize, and work under tight deadlines within complex team environments
- Exceptional writing skills; effective and clear communication overall
- Excellent external relationship and partnership management, prioritizing elevating Mercy Corps’ and technical team’s reputations.
Education and Experience
- 5 to 7 years of experience required providing increasingly proficient technical support in the relevant field of expertise that includes:
- Proven experience in new business prepositioning and research, proposal and concept note development.
- Experience engaging public and private climate donors.
- Leading all aspects of large and complex proposals and managing integrated grant writing teams.
- Producing and publishing practical knowledge products (tools, guidance and research) to be used by program teams.
- Combining strong theoretical and applied knowledge of the field of expertise using integrated approaches and applying systems thinking.
- Strong knowledge of, and a track record of leading successful fundraising efforts with public and private climate finance actors.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred. M.A. or equivalent in a relevant field and relevant technical certifications preferred.
- Practical field experience required, typically over the course of 2 years, that includes:
- A temporary duration field assignment, longer-term field assignments, or living in a field location to work in a country or field office.
- An emergency response assignment or other crisis response work demonstrating successfully adapting support and assistance methodologies to real-world complexities.
- Delivering Capacity Building curriculum or other processes for program teams.
- Familiarity with major donors such as, DFID, the EC and relevant foundations and corporations.
- Fluency in English is required, fluency in a foreign language preferred.
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