ABOUT MERCY CORPS
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 a long-term impact.
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:
Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) is Gaza’s leading co-working space, tech education hub, and startup accelerator, run by Mercy Corps, a nonprofit international relief and development organization with programs in the occupied Palestinian territories since the 1980s. Mercy Corps founded GSG in partnership with Google.org in 2011. We bring together online freelancers, outsourcers, and startup founders together under one roof to share ideas, best practices, code, and build brighter futures through the power of the internet. Gaza Sky Geeks’ overarching goal is to build an internationally competitive technology ecosystem in Gaza through online freelancing, outsourcing, and startups.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
Community & Operations Assistant will support efficient daily coordination and management for the co-working space, including creation of an inclusive environment, overseeing the daily registration and attendance of the space users and participants. In addition, ensure space users commit to the space minimum code of conduct and business ethics, support the team for scheduling project workshops and communicate with the project participants. The assistant will also support building GSG south community, implementation, and coordination of Community based activities inside the space and outreach events.
ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
Community Development Responsibilities:
- Foster community building and strengthening through community engagement activities and events.
- Support the creation of an inclusive, collaborative, and fun environment that encourages proactive behavior internally and externally.
- Support Outreach and Tech Awareness events planning and implementation.
- Engage current community members from the south in different activities and events (gatherings, networking events, clubs)
- Support all the community/education clubs events in terms of preparations, participants’ engagement, follow-up, mentors’ coordination, etc.
- Suggest new community-led events and
- Track and assess needs, requests and feedback coming from community members.
- Support communications and follow up with Khan Younis Community members by phone, SMS and email.
- Regular update on co-working space satisfaction and proposed solutions to increase efficiency and satisfaction with space.
- Other day-to-day assignments and tasks that might be required.
Operations Responsibilities:
- Support the daily Khan Younis co-working space management including: enforcing co-working space code of conduct, overseeing attendance and registration systems, managing Khan Younis workshops schedule, produces reports on events usage in coordination with Community and Operations coordinator.
- Ensure that GSG space is operated efficiently and at full-capacity year-round through detailed scheduling of desk usage, room usage, workshop scheduling, and GSG program timeline requirements— if there is projected excess capacity within GSG’s space, it is filled promptly with new programming activities or community/peer-led workshops that are valuable to the community.
- Support execution of GSG events (demo days, hackathons, workshops, etc.) with written plans, roles and responsibilities, and timelines.
- Support completion of procurement activities, including receiving and obtaining price offers and quotes, reviewing suppliers and services, completing goods receipts and inventory checks as well as supporting the Gaza logistics team with purchase requests and other procurement documentation
- Co-manage the space entrance and tracking of visitors/users on a daily basis as well as ensuring all event attendance and surveys are collected and relevant databases are updated.
- Ensuring all events are conducted on time and the space is ready to host activities (internet, projector, attendance, calls, follow ups, etc.)
- Other day-to-day assignments and tasks that might be required.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Operations, Finance and Reporting Director
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH:
Khan Younis office team, Khan Younis Community & Operations Coordinator, GSG community development team, Community Care Manager, GSG Brand Manager, GSG logistics team, and all GSG and MC team members.
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.
QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- University degree in ICT, engineering, graphic design, English or any other related field, with a demonstrated record of interest and contemporary knowledge in his/her field.
- At least 2 years of work experience in community management, event production, Operation and clerical work.
- Strong understanding of the social, political, and economic context of the Gaza Strip.
- Excellent writing and communication skills in both English and Arabic.
- Proficiency in MS Office, Slack, Google products (Drive, Sheets, Docs). GSG use Slack internally for communication.
- Willingness to work outside of normal business hours as required, especially evenings and weekends when program activities dictate.
SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Ability to work in a flat, fast paced environment with others who are passionate about supporting Gaza’s technology ecosystem
- Comfort with uncertainty and change—GSG is a small program but growing rapidly. Just like our program, we seek staff who are adaptable and pitch in on what needs to be done.
- Strong listening abilities in order to understand the needs of Gaza’s freelancing community and GSG’s tech community
- Superb attention to detail
- Positive attitude and passion for your work
- Easy going, coachable and great team player
- Proactive, get-stuff-done mentality that always prioritizes outcomes, not just inputs
- Excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution and negotiation skills;
- Excellent time and organizational management skills;
- Up to date knowledge of technical and industry developments.
- Excellent ability to work under pressure and carry out multiple tasks simultaneously.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
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 of 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.
Qualified persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an application online HERE no later than Saturday, 11 June 2022
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Please apply separate application for each position you are interested in.