Freelance Academy Coordinator

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps (MC) 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 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 Palestine through online freelancing, outsourcing, and startups.

With our expansion in the West Bank, we’re looking for a Freelance Academy Coordinator who can help us run our activities smoothly.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: 

This position will primarily support the Freelance Academy Program, in support of our overall objectives of:

• Increasing the quality and incomes of West Bank freelancers.
• Mapping tech ecosystem in West Bank and build strategic partnerships.
• Building a network of mentors and co-mentors for the Freelance Academy in West Bank.
• Building a solid community of freelancers in West Bank.

Essential Job Responsibilities and Functions:

Programmatic Responsibilities:

• Manage community outreach and networking events in coordination with the Program manager, GSG, and Mercy Corps teams.
• Support Freelance Academy team in building and promoting the registration application, filtering process and interview coordination
• Develop and maintain effective relationships and lines of communication with relevant external stakeholders; liaise and coordinate activities closely with relevant GSG and MC team members.  
• Manage coordination meetings with partners, mentors, co-mentors, remote-mentors and trainers, sub-grantees, contractors, participants or any relevant institutions or individuals.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of the freelance curriculum throughout the life of the program. 
• Coordinate regular mentor meetings, networking, and training schedules. 
• Ensure that all work is carried out in full compliance with the policies of Mercy Corps and GSG, and the donor(s).
• Take the lead on organizing and promoting the Freelance Academy throughout outreach events and other places to build a pipeline of future participants in the Academy. 
• Build strategic partnerships with tech ecosystem players in the West Bank.
• Create and maintain program documentation throughout the program lifecycle, through maintaining complete and current activity archives (paper and electronic) in accordance with the GSG/MC requirements.
• Support donor reporting activities through data collection and precise follow-up on program implementation progress. 
• In accordance with a monitoring plan, carry out and fully document program activities, data gathering, and verification of attendance, and related tasks.
• Prepare Purchase Requests (PRs) and other contracts management / payments documents. Verify documentation required for contracts management and payments.
• Support on building a proper pipeline of potential co-mentors and mentors for the Freelance Academy
• Mapping out tech ecosystem players in the West Bank and build awareness around GSG and the Freelance Academy 
• Work closely with hosting partners to make sure we’re running our programming with no logistics and/or operational issues. 
• Take the lead on the logistics and operations of the Freelance Academy. 
• Maintain communication between Freelance Academy team and participants.
• Collect and verify data of participants' progress, income, and jobs, as well as working closely with the M&E department on follow up surveys.
• Prepare the required documents (timesheets) for the Academy participants, stipends & payments
• Prepare the required documents for the Academy mentors, co-mentors and remote-mentors stipends & payments
• Gather reporting information, including photographs of activities, photos and photo consent forms, and success stories for promotions. Support in dissemination of information, materials and other productions related to the program
• Help with the day-to-day workflow of the Freelance Academy 
• Other duties as assigned.  Work beyond office hours may be required, without additional compensation. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Freelancing Mentors, Volunteers and Interns.

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO:  Freelance Academy Program Manager in Gaza.

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH:  GSG Team in West Bank & Gaza. Mercy Corps Finance, Procurement, Logistics and Admin departments. The person is also expected to work directly with the Monitoring and Evaluation department. 

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QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

1. University degree in ICT, engineering, graphic design or any other related field, with a demonstrated record of interest and contemporary knowledge in his/her field. ]Essential[
2. At least 1 year of proven work experience in a professional team-oriented environment. ]Essential[
3. Strong understanding of the social, political, and economic context of the West Bank.
4. Excellent writing skills in both English and Arabic.
5. Proficiency in MS Office, Slack, Google products (Drive, Sheets, Docs). GSG does not use email internally. We use Slack. 
6. Demonstrated skill at engaging young members appropriately, and establishing and maintaining effective and professional working relationships with peers.
7. Ability to work effectively, communicate with students, staff, faculty, and the general public in a courteous manner ·
8. Willingness to work outside the normal business hours as required;

SUCCESS FACTORS:

1. Ability to work in a flat, fast paced environment with others who are passionate about supporting Palestine’s technology ecosystem.
2. 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. 
3. Strong listening abilities in order to understand the needs of West Bank’s freelancing community and GSG’s tech community
4. Superb attention to detail
5. Positive attitude and passion for your work
6. Proactive, get-stuff-done mentality that always prioritizes outcomes, not just inputs 
7. Excellent written and oral communication skills;
8. Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution and negotiation skills;
9. Excellent time and organizational management skills;
10. Up to date knowledge of technical and industry developments.
11. Excellent ability to work under pressure and carry out multiple tasks simultaneously.