Senior Education Coordinator – Mercy Corps Northwest

Location: Portland, OR
Position Status: Full-time / Exempt
Minimum Starting Salary: $46,000 DOE

Current unrestricted authorization to work for any U.S. employer is required. Applications will be accepted through COB January 11, 2022 or until 100-150 applications have been received.

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 long term impact.

About Our Team

As the U.S. field office of Mercy Corps, Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) works to build more just, productive and resilient communities in the Pacific NW. Our programs support up to 2,100 individuals each year; reduce prison re-entry rates for participants by 50%; improve services at more than 30 local nonprofits; and support under-resourced communities with disaster preparedness knowledge.

At MCNW, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to improve their life regardless of their background. By investing in those without ready access to resources, existing economic disparities will become more equitable, and motivated, hard-working individuals and families will have opportunities to break intergenerational cycles of poverty for good. For more information about Mercy Corps Northwest, visit www.mercycorpsnw.org

About Your Role

The WBC Education Coordinator loves crafting experiences for people. They are a key member of the small business education team who contributes to the development and administration of all education programs as part of the Oregon Women’s Business Center (WBC). They are highly collaborative and a great listener, seen as a trusted and very organized team member. Key focus areas include development/coordination of business education programming, events administration, and coordinating the student enrollment process. They will act as point person for a variety of events, utilizing communication and organizational skills to coordinate trainings.

Your Key Responsibilities

COORDINATION

• Provide advanced project and team planning support
• Coordinate the scheduling of curriculum development and educational offerings
• Coordinate volunteers, contracted instructors and pro bono consultants to provide educational offerings
• Assist with logistics and other planning details with the MCNW team for major annual events, including: assisting small business clients/participants, procuring food/beverages, and marketing events to the public
• Coordinate various subcommittees of the Women’s Business Center advisory board as needed
• Attend stakeholders meetings with the Women’s Business Center Manager as needed
• Work with the Communications and Marketing Manager to provide information and support to market educational and event offerings

ADMINISTRATION

• Maintain organized workflow of program/department activities through tracking and record-keeping.
• Implement policies, procedures, and systems
• Administer the contractor process for recruiting instructors and other consultants (e.g. procurement requirements)
• Work with Online Education Associate on a needs basis by sharing education team tools and pre-recorded seminars for uploading on RISE online learning platform
• Respond to training client inquiries and provide customer service to training clients by phone and email

DATA MANAGEMENT

• Input, clean, maintain and manage information through database systems.
• Reconcile, process, and prepare reports in support of the WBC Manager and upon request.
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team to ensure data processes are in alignment with MCNW standards.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Women’s Business Center Manager

Works Directly With: All MCNW team members, HQ representatives, clients, and community partners; works very closely with Marketing & Communications Manager, Finance & Compliance Manager, Community Navigation Officers, and Database Officer.

Minimum Qualification / Transferable Skills*

We will consider any combination of relevant work experience, volunteering, education, and transferable skills as qualifying unless an item or section is labeled required. Please be clear and specific about how your background is relevant.

• BA/S or equivalent in business, finance, banking, community development, economics, and/or other relevant field or entrepreneurial experience. (Professional work at or near the level of this position can substitute year for the educational requirement)
• Knowledge and experience in working with or operating small businesses will be a critical advantage. May be an entrepreneur with a business that does not compete with Mercy Corps business education offerings or full-time employment.
• 3+ years of administrative support and/or other professional experience
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 is a plus
• Second language fluency is a plus

*Transferable skills: Any skills you have gained through education, volunteer or work or life experience (including the military) that are relevant for this position will be considered. Be sure to describe any transferable skills and how they apply to this position in your cover letter.

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Self-starter, innovative and forward-thinking.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to negotiate and build collaborative agreements with diverse groups of people, including clients, volunteers, stakeholders, and educators.
• Willingness to work with partner organizations and to develop and strengthen collaborative relationships to enhance our programming and referrals links.
• Strong writing and organizational skills
• Ability to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to work collaboratively with low-income and multicultural populations on issues relating to community development and education.
• Attention to detail with the ability to work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Knowledge and experience with inputting data and being a part of data management systems.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Portland, OR. Mercy Corps Northwest (MCNW) team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Staff are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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.