Country: Niger
Closing date: 26 Dec 2017
Position is contingent on new funding
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.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been present in Niger since 2005, focusing its interventions on improving food security, livelihoods, health, nutrition, governance and emergency response outcomes. Our work in these areas contributes to Nigerien communities' resilience to shocks and stresses and enables them to achieve long-term, inclusive and equitable development. Mercy Corps' vision for change requires the private sector, government and civil society to work together to create meaningful and sustainable change.
Mercy Corps is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager to oversee the MEL component of an expected five-year USAID/Office of Food for Peace-funded Development Food Security Activity for Niger. This proposed program will improve food and nutrition security and economic well-being of vulnerable populations through outcomes focused on agriculture, natural resources, livelihoods, health, nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and governance.
General Position Summary
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager will lead all M&E functions for the program, provide technical assistance on M&E and develop successful mechanisms for learning. S/he will be responsible for cross-cutting programmatic information management, monitoring and evaluation, ensuring that information collected is reflected upon, used to improve ongoing programs, and is incorporated into consistently high quality reports. In coordination with the Chief of Party and sector leads/program managers, s/he will be responsible for developing, coordinating, maintaining and constantly improving the M&E system, as well as implementing an internal M&E capacity building strategy that trains and mentors M&E staff and promotes a culture of learning.
Essential Job Responsibilities
TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP
- Provide leadership, training and mentoring in the development of program-level M&E planning and system development. This includes design of data collection tools and methodologies, M&E workflow, data flow, data integrity, data quality assurance, database design and protocols, secondary research to inform assessments and measurement frameworks, and ensuring alignment with Mercy Corps and FFP standards.
Lead and/or collaborate with external evaluators on the design and roll out of the program baseline and evaluations, while setting up effective systems for learning. This includes conducting periodic learning sessions to discuss monitoring data, lessons learned and evaluation findings.
Facilitate indicator planning, design and negotiation with USAID of the Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT), based on the USAID/FFP proposed format; define with the team program indicators and targets for all program years, based on the USAID/FFP guidance of standard required and applicable indicators; where applicable and desirable, include Mercy Corps Alpha Indicators (see the Design for Impact Guide).
Support teams in collecting sex and age disaggregated data and using gender sensitive data collection methods to understand and respond to program results with diverse participants.
Set up a mobile data collection platform for beneficiary tracking.
Champion the inclusion of qualitative data collection and analysis for both direct and supplemental measurements of program performance. Train teams in appropriate methods for focus group discussion and key informant interviews and lead field-based qualitative data collection as needed.
iNFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
- Understand, maintain and innovate the technical components (including hardware, software,
database, etc.) MEL information and data management system that improves Mercy Corps' ability to implement quality programs through better mobile data collection, management, analysis and presentation of data, and represent impact to donor, government bodies, peer organizations and communities using standard technologies.
- Serve as technical advisor for technology for data management systems and real-time data flow, using appropriate software platforms for cloud aggregation, data processing and manipulation, and data visualization and utilization. This includes learning and testing new software platforms, as well as working with tech partners, to develop information management systems.
- Assist the program team to integrate and use Mercy Corps' agency-wide software tool for project management (Tola Activity) and data management (Tola Tables).
- Assist teams in setting up appropriate summary statistics and relational calculations in program databases and link them to tracking dashboards. Help develop the appropriate workflow.
Team Management
Develop and oversee implementation of capacity building strategy for M&E and partner staff, that promotes a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data. Design comprehensive orientation for all new program staff.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COORDINATION
Contribute to program visibility and advocacy work by assisting in dissemination of program research and learning information. Represent Mercy Corps in M&E and research forums with the broader humanitarian and development community.
Active contributor and collaborator with regional and global counterparts to promote the use of M&E best practices.
Security
- Work closely with the country team's security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
- Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.
Organizational Learning
- As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
- Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility
Program M&E team, number of direct reports is to be determined.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Chief of Party
Works Directly With: Sector leads/program managers, field teams, coordination with other MEL teams in-country, partner organizations
Knowledge and Experience
- MA/S or equivalent experience in development studies, international relations, economics, statistics or other relevant field.
- 5-7 years of relevant M&E experience with positions of progressively greater responsibilities. The candidate must have experience leading the M&E of a large development project.
- Strong conceptual knowledge about theories of change, logic model, food and nutrition security indicators, M&E plan, data quality assurance, mobile data collection, data utilization, and gender integration into M&E.
- Demonstrated experience and expertise in developing and operationalizing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan (please see the FFP M&E and Reporting Policy and Guidance for the components of an M&E plan).
- Demonstrated expertise and experience in developing and operationalizing routine monitoring system designed to track both output and outcome indicators.
- Strong quantitative background and demonstrated expertise in designing annual monitoring surveys including probabilistic sampling strategy and estimating sample size, developing appropriate weights, and analyze quantitative data.
- Demonstrated expertise in designing qualitative studies, in-depth knowledge about qualitative sampling, and experienced in using interview and interactive tools to generate qualitative information and analysis.
- Experienced in developing data quality assurance strategies, data management, and data visualization.
- Demonstrated expertise and experience in data utilization strategies and can creatively think about active data sharing techniques.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French.
- Preference for experience in Food for Peace or Feed the Future M&E frameworks.
Success Factors
A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, problem solving, work within a complex and sensitive setting and to follow laws and security protocols. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The MEL Manager will be based in a field location (exact city to be determined depending on program sites). Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. There are international schools in Niger. Staff have good access to services – medical, electricity, water, etc. This position requires travel up to 50% of the time, by air and road between field offices and the capital in relatively secure environments. This position is not eligible for hardship and/or R&R benefits.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
PI100319069
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