Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer - YOU-SB at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps, An International Humanitarian Organization is looking for a suitable candidate to fill a very strategic position within our Conflict Management team in Borno State. We are looking for a motivated individual, who is enthusiastic about the work we do and is looking to work within a dynamic team.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer - YOU-SB

Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria (With frequent travels to other project locations in Borno State)
Start Date: 1 August 2016 ( 8 months).

Project Description

• With funding from the Department for International Development (DfID), Mercy Corps will implement the “Youth Stabilization Initiative for Borno (YOU-SB)”, which seeks to address the grievances and unequal economic opportunities that leave youth vulnerable to recruitment and radicalization by violent extremist groups.
• YOU-SB will support civil society, government actors, community and religious leaders, and youth to increase community resilience to prevent the spread of violent extremism in Borno State.
• By facilitating dialogue and collaboration among the stakeholders to prevent violence, the program’s goals are aligned with the objectives outlined by UK DfID 2014-2016 Operational Strategy, which aims to support progress in Northern Nigeria in order to promote regional stability in the Sahel.
• The proposed program will focus on both “push” and “pull” factors that drive youth to participate in violence, including governance grievances, unequal economic opportunities and vulnerability to extremist messaging.
• YOU-SB puts emphasis on evidence generation and program learning, and the key program components have the potential for smart, significant scale-up beyond the life of this initial eight-month program.

General Position Summary

• The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer will be responsible for supporting the MEL Manager and You-SB staff to ensure that MEL systems, procedures, performance monitoring and results reporting are in place, effectively implemented and well synchronized.
• The MEL Officer should expect to travel frequently to the project implementation sites in Biu, Damboa, and Maiduguri LGAs in Borno State.

Essential Job Functions

• MEL System Development and Maintenance – Collaborate closely with colleagues and partners in developing and establishing the MEL system serving the needs of the overall program. The system must be designed and maintained to harmonize MC Nigeria and partner project approaches with utility and program quality in mind, providing managers and their team’s real time information that can steer program implementation as well as improves our ability to analyze and represent impact to donors, government, colleague agencies, and communities themselves.
• Staff Training and Capacity Building-Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain an excellent MEL system and enable them to develop excellent reports and other documents.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Assessments - Assist in designing programs that incorporate Mercy Corps’ and MC Nigeria’s standards on design, monitoring, evaluation, and learning. Ensure that monitoring systems meet donor requirements.
• Grants and Reports Management
• Developing appropriate documentation to track grants to local partners.
• Assist to conduct assessments of local capacity.
• Provide training and support to local partners in administering and reporting.
• Regularly conduct project site visits in order to maintain current information for accurate documentation and reporting.
• Assist in training colleagues and partner teams, as necessary.
• Any other duties related to grants and program reports.
• Assist the program implementation team in timely and accurate reporting to donors.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Other duties as assigned by the Program Manager

Organizational Learning:

• As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards 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:

• None

Accountability:

• Reports Directly to: MEL Manager
• Works Directly with: You-SB program staff and MEL Manager

Knowledge and Experience

• University degree in Social Science or equivalent work experience in monitoring, evaluating and learning (MEL) through direct program implementation.
• Minimum 4 years direct work experience in project implementation and/or MEL systems. Work experience in relevant field is required. 
• Prior experience of carrying out surveys, conducting interviews, and undertaking assessments are essential. 
• Understanding of qualitative and quantitative indicators. 
• Creative and ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. Analytical and report writing skills are necessary. 
• Computers skills - word-processing and spreadsheets experience required.  Computer database experience preferred.
• Experience in the development of Logical Framework Analyses and in the conducting of Participatory Rural Appraisal is extremely desirable.

Success Factors

• Conscientious, with excellent judgment.
• Display an entrepreneurial spirit that is both creative and flexible. S/he will combine strong communication skills, creativity, initiative, participatory leadership and tactful decisiveness to assist in the development and implementation of MC Nigeria’s programming strategy.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English and Hausa required. Kanuri (or other major local language) language skills strongly preferred.
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.
• S/he must have the confidence, and humility, to work effectively with a large variety of people who will be diverse culturally, economically and in social status.
• S/he must be sensitive to political and cultural nuance and able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations.
• Ability to foster solid working relationships with government counterparts, teammates, local partners, and others.
• Ability to work as part of a team and coordinate with project personnel.
• Strong organizational skills.
• S/he will have the ability to comfortably adapt to a quickly changing environment with a sense of urgency, humor, and curiosity.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:

• The MEL Officer will be based in Maiduguri, Borno state. The PO will travel frequently to program locations, where security may be particularly difficult at times.
• Mercy Corps 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. 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.

Application Closing Date
28th July, 2016.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to submit their CV's and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected]

Note

• All applications must include the position title in the subject line.  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• We are an equal opportunity organization and we strongly encourage residents in Borno and surroundings to apply for this position.