Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Advisor (NECMS) at Mercy Corps Nigeria

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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Advisor (NECMS)

Reference Number: MDG/HUMOPS/2019/00082
Location: Maiduguri - Borno State with 20% travels to deep field locations within North East Nigeria

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from Northeast Nigeria and causing displacement of millions, Mercy Corps started its humanitarian response in 2014 to address the rising humanitarian needs. With funding from institutional donors, foundations and private corporations, Mercy Corps continues to provide assistance to meet the basic needs of vulnerable populations in the areas of food security, shelter, water and sanitation, protection, and livelihoods.
• The Northeast Conflict Management and Stabilization (NE-CMS) Program is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to reduce violence and insecurity in Borno State.
• The program seeks to achieve the following outcomes: 1) Citizens are more civically engaged, and civilian government and security forces are more transparent and inclusive in addressing community needs around service delivery and protection; 2) Communities demonstrate improved trust and social cohesion within and between actors at the local level; 3) Local decision-making spaces and peacebuilding processes are equitable and inclusive of marginalized social groups, especially youth and women. The program is implemented in a consortium with multiple partners both international and national with Mercy Corps being the lead.

General Position Summary

• The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Advisor is a key position in the Consortium Management Unit, which provides oversight to all consortium partners in their execution of the program.
• The MEL Advisor will support planning and execution of monitoring and evaluation, ensure quality in accordance with accepted standards, provide essential feedback for learning, accountability and decision-making.
• S/he will be responsible for providing internal capacity building for consortium partner staff on MEL principles and practices, developing tools and supporting analysis, spearheading evaluative activities, capturing collective progress and impact of consortium partners, and reinforcing the utilization of MEL products to support overall institutional learning, strategic planning, and advocacy.
• The MEL Advisor will report directly to the Consortium Manager and will continuously liaise with respective partner MEL staff, who will retain responsibility for the regular monitoring of activities for which that partner is the lead implementer.
  

Essential Job Functions
Strategy and Design:

• Ensure that all MEL systems comply with Mercy Corps’ and donor’s global, regional and country policies, procedures, standards and strategic initiatives.
• Coordinate MEL activities across consortium partners to ensure comprehensive and coherent assessment of program progress.
• Assist in program strategy design, planning and implementation to ensure adherence to Mercy Corps’ Minimum Standards, including use of standardized tools, indicators, and methodologies.
• Lead and support the design and implementation of assessments and other pre, ex-ante and post data collection and analysis.
• Support learning-to-action events, reflection session to analyze data for programmatic use and to document and incorporate lessons learned into program design, planning and implementation.

Technical Support:

• Spearhead development and review of MEL frameworks and ensure that all established indicators, data collection, and analysis approaches are in line with programmatic strategic objectives.
• Support best practices in collecting sex and age disaggregated data and using gender-sensitive collection methods in order to understand and respond to program results with diverse participants.
• Provide consortium partners in the development of MEL Plans, tools, survey design, methodology, data analysis, and other services for effective program monitoring and evaluation.
• Work with MEL and IT staff to maximize the value and utility of technology initiatives for effective data collection and analysis.
• Coordinate assessments, evaluations, and monitoring surveys, including development of consultant SoWs, development of methodologies and tools, facilitation of trainings and management of enumerators, report writing, and utilization of the results.

Data Management and Quality Controls:

• Assist program teams to develop and maintain knowledge and information management systems to support data collection, reflection, analysis and reporting needs.
• Ensure quality control procedures and accuracy of entered data and comparing it with the existing filing system to make sure all records are consistent and aligned.
• Ensure program teams are compliant with donor monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements.
• Support the integration of open-source software and flexible cloud solutions to more accurately collect, monitor and verify program activities and ensure they are aligned with program strategy.

Documentation and Reporting:

• Maintain a database that reflects progress on program indicators.
• Visit sites and partners to collect supplementary data, stories and conduct qualitative research
• Support consortium partners to maintain proper documentation and produce detailed and timely donor reports.
• Produce quality and evidence-based program reports that reflect program progress.
• Regularly document lessons learned, best practices, data analysis, and evaluations and provide evidence-based information, success stories, case studies and other high quality, results-based documentation for internal strategic and advocacy purposes.

Capacity Building:

• Maintain an active advisory role with consortium partner program and MEL teams to help guide towards robust and relevant data collection.
• Build the capacity of team members across all consortium partner staff through the circulation of resources and ad hoc mentorship.
• Facilitate synthesis of best practices and lessons learned and promote an overall culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection on program data.
• Support documentation, sharing, and integration of lessons learned into strategic design and implementation.
• Other duties as assigned

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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.

Accountability:

• Supervisory Responsibility: None
• Reports Directly To: NE-CMS Consortium Manager
• Works Directly With: Country MEL Manager, Consortium Partner MEL and Program Teams.
  

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in any the following or related fields: Social Science, International Development, Evaluation Research, Statistics, or Economics.
• At least five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in designing, managing and implementing results-based MEL activities.
• Demonstrated relevant technical skills in collection and analyzing of quantitative and qualitative data, with excellent organizational as well as English oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to design and implement surveys, with knowledge of commonly used sampling techniques.
• Experience with facilitation, capacity building, formal and informal knowledge transfer, partnership strengthening, and empowering staff through opportunities for growth and development.
• Demonstrated experience in monitoring and evaluation of conflict management programs.
• Experience leading learning extraction, development and sharing as part of the monitoring and evaluation feedback process.
• Extensive knowledge of reporting procedures, best practices, guidelines, and tools for monitoring, evaluation and learning, including impact evaluation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, i.e., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc., and the ability to use various commercially available statistical software programs.
• Strong ability to work across multiple teams
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment

Success Factors

• S/he will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive communication skills and proven experience with capacity building.
• S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level.
• Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.
• 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.

Applications Closing Date
23rd September, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit no more than 4 pages CV and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected]

Note

• All applications must include the position title and Reference Number in the subject line
• CV and cover letter and should not be more than 4 pages.
• Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview and we are an equal opportunity organization so women are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.