Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead - USAID / OTL at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when the organization responded to flooding in Kogi state.  In early 2014, IRC opened a field office in   town of Adamawa state in NE Nigeria followed by offices in Yola (Adamawa state) in November 2014 and Maiduguri (Borno state) in October 2015.  IRC has ECHO, OFDA, and Gates funds to respond to health, nutrition, GBV, and WASH activities.  In late 2014 and early 2015, IRC received additional funds from SV, SIDA, USAID, and UNICEF to carry out education, child protection, general protection, emergency food distributions, shelter support, and NFI distributions to newly displaced IDPs.   In late 2015 into early 2016, IRC received Swiss and UNHCR funds for additional emergency response humanitarian-focused programming in NE Nigeria.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead - USAID / OTL

Requisition ID: req21150
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employment Type: Full-Time
Sector: Monitoring & Evaluation
Employment Category: Regular
Open to Expatriates: No

Job Overview / Summary

• This is a strategic role within the USAID supported Opportunities to Learn (OTL) Project in IRC Nigeria that works closely with the program team to improve program quality, providing MEL technical leadership, to program design, planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning commitments to the project.
• Core responsibilities includes ensuring the OTL project has a strong MEL system in place, implemented as intended and reported to support program technical leadership and other consortium partners to deliver desired outcomes and impacts.
• The MEL lead reports directly to the chief of party and coordinates closely with the IRC Nigeria MEAL Coordinator.

Major Responsibilities
Technical Oversight:

• Leads the design, implementation, and monitoring of OTL MEL systems to ensure quality data collection and analysis for measuring achievement of inputs, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
• Leads and coordinates regular assessments for OTL performance indicators, and shares findings and lessons learned to develop best practices.
• Technical oversight for development of rigorous MEL system for the OTL project and processes and ensures periodic and systematic learning in informing program design and adaptation for IRC and partners.
• Provide technical leadership to IRCs effort in meeting its internal and external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback and response mechanisms
• Provide technical leadership and coordination for strong monitoring system and processes throughout the project cycle from the design, implementation to close-out and learning including:
  • Using learning and evidence from internal and external sources to inform the project's theory of change.
  • Operationalizing the projects logical frameworks, AMELP, data collection tools, processes for data management, clients feedback approaches, quality checks and audits, and data visualization;
  • Producing high-quality data, analysis, reports, presentations, and dashboard of key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in key meetings such as project cycle meetings and strategic senior management team meetings.
  • Provide technical oversight and coordination for OTL surveys, assessments, and other discrete learning activities, and building-related staff and partners competencies through
• Providing supports to program team in developing TORs for needs assessments and surveys
• Leading in selecting/defining the sampling strategy.
• Responsible for conducting advanced analysis (inferential statistics) of needs assessment and survey data.
• Provide the MEL inputs for needs assessment and survey report writing.
• Provides inputs from survey and assessment data for tracking of overall progress on projects, programs and strategic priorities
• Trains OTL technical staff on the MEL system, performance indicators, data quality assurance, and data collection with local partners and stakeholders

Strengthening program designs, outcome, and planning:

• Provide support, guidance and work closely with program lead and partners to ensure that project design is logically sound, client-focused and contextually appropriate, based on technical best practice
• Support program teams in ensuring that detailed and feasible project-specific monitoring plans are developed that: i) provide an indicator matrix, ii) map MEL roles and responsibilities of project and support staff, iii) consider ethical and safe collection and storage of data, iv) consider data quality audits, v) consider storing, protecting and sharing project documents, and vi) consider the end of project learning review.
• Guide program teams to determine which monitoring activities will take place and which data collection methods will be used to ensure their adequacy and appropriateness.
• Responsible for providing consistent, supportive supervision to strengthen staff performance as necessary to meet monitoring objectives and ensure data quality.
• Responsible for conducting and coordinating data quality audits of projects and programs to identify and resolve systemic problems affecting data quality and documenting and storing findings in project files on Box.
• Lead in conducting regular analysis and action planning meetings to (1) compare data against project targets, and quality expectations across project sites; (2) identify issues requiring further attention; (3) define action needed and assign responsibility and deadlines.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: COP
• Position directly supervises: Reporting Specialist, MEL Officer.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree; over seven years of experience in designing and leading complex MEL programs.
• Five years of experience on USAID programs; experience on education projects preferred.
• Strong understanding of education metrics and processes needed to build MEL capacity of organizations, particularly youth-based CBOs and CBMCs on data collection, transparency, and use.
• Deep understanding of MEL ICT4D tools and ways to utilize data for decision-making.

Standards for Professional Conduct

• The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. 
• In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.