Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Specialist

         Position Title:  MONITORING, EVALUATION & LEARNING (MEL) SPECIALIST

                       Duty Station: Jijiga

                      Open Position:  1

 Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in five regional states - Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara - and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible. Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and participating public. Mercy Corps has a growing portfolio of programs in Ethiopia that focus on food security; agriculture and livestock market systems development; maternal and child health and nutrition; youth economic productivity; resilience and humanitarian response. In Ethiopia, some of our donors include USAID, JOA, SIDA, DFID, and WFP.

 General Position Summary

Mercy Corps is seeking candidates for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist who will support and lead the MEL Activities of The Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RiPA) program in Somali region. This will require close cooperation with RIPA and other technical field level staff, RIPA CLA team at field level and in Addis Ababa, as well as partners and stakeholders.

 He/she will work closely with the RIPA CLA team Lead and Eastern Cluster Coordinator to coordinate the collection, compilation, consolidation, and analysis of data, while monitoring RiPA’s progress in Somali region.  He/she will lead the RIPA MEL system for indicators tracking & reporting, including evidence gathering, reflective practice, lessons learned generation, success stories documentation, and dissemination; and the implementation of communication and feedback mechanisms with RiPA, stakeholders and beneficiaries.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

·       MEL Strategy Implementation and Review-working closely with the RIPA CLA team in Addis Ababa, the candidate will lead the implementation of the RIPA MEL strategy in the Somali region, ensuring all partners and their staff understand the strategy and its work plan. He/she will also ensure that the MEL strategy and MEL activities are monitored and reviewed periodically to make changes based on regular staff, partners and stakeholders’ reflections and lessons learned. He/she works with the CLA lead to make sure that cross learning and coordination takes place among technical teams in the field. He/she will lead the CNMS (Concept Note Management System), IPTS (Institutional Tracking System) and TolaData for indicator tracking and reporting.

·       Oversight of M&E Plan Implementation– working closely with the RIPA CLA Officers in Jigjiga, CLA Lead and MEL Manager and the rest of the CLA team (Addis Ababa and field), the MEL Specialist will lead the implementation of the M&E plan at field level, supervising the work of the CLA Officers inJigjiga in the collection, compilation and consolidation and analysis of data in the cluster. The MEL Specialist works closely with the RIPA CLA Officers in Jigjiga to ensure data is timely and accurate from partners, following up and doing data audits when necessary. With the CLA Officers in Jigjiga, the MEL Specialist monitors other programmatic compliance at field level through document audits using a variety of methods and assists partners in performing random spot checks and assessments as planned.

·       Information management, dissemination, and feedback

·       In coordination with technical teams and RIPA CLA officers and specialist, put together monthly updates from the region and other reports as required, especially summarizing monthly lessons learned and disseminating these with partners.

·       Provides weekly updates for RIPA CLA lead in Addis Ababa to share with partners and stakeholders.

·       Assists technical teams in developing, implementing and analyzing sub-activity evaluations and to alert technical teams of results provided by the online information system.

·       Organizes feedback sessions and other platforms at regional level with partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders (private and public sectors), and, with the assistance of the program and CLA Lead, ensures responses are provided timely.

·       Collects and documents case studies, success stories and shares with internal and external audiences.

·       Ensures regular and timely reporting from project staff and implementing parthners by monitoring receipts of monthly, quarterly and annual activity progress reports and following up with the project staff and implementing parthners on non-reporting

·       Conducts quality control tests on all incoming data.

 ·       Technical Leadership and Support to Sub-Grantees

·       Works closely with the CLA Lead, MEL Manager, Senior MEL and Communication Specialist and CLA Lead to ensure branding and marking policies are followed correctly in the field.

·       Working with the RIPA Cluster Coordinator, CLA Field Officers and the Communication Specialist, provides assistance to partners in developing success stories.

·       Organizes, with the CLA Lead and MEL Manager, quarterly M&E workshops based on the needs and gaps observed.

 ·       Staff Training and Capacity Building-Builds the capacity of all relevant team members to develop, review, and maintain an excellent M&E system, including regular reflection and analysis of program monitoring data and production of evidence-based recommendations and reports on timely basis. He/she provides ongoing capacity building for incoming staff on M&E and assists program team and technical learning. He/she organizes other capacity building activities with the CLA Lead and the MEL Manager in Addis Ababa. 

 ·       Evaluation and Assessments – Play a central role in supporting the baseline, mid-term and final evaluations and work with partners in the design, field-testing, data collection and analysis of any additional evaluation initiatives that may be required at program level.

 ·       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 Cluster Coordinator in Jigjiga and CLA Lead in Addis Ababa.

 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.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

 ·       Understand and aware GDI related priorities of the country office and contribute for the realization of priorities (continually work to understand and be aware of the gender diversity and inclusion priorities of the country office and contribute in the execution)

·       Promote gender equal and inclusive workplace culture in a day-to-day interaction with a team member, partners and program participants.

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.

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.

·       Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, statistics, monitoring and evaluation, international development, communications, or related field is required or demonstrated equivalent work experience in the field.

·       Three to five years relevant field management experience, especially in the areas of monitoring and evaluation and learning and knowledge management.

·       Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues.

·       Previous experience working on USAID funded programs strongly preferred

·       Demonstrated experience and ability to professionally and appropriately represent the organization and negotiate with a diverse range of government officials, local organizations, donors and other groups for outcomes in the best interest of program implementation

·       Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills are necessary

·       Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required

·       Strong written and oral communication skills in English, including report development, writing and editing.

Success Factors:

·       Conscientious, with excellent judgment

·       Display an entrepreneurial spirit that is both creative and flexible. We are looking for a motivated individual, who is eager to learn and share knowledge and who can balance working independently and in a team environment.

·       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 USAID, host Government, beneficiary communities, and partner organizations

·       Ability to work as part of a team and coordinate with project personnel.

·       Strong organizational skills.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised.  All applications submitted to the Mercy Corps office or electronically include a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents. Applications will not be returned and will not be retained for future recruitment efforts.  To ensure fairness to all applicant’s personal inquiries are not permitted.

 Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

 “Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and    diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

 DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 17 October 2022/ 4:00 PM

 Please send non-returnable applications and credentials to one of the following addresses:                               

[email protected]

 Note: Please make sure that you mention the position title in the subject line of your email application.

 OR:

Mercy Corps Recruiter

Addis Ababa: P.O. Box 14319

Arbaminch: P.O. Box 33 , Jijiga: P.O. Box 225

Negelle Borena: P.O. Box 116

Dire Dawa: P.O. Box 974

Gambella Office in person

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NAGUSOO BIIR ---  SOMALI JOBS

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