DRC: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Jul 28, 2017 | Mercy Corps
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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 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since September 2007, helping populations in North Kivu and Orientale Provinces work toward building a more peaceful and hopeful future. Mercy Corps has more than 200 team members in 5 locations and is implementing emergency and longer-term development programs with funding from various major and private donors. Mercy Corps’ work in the DRC provides support to internally displaced people through water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and economic recovery, and works with other vulnerable populations on environmental livelihoods, food security, civil society strengthening and durable WASH activities.

Mercy Corps is currently in the third year of a large-scale 5-year DFID-funded urban WASH program. This program, known as IMAGINE will reach 1.55 million beneficiaries in Goma and Bukavu through improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion. The overall goal is focusing on decreasing diarrheal morbidity and mortality among children under five through an integrated water, sanitation, governance, and behavior change program.  This will be accomplished through 4 functional components improving infrastructure, promoting effective behavior change, reinforcing market systems for WASH services, and improving governance and community accountability of these systems.

General Position Summary

The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer is a key position in the IMAGINE program responsible for supporting the installation of systems for cross-cutting programmatic monitoring, evaluation, and information management, defining how collected information will be reflected upon, used for continuous improvement of ongoing programming, and incorporated into consistently high quality reports.

S/he– along with the Country MEL Manager, project staff and technical support staff – will be responsible for supporting and strengthening the MEL system for the IMAGINE program. In addition, s/he will be responsible for ensuring that organized and actionable MEL information is provided to program managers and field offices in order to assist them to generate reports that are timely and of a high quality.  

Essential Job Responsibilities

 

ROLL OUT OF MEL PLAN

  • Lead implementation of IMAGINE MEL plan, with support of MEL Country Manager. The MEL Plan includes:
  1. MEL strategy
  2. GIS data integration plan
  3. Program activity monitoring approach
  4. IMAGINE Log-frame
  • Take the lead on all aspects (design, implementation, analysis, report writing) of IMAGINE bi-annual surveys (quant and qualitative) which represent the key data sources for bi-annual reporting to the donor.
  • Support MEL Manager to further develop operational research activities linked to program outcomes around reduced rates of diarrhea.
  • Ensure that monitoring activities take place in line with approach outlined in MEL plan and supervise each stage of the process (design, implementation, analysis, feedback mechanisms, report writing).
  • Establish standard mechanisms for spot check monitoring.
  • Lead the log-frame update at periodic intervals for reporting to donor.

 

MEL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNICAL OVERSIGHT

  • Responsible for running quantitative data collection exercises using ODK Collect or other open source tools.
  • Responsible for continuing to explore possibilities for use of alternative qualitative or quantitative data collection software or methodologies and applying them as required.
  • Ensure that IMAGINE MEL data is stored according to standards outlined in MEL plan.
  • Support MEL Manager to ensure that GIS data continues to play a key role in supporting IMAGINE program communication and decision making.
  • Responsible for technical Management of the Gender Status Index tool – including periodic update and dissemination in conjunction with bi-annual surveys (requires strong excel skills including knowledge of conditional formatting). N.B: The Gender Status Index is a composite index which measures progress against key indicators of the IMAGINE program. 
  • Responsible for ensuring that Gender considerations effectively integrated at design, implementation, analysis and report writing stage for all produced MEL products. 
  • Responsible for ensuring that data collected is sex and age disaggregated in line with Mercy Corps minimum standards and donor requirements. 
  • Ensure compliance with and reporting on the U.K. Gender Equality Act (2014).[1]
  • Ensure compliance with DFID smart rules, annual reporting against MDG 3 and extraordinary audits.

 

REPORTING

  • Conduct project site visits to provide hands-on training to field staff on how to capture and organize information for accurate documentation and reporting.
  • Coordinate with a variety of teams to ensure that program teams have the necessary capacity and resources to produce timely and high-quality reports that are responsive to donors.
  • Team capacity building through information-sharing and mentorship, coaching in report writing, and quality control of final written products.
  • Assist the Program Director by monitoring and reporting on potential partners’ MEL data and planning.
  • Produce all required MEL reports for the IMAGINE program.
 

MEL TEAM MANAGEMENT

  • Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
  • Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
  • Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
  • Contribute to country MEL team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
  • Support country MEL capacity-building strategy with the aim of promoting a culture of learning and adaption through systematic analysis of program data.
  • Provide training and monitoring in the development of M&E plans, M&E tools as well as survey design, methodology, data collection and analysis and other skills as required for assessing the impact of programs.
  • Contribute to the knowledge management repository with best practices in MEL and ICT and ensure accessibility.
  • Actively provide mentorship for all IMAGINE MEL staff including transparency and flexibility.

 

COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION

  • Actively participate in IMAGINE Coordination Meetings
  • Represent IMAGINE MEL to DFID – with support of MEL Country Manager.
  • Participate in cross component MEL meetings to share and document best-practice.
  • Participate in external MEL forums to share best practices.
  • Develop positive working relationships and coordinate/collaborate with partner organizations and international and national agencies active in the target areas.

ACCOUNTABILITY

  • 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.

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

Directly supervises: IMAGINE MEL Coordinator, IMAGINE MEL Intern

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Mercy Corps MEL Manager, with secondary link to IMAGINE Program Director

Works Directly With: IMAGINE Delivery Managers and staff, MEL specialists from other programs

Knowledge and Experience

  • MA/S or equivalent in social science, public health, management, or equivalent international development preferred.
  • 1-3 years’ experience in Monitoring & Evaluation functions
  • Previous experience coordinating MEL activities in francophone Africa preferred
  • Demonstrated understanding of what gender sensitive programming is and why it is important. 
  • Experience with GPS and mobile-based MEL systems are required.
  • Prior experience in staff development and participatory training;
  • Experience working with DFID preferred; experience with urban water and infrastructure programs an advantage.
  • Excellent computer skills, including required experience with Excel, Google Drive, and electronic data collection applications (ODK Collect, CommCare, Kobo Toolbox, etc).
  • Experience using other statistical or data management packages an advantage (R, Epi-info, Publisher, SPSS, QGIS/ArcGIS, etc).
  • Demonstrated understanding of how GIS can help support better programming.
  • Strong knowledge and experience of the context in eastern DRC is an advantage.
  • Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required;
  • Fluent written and oral communication in both French and English is required;
 

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, security and gender integration protocols. As a key technical position, this person should have a strong understanding of program logic and should be able to express and document his/her ideas clearly and convincingly. 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. In DRC, patience, diplomacy, tenacity, compassion, determination and a sense of humor are all success factors.

 

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is an unaccompanied post based in Goma (DRC). This position is expected to travel in country up to 20%.

While conditions in the country are improving, and security is quite stable in Goma, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other.  Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available.  Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There’s reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.

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. Staff are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

[1] International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/9/contents