Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Advisor at Mercy Corps

Reference Number: ABV/DEVPRGGM/2018/00004
Duration: Yes
Reports Directly To: Senior Manager, Knowledge Management

Programme / Department Summary

• The second phase of the Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE II) Programme is an initiative to improve the learning outcomes and economic status of marginalised adolescent girls aged 17 - 23 years old in the Northern Nigerian states of Kano and Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria.
• ENGINE through funding from the UK Department for International Development’s Girls Education Challenge, the Coca-Cola Company and other stakeholders supported over 18,000 marginalised girls to reduce education and financial barriers in its first implementation phase. In its second phase, ENGINE II will facilitate the transition of these girls into functional literacy, numeracy and scale up their business opportunities and linkages.
• ENGINE II will further increase the access of these girls and young women to (1) financial education and life skills; (2) peer to peer networks and mentoring; and (3) direct assets (materials and savings). Beneficiaries will be integrated into value chains and other market-driven employment opportunities.
• ENGINE II will also work with girls in formal and informal education to increase their learning opportunities and outcomes to prepare them for future economic activities and work in the policy environment and in this way, provide an enabling environment for girls to flourish in their chosen pathways. Mercy Corps Nigeria is leading the implementation of the ENGINE II programme with new and innovative solutions to scale up existing interventions aimed at delivering quality education and skills to the hardest to reach girls.
• Mercy Corps will collaborate with other stakeholders for the implementation of the ENGINE II programme, including the Nigerian Ministry of Education, Central Bank, National Youth Service Corps and as well as private sector actors.

General Position Summary

• The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Advisor will provide leadership in all aspects of monitoring, evaluation, learning, research, and information management.
• The MEL Advisor will coordinate closely with the Senior Manager, Knowledge Management, Deputy Programme Director and other members of the MEL team to plan and implement activities that ensure adherence to Mercy Corps and DFID standards, including the use of standardised indicators and documentation methodologies.
• Throughout the life of the programme, s/he will be the leader responsible for a) cross-cutting programmatic information management within the framework of the programme; b) monitoring and evaluation; c) ensuring that information is shared and used for continuous improvement of ongoing programmes, and d) is incorporated into reports.
• S/he will have responsibility for leading research efforts, networking with research agencies, documenting programme impacts, and overseeing field-based M&E staff.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision:

• Recognise opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome.
• Set direction by prioritising and organising actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Develop and organise activities to secure resources for programmes and convince stakeholders to provide support.

Technical Leadership - MEL:

• Ensure that the ENGINE programme captures and reports high quality, verifiable data using valid and appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools that meet the requirements of both DFID and Mercy Corps.
• Adapt existing Mercy Corps and DFID monitoring tools, as well as propose new ways of measuring change through the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, analysis of secondary data, and, where appropriate, remote monitoring techniques.
• Establish and manage a database to track progress towards meeting project goals and objectives.
• Lead in the preparation of high-quality monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Coordinate internal and external reviews of information collected and lead the analysis of findings, with a strong emphasis on learning.
• Make performance results available to relevant programme teams so that they can be used for continuous improvement.
• Lead on collecting, aligning, and reporting relevant programme indicators as part of Mercy Corps’ global Mission Metrics initiative.

Communication And Capacity Building:

• Actively participate in meetings and processes to promote effective programme management (through strong MEL practices) across the entire country portfolio.
• Strengthen staff capacity in qualitative and quantitative monitoring and evaluation tools through comprehensive training and coaching.
• Problem-solve with others to address shortfalls in monitoring, evaluation and information management that affect programme implementation.
• Utilise internal Mercy Corps global online information-sharing resources to enhance organisational learning.
• Participate in M&E-related working groups and maintain close working relationships with MEL counterparts in other relevant international NGOs, local NGOs, and associations in Nigeria.

Research Coordination:

• Develop and manage effective longitudinal research methods to accurately track beneficiaries over the life of the project.
• Maintain regular contact with relevant research agencies, including through relevant research partnerships, and help to increase the skills and product quality of these organisations.
• Coordinate with Mercy Corps’ HQ-based Technical Support Unit (TSU) to guide process of ex-ante, ex-post and midterm evaluation from the design, implementation and documentation phases.
• Liaise with other research organisations to ensure coordination of efforts.

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.
• Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
• Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence & Representation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall programme targets and donor obligations are met.

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.

Organisational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organisational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organisations 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:

• Senior MEL Officer, MEL Officer and MEL Assistant

Works Directly With:

• MEL team, Finance and Compliance department and other relevant MC staff, members of MC’s global TSU and MEL staff.

Knowledge and Experience

• Postgraduate degree in development studies, social sciences, or relevant field, with a strong foundation in research methods, statistics, measurement, and evaluation.
• Minimum of 5 years of M&E work experience in international development required; ideal candidate will have both theoretical and practical background in M&E and skilled in qualitative and quantitative M&E methodologies and techniques.
• Knowledge of programme development, implementation, evaluation, and reporting.
• Experience supervising M&E teams and building team capacity to deliver high-quality results.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with: Excel, PowerPoint, Epi-Info, SPSS, Access, and any other statistical packages.
• Demonstrated understanding of intermediate and advanced statistics and the ability to summarise, generalise, and make predictions from large data sets.
• Ability to conceptualise, plan and implement programme activities creatively, as well as possess the ability to analyse data and utilise lessons learned for the continuous improvement of programme implementation and to promote a culture of learning.
• Preference is for candidates that have familiarity and experience with large-scale secondary education or school to work programmes and especially targeting marginalised girls or young women.
• Experience working in Northern States of Nigeria.
• Fluency in written and verbal English required.

Success Factors

• The successful candidate will combine exceptional leadership, management and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to engage adolescent girls in informal education and skills building linked with private sector entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in a culturally and religiously conservative environment.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative and complex programmes within the current and future programme structure of Mercy Corps in the region. Multi-tasking, prioritising, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.
• The most successful Mercy Corps staff 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.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours .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.