Database Manager at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on humanitarian response programming, adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development, and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the Northeast of Nigeria and causing displacement of millions of individuals, 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.
• With the recognition of the protracted crisis in Northeast Nigeria, Mercy Corps’ strategy and expansion plans aim to address the root causes of the crisis and seek to build long-term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on the recovery of markets and livelihoods, social cohesion and social protection, and youth empowerment with emphasis on adolescent girls and boys. With multiple funding streams from large institutional donors and foundations, Mercy Corps’ programs in Northeast Nigeria continue to scale up and serve communities by transitioning them from humanitarian aid to early recovery programs.

General Position Summary

• The Database Manager is a key member of the Program Performance and Quality (PAQ) Unit and will be responsible for designing and maintaining complex databases, including ensuring data security, performance, and recoverability as well as managing specific data collection and analysis processes for Mercy Corps Nigeria’s BHA funded programs, ADAPT and THRIVE program implemented in Northeast Nigeria.
• S/he will also work across portfolio programs to support database management, data collection, management, and analysis and use, leveraging Tola data to support program adaptive management efforts and design.
• S/he will be responsible for ensuring integrity and sound design for the collection, storage, and analysis of market price monitoring data, and will support MEL Coordinator in the training of staff on building and coding mobile data collection forms, including for ONA/ODK and Commcare technology platforms.
• This role will be essential in supporting Mercy Corps MEL Global Standards, specifically MEL Standard 6 on MEL Technology Plans.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Data Planning and Design:

• Establish Data Quality and Management protocols, data plans and data procedures.
• Design digital data collection tools, and plan for primary data collection.
• Ensure digital data is properly organized, documented, and managed according to organizational standards.
• Design and maintain complex databases, including ensuring security, performance, and recoverability.
• Evaluate, design, code, optimize, and modify databases and database applications.
• Manage database access and tune database for optimum program performance.
• Work closely with other developers to integrate the database with other applications.
• Identify, collect, and migrate data to/from a range of internal and external data management systems like Commcare, ONA.
• Manipulate and link different data sets as required.
• Perform database queries across multiple tables to extract data for analysis.

Data Management:

• Oversee filing of data on Google Drive/Team Drive, as well as offline back-ups.
• Oversee the allocation and management of data-collection devices, ensuring that data-collection needs are met across programs.
• Assist MEL teams in the development of data-management tools and guidelines.
• Assist the MEL focal leads in designing database as per the project’s MEL framework
• Record /compile, clean, analyze and maintain the program database ensuring one-on-one status update
• Work closely with the MEL team to coordinate program data to generate and collect required information and data, ensuring accuracy and adherence to protocols, in the process of measuring results
• Support the MEL team in the coordination of activity level monitoring of programme and ensure the quality of data collection is on par with the USAID – BHA standard (activity attendance, qualitative and quantitative survey with the required disaggregation)
• Compile, update and report quarterly beneficiary count for USAID – BHA’s quarterly reporting
• Communicate reporting and data related deadlines to the field under the guidance of the MEL Coordinator and ensure such deadlines are met by working closely and collaboratively with the Program Managers/Coordinators, MEL, and other project officers at the field
• Work alongside the MEL team and Program Managers/Coordinators to conduct data quality spot checks as per the M&E Framework.

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Manage the analysis and timely dissemination of Post Distribution Monitoring and market price monitoring for Mercy Corps ADAPT Program.
• Contribute to the development and coding of tools for assessments.
• Work closely with the PAQ Unit and program teams on the use of tools for data collection.
• Contribute to methodologies for assessments, evaluations, and other MEL activities.
• Work alongside the MEL team to orient the programme and partner staff on qualitative and quantitative tools as per activity’s need
• Work alongside the MEL team to train the programme and partner staff on mobile data collection in the supervision of MEL Coordinator
• Perform statistical analyses through a range of analytical techniques such as data mining, time series forecasting and modelling techniques to identify and predict data trends and patterns.
• Support MEL teams in meeting TOLA requirements for program as per the Mercy Corps standard, updating the Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT) monthly and compiling evidence for results added.
• Work closely with Grants and Reporting Manager to ensure programs are translating program data for actions

Capacity Building:

• Provide training to Mercy Corps staff on the use of mobile data-collection platforms, such as ONA/ODK, Commcare, Power BI, Tableau and Advance Excel.
• As needed, support in the training and oversight of enumerators for data collection.

Additional Tasks:

• Support with other tasks as required by the supervisor.

Organizational Learning:

• Ensure timely and quality program data is available to support program reviews and reflections as coordinated by the Programme Manager and MEL focal leads.
• Organize and lead regular data review sessions with Program teams and MEL teams to ensure programs are translating program data for actions through timely reflections and data engagement.
• 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:

• None.

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: Country MEL Manager
• Works Directly With: MEL Team, Strategic Learning Manager, Grants and Reporting Manager, MCN PAQ Unit (including CARM team), Program Managers / Coordinators, Field Managers

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or any other relevant Degree.
• Minimum of three (3) years of MEL experience focusing on Database Management and Data Quality management preferably in Borno State.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection and quantitative & qualitative analysis.
• Demonstrated experience with ICT for MEL, building or coding mobile data collection forms, including experience with Open Data Kit platforms such as ONA/ODK.
• Experience with training team members on coding for mobile data collection platforms, including ONA/ODK.
• Minimum one year of experience using GIS systems such as ArcGIS and QGIS.
• Minimum two years of experience setting up SQL databases for participant database management.
• Strong understanding of data science and the use of big data products especially Microsoft Azure.
• Intermediate understanding of programming languages such as Python and R.
• Experience working with different types of data feeds such as XML, JSON, SQL database and OData across different platforms.
• Experience in training staff and/or enumerators on the use of data collection tools.
• Strong ability to work cross teams.
• Communicates well with remote collaborators
• Manages multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent oral and written English skills.
• Fluency in Hausa is strongly preferred.
• Experience with Mercy Corps is an asset, but not a requirement.
• 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.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• The position is based in Maiduguri, Borno State and it requires up to 50 % travel to field offices in the Northeast and other program sites in Nigeria.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges.
• We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
• We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.