MEL Officer - Maiduguri at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer will work with the Mercy Corps program team as well as partner organisations to oversee and ensure the collection of quality MEL data for the program. The MEL Officer will be responsible for supporting the Senior MEL Officer to oversee the monitoring and data collection of programs, lead baseline, midterm, and end-line surveys, analyse data to provide insight to the project team and contribute to report writing. S/he will ensure that performance monitoring and results reporting tools and processes across the entire program are in place, effectively implemented and well synchronised between the two program sites. The MEL officer will be an integral member of the program team's learning and reflection processes, leading discussions on participant feedback.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Develop MEL Plan(s) for programs and proposals.
• Develop a system for reporting and validating program data (Excel, Tola, Access, etc.)
• Work closely with the program teams and local partners, to ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of program activities and results.
• Coordinate reporting with partners, specifically tracking deadlines, ensuring adherence to monitoring formats and requirements, ensuring reporting quality and accuracy, and periodic report writing, editing, and submission.
• Compile progress against indicators and report back to the team according to the monitoring plan.
• Develop Data Quality Assessment Plan.
• Perform spot checks on the team’s data collected and reports each month.
• Actively participate in any additional evaluation MEL activities including but not limited to baseline surveys, mid-term, end-line surveys, evaluations, and household surveys.

Program Management

• Contribute to learning/research agenda.
• Build the capacity of all relevant team members to implement program monitoring tools, accurately enter program data into relevant databases, and enable them to develop excellent reports and other documents.
• Build the capacity of our local partner organisations through ongoing training and support on monitoring tools, entering program data into databases, the development of reports and other documents.
• Document lessons learned and success stories on the project.
• Ensure adherence to program management minimum standards in carrying out his/her duties, advising and supporting other staff in the same as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

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.

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 international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring and evaluating our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility: MEL Assistants

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior MEL Officer

Works Directly With: MEL, Programs, Finance, and Operations

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S or equivalent, preferably in economics, statistics, business administration, public administration, international development or a similar field.
• 2-3 years MEL experience.
• Fluent in both spoken and written English with good knowledge of Hausa and Kanuri.
• Previous experience working on USAID-funded programs is preferred.
• Relevant experience in field survey/data collection techniques, data entry, data verification, analysis, and reporting.
• Good understanding and skills in data management.
• Strong computer literacy with full knowledge of MS Office applications; knowledge of data science and programming is a plus but not required.
• Strong team coordination, listening, and consensus-building skills.

Success Factors

A strong team member will be conscientious, with excellent judgement, capable of multi-tasking, prioritising, problem-solving and attention to detail with strategic vision.  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, as well as the ability to foster solid working relationships with Mercy Corps staff and CBOs.  Working as part of a team and coordinating with project personnel, as well as strong organizational skills, are essential to this position.

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.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

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 the 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 adhere to the Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Travel Required

Yes.