Senior Regional MEL Officer

Mercy Corps is an international, non-governmental humanitarian relief and development agency that exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps works in more than 40 countries and has been present in Nepal since 2005. In Nepal, Mercy Corps works to build the absorptive, adaptive, and transformative potential of vulnerable individuals and communities across the country. Through a systems-based approach to market development, financial services access, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and youth engagement, Mercy Corps builds resilience among target communities.

Mercy Corps Nepal invites applications from all interested and potential Nepali candidates for the following positions:

Senior Regional MEL Officer-1 (Mid-Western region based in Nepalgunj with frequent travel to districts). 

Please refer to nepal.mercycorps.org for the full position description.

“Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision, and we encourage people from all backgrounds, especially women and members of disadvantaged groups to apply. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer”.

Interested candidates are requested to submit cover letter and Mercy Corps Application Form available at http://nepal.mercycorps.org by September 24, 2017 to the address below: 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further selection process. Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.

Attn: Human Resources Department

[Please mention the title of the Position and location on the subject line of the e-mail while applying]

Email to: np-jobs@mercycorps.org

Position Title: Senior Regional Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer 

Duty Station: PAHAL Regional Offices, Nepal (40%) with frequent travel to program field offices (60%)

Position Category:   Full-time  AND   Regular 

Salary Level: O2     

Current Employee:  N/A

BACKGROUND:

Mercy Corps is an international, non-governmental humanitarian relief and development agency that exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps works in more than 40 countries, and has been present in Nepal since 2005. In Nepal, Mercy Corps works to build the absorptive, adaptive, and transformative potential of vulnerable individuals and communities across the country. Through a systems-based approach to market development, financial services access, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and youth engagement, Mercy Corps builds resilience among target communities.

PROGRAM /DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps Nepal, as the prime organization, is implementing a five year program – “Promoting Agriculture, Health and Alternative Livelihood” (PAHAL) program, funded by USAID. PAHAL seeks to strengthen livelihoods, improve nutritional status and increase the capacity of vulnerable households to mitigate, adapt to and recover from shocks and stresses in communities with deep poverty and high rates of malnutrition in critical zones of the Mid-Western and Far-Western Regions of Nepal. The goal of the PAHAL program is: Vulnerable populations in the middle and high hills of Far Western and Mid-Western Nepal are food secure. The target area of the program covers 14 districts in the Mid-West and Far-West regions of Nepal. The Mid-West region comprises of 7 districts; Surkhet, Dailekh, Pyuthan, Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Jajarkot while the Far-West region comprises of Dadeldhura, Doti, Accham, Baitadi, Bajhang, Bajura and Darchula districts.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Regional Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer will work directly under and report to the PAHAL MEL Manager. S/he will coordinate activities with the Regional Field Coordinator and District Coordinators, of the PAHAL Program. The main responsibility is to guide local non-governmental organization (LNGO) partners to execute the program monitoring, evaluating and learning agenda. The Regional Senior MEL Officer will help the USAID-PAHAL Team to monitor/ track progress, evaluate, document and disseminate the results.

As gender and social inclusion (GESI), governance and M&E are cross-cutting and core components of the PAHAL program, the Senior Regional MEL Officer is required to own these components and ensure GESI sensitivity and integration, governance practices and M&E systems are integrated into his/her work. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Senior Regional MEL Officer include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Technical:

MEL Support to Central Team

• Participate in and contribute to MEL team activity planning, development of products and services, and reporting.
• Document field procedures in English and Nepali for internal records, sharing with a broader audience, and as instructional guides for district-level implementers.
• Communicate MEL field plans, activities completed, and challenges to implementation to the Central MEL team to facilitate collaboration with and technical support from MEL Central.
• Provide feedback and updates to the Central MEL team about the district and regional perspective on MEL.

MEL Support to Regional Team

The Regional Senior MEL Officer should train the Regional technical staff and support them to complete the following activities;

• MEL Capacity Building: Regional Senior MEL Officer is responsible to conduct capacity building of regional staff on MEL concepts and PAHAL MEL systems
• Monitor Activities: Act as MEL focal point in the assigned region to help regional staff to monitor activities.
• Validate Field Data: Review and approve monitoring data from the LNGOs with regional technical teams.
• Understand Monitoring Results: Along with the regional team, access information, interpret monitoring results, and use information to manage activities.
• Contextualize Monitoring Results: Along with the regional teams, create qualitative questions and gather qualitative data to better understand and document the “why” and “so what” as related to program activities and results. (i.e., “Why was an activity not accepted?” and “The number of loan clients has increased, so what does that mean for participant resilience?”)
• Use Data for Program Management: Support the regional team to modify geographic/participant targeting, message content or activity methods based on quantitative and qualitative data.
• Team Management: Supervise the PAHAL Regional MEL Assistant and provide backstopping and guidance to them.

MEL Support to Local NGO Team

The Regional Senior MEL Officer should train the LNGO MEL Assistants and support them to complete the following activities;

• Data Collection and Entry: Regional MEL Officer, along with the Regional Thematic Officers, should lead the process of training the  district  staff about PAHALs data collection and entry tools , processes
• Validate Field Data: Regional MEL Officer, along with the Regional Thematic Officers, should lead the process of training the district staff about PAHALs Data Validation Process. They should also ensure that the data validation processes are followed as required.
• Ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of program deliverables by working closely with the PAHAL team and district-level partners. 
• MEL Capacity Building: Regional Senior MEL Officer is responsible to conduct capacity building of implementing and district level partner staff on MEL concepts and writing skills through designing and delivering formal trainings
• Focal Point: Be the focal point of the allocated region; for any monitoring, evaluation and learning requirement. 
• Team Management: Provide backstopping and guidance to LNGO MEL assistants.

Managing the PAHAL MEL System 

• Lead the documentation of PAHAL MEL processes, forms and formats.
• Lead in disseminating and training regional and local NGO staff on PAHAL systems, process, forms and formats.
• Provide feedback to the PAHAL central team on the PAHAL MEL systems to enhance functionality and efficiency.

Ensuring Program and Data Quality 

• Ensure regular quality checks and field visits are made to program activities, providing feedback and recommendations to relevant parties.
• Ensure global standards for quality program monitoring and evaluation are followed and adopted by regional team and local NGO teams.
• Orient and support staff on ensuring program and data quality.

Ensure program accountability at a field level 

• Lead PAHAL’s community accountability and reporting mechanism in the regional level.
• Ensure dissemination and implementation of PAHAL’s community accountability and reporting mechanism in the district (field) level
• Develop accountability and transparency mechanisms for the program and orient MC-N as well as implementing and district level partners on the same.

Reporting 

• Coordinate reporting with implementing partners and district level partners, specifically tracking deadlines; ensuring adherence to formats and requirements; ensuring reporting quality and accuracy; and period report writing, editing, and submission.
• Share compiled data from District as needed for reporting to USAID and information sharing with stakeholders, as requested.
• Lead the process of monitoring data collection in regional level, including guiding data collection teams, overseeing data entry and assisting with data analysis and report writing.
• Maintain coordination with the LNGO MEL Assistant to ensure the monitoring data collection processes in the district level are up to date and followed, 
• Support Implementing Partners and Regional Office to implement accountability tools. 

Environmental Compliance

• Review and understand all PAHAL’s environmental compliance documentation, including the IEE, EMMP, ESRs, PERSUAP and SUAP.
• Work closely with the Environmental Compliance Manager and Officer to ensure proper implementation of PAHAL’s Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) and other conditions set by USAID, by LNGO district partners.
• With guidance provided by the Environmental Compliance Manager and Regional Officer, and in coordination with your component manager, regularly monitor implementation of program activities in terms of environmental compliance. Identify problems, create and implement solutions, track progress and document learnings on a regular basis. 

Others 

• Support PAHAL MEL Manager in coordinating the baseline, mid-term evaluation and final evaluation, along with other key evaluation and research activities.
• Case study/ success stories writing and other communication related jobs at regional level.
• Ensure proper integration of GESI aspects into sector specific program planning and implementation working closely with GESI Manager/ officers. 
• Ensure adherence to program management minimum standards in carrying out his/her duties, advising and supporting other staff in the same as required.
• Contribute to PAHAL team building efforts, work with team members to identify and solve problems and, ensure the inclusion of all team members in relevant decision making processes.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to response as and when crisis and humanitarian situation engulfs. As an MC employee all staff are expected to be part of humanitarian and emergency response in addition to their regular roles and responsibilities in such situations.
• Other duties as assigned by PAHAL MEL Manager and the Regional Field Coordinator.

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: 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.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:  PAHAL Regional MEL Assistant (of respective region)

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: PAHAL MEL Manager 

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: PAHAL MEL Team, Component Managers, Regional Field Coordinator, Regional Component Officers, District Coordinators and District LNGO staff as required.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Bachelor’s degree in management, statistics, economics, social science or related field.
• At least 5 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation of food security, livelihoods, or resilience development programs
• Good understanding and skills at data management
• Strong computer skills, including Nepali typing. Need mastery of MS Office software, specifically Excel. 
• Excellent oral and written English skills
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members. 
• Experience facilitating and mentoring staff to build monitoring, evaluation, and learning skills.
• Strong team coordination, listening, and consensus building skills

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Senior Regional Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer will combine exceptional management skills and experience in building and maintaining partner relationships. S/he will have an ability to think creatively about operationalize and improving the MEL system on food security, community development and resilience. Senior Regional Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer will have proven experience with cross-cultural team and capacity building, individual staff development and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail as well as 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.