Data and Learning 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 invites applications from all interested and potential Nepali candidates for the following positions:

Data and Learning Officer -1 (Kathmandu based with frequent field visits) 

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 COB June 16, 2018 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: Data and Learning Officer 

Duty Station: Kathmandu based with frequent field visits

Salary Level:  Level O1

Current Employee:  N/A

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps’ MEL/Performance and Quality (PAQ) Unit is a key part of the Mercy Corps Nepal office. PAQ subject matter team members help set country level strategy and provide support – from assessment and design through project implementation and results measurement – to project teams. The goal of the PAQ unit in the Nepal office include: to tell the story of Mercy Corps Nepal; to support quality programming and to look ahead and support positioning of the country office. 

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Data and Learning Officer focuses on providing technical support and capacity building to Mercy Corps M&E focal points and relevant staff members on digitizing M&E systems and analyzing data to enable effective adaptive management within projects. The position will be responsible for staying current on industry innovation and best practices, building the capacity of teams on data analysis and management, and disseminating best practices information to internal and external stakeholders. The position’s main goal will be helping to improve program impact, and facilitate learning within project teams. The Data and Learning Officer is assigned to the Country MEL unit in the Nepal office and will support the unit’s strategy implementation. 

As gender and social inclusion (GESI) is cross-cutting and core components of the all MC programs, the Monitoring and Evaluations Officer is required to own these components and ensure GESI sensitivity and integration into his/her work area.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Data and Learning Officer include, but are not limited to, the following: 

STAYING CURRENT ON INDUSTRY INNOVATION AND BEST PRACTICES

• Read and learn about emerging data management systems and techniques and make them relevant to Mercy Corps’ Nepal operations. 
• Support Country MEL to function as the Nepal office operational focal point in any technology partnerships provided by Mercy Corps HQ. 
• Cultivate and nurture Nepal-specific strategic technology focused partnerships that result in impactful program development efforts. 
• Attend technology related conferences, trainings, or workshops when applicable. 

WORKING WITH TEAMS ON IMPACTFUL DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS 

• Supporting Country MEL Coordinator/PAQ Manager in program data integration. 
• Supporting Country MEL Coordinator/PAQ Manager in standardizing and integrating beneficiary data in terms of SADD. 
• Support Country MEL Coordinator/PAQ Manager in developing report and dashboards.
• Solve the most difficult problems facing Mercy Corps’ programs with data integration and manipulation, dash boarding, and mapping wherever possible. 
• Participate as an active, integrated member of the team providing technical support to a portfolio of projects including special initiatives as needed. 
• Utilize the latest emerging technologies to facilitate data driven programmatic decision-making and program quality assurance. 
• Expand the usage of Mercy Corps developed technologies across all active projects in the Nepal office. 
• Support Country MEL in identifying and addressing program data quality needs. Collaborate with M&E focal points to problem solve. 
• Support the Country MEL unit/PAQ Unit to maintain standards of program delivery that apply agency priorities and comply with relevant regulations and requirements. 

DISSEMINATING BEST PRACTICES AND LEVERAGING LEARNING 

• Build capacity of relevant team members within the Nepal office Mercy Corps by identifying and sharing best practices developed within Mercy Corps. 
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) teams from program to ensure that monitoring and evaluation is practical and reflects best practices. 
• Utilize Mercy Corps developed technologies to enable greater information sharing, and generate actionable insights to improve MEL outcomes. 
• Provide in-country training and support for Mercy Corps staff, partners, and others on data management technologies. 
• Represent Mercy Corps at academic events, conferences, media forums, and other events; contribute to thought leadership in the technology for development space. 
• Present concepts and ideas to donors, partners, and peer organizations that influence them to drive innovation and positive change when applicable.

Others:

• 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.
• Ensure proper integration of GESI aspects into sector-specific program planning and implementation.
• 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.
• Other duties as assigned by the direct Supervisor. 

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 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

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Country MEL Coordinator/PAQ Manager

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Project M&E Focal Points, Project Managers

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Bachelor’s degree required. M.A, M.S., M.Sc., or equivalent in a field related to data analysis, software development and/or relevant technical certifications. 
• Minimum 3 years of experience in one or more of the following areas: 
• Managing and implementing successful data management systems in the field.
• Demonstrating strong theoretical and applied knowledge of using data to create impact.
• Delivering technology or data-based capacity building for field teams. 
• Familiarity with humanitarian aid projects and delivery. 
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments under tight deadlines. 
• Good writing and computer skills, including preliminary research and information gathering from the internet, MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint preparation are required.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Nepali required. 
• Effective writing skills to prepare reports, complete analyses and make presentations. 
• Negotiation, networking, advocacy, coordination and representation skills with key local actors is preferred

SUCCESS FACTORS:

Above and beyond all, the desire to help improve Mercy Corps’ programs and ultimately to help the people we are working with is the most important factor of success. Equally, a keen sense of teamwork will be vital, as the MEL team must be a working partner for the Project/Program Managers without being seen as a “police.” The nature of the Data and Learning Officer requires building consensus and being seen as adding value to project team efforts in order to be effective. A demonstrated ability to work quickly and accurately, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities is necessary. In order to succeed, the Data and Learning Officer will need to be flexible and creative, believe strongly in accountability and transparency, and possess a strong sense of research ethics, including sensitivity towards people we are collecting data from and a desire for accuracy. Knowledge of – and passion for – the sectors in which Mercy Corps works (agriculture, microfinance, food security, youth, disaster management, natural resource management, climate change adaptation), as well as the ability to learn and adapt to new technological platforms, will also contribute to success.