Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Consultant

Project/Consultancy Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Consultant 

Project Location(s): Kanchanpur, Kailali, Bardiya, Rautahat, Dhanusa, and Sunsari districts 

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Mercy Corp is implementing a number of disaster risk reduction and emergency response program.  The Resilience Plus program, funded by UKAID has been implementing cash and voucher assistance (CVA) plus other social protection support activities to provide assistance to households in 6 districts who are vulnerable to the twin disasters including monsoon related disaster and the current COVID pandemic. The program began implementation in July 2020 and will continue to the end of June 2021.  Other Mercy Corps program include MRED, a DRR project and Zurich Foundation funded Flood response initiatives.  This consultancy will be funded by these initiatives.

Purpose / Project Description:

The purpose of this scope of work is to oversee and lead implementation of end of project MEL activities for Resilience Plus including the implementation and analysis of post distribution monitoring, analysis of comparison of HH Assessments, Needs Assessments, and Post Distribution Monitoring reports between the main program phases, design and management of end line survey and analyses program result against the project log frame and operational framework including indicators and targets, and related monsoon/s[post monsoon research.  The consultant will also conduct analyses to support key Knowledge management and Learning themes and support the evidence base related to these Knowledge Management themes.  Themes include analysis of HH and community resilience and recovery to monsoon disaster and the effects of the Covid pandemic; localization and advocacy in favor of CVA programming modalities to support disaster response, and integration of financial services and technology to support CVA responses.   

Consultant Objectives:

Provide overall leadership and guidance to program MEL for Resilience plus and joint Resilience Plus research with other Mercy Corp Nepal programs. Coordinate with other team members involved in the MEL and KM activities of the program as well as the operations staff and the Technical Team Leader.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Provide overall MEL leadership for Resilience Plus and post project related research activities
• Plan, design and lead MEL activities including end line survey and research and MEL exercises related to the project KM and learning agenda.
• Analyze and write up reports and presentations to highlight key evidence and changes between phase 1 of the Resilience Plus project and Phase 2 working with the Data and Learning Officer, Plan International MEL team and using advanced excel and data analytics software.
• Coordinate with the FCDO real time monitoring team to provide coordination and feedback to IodParc consultants
• Collate, analyze, and validate information and data received form assessments, evaluations, and regular monitoring activities 
• Develop and manage a clear tracking system for reporting against deliverables and support timely and quality submission of donor reports. 
• Represent Resilience Plus with other Mercy Corps MEL teams, program management team and other Mercy Corps teams as appropriate.
• Contribute evidence to support CVA advocacy work
• Provide team members with guidance, advice information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives related to Resilience plus MEL and KM objectives.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will work with Mercy Corps team for period of 4 months between May 5, 2021 to September 8, 2021.

• May: Estimated up to 152 hours (19 days)
  • Support analysis of PDM and other data collection exercises to provide evidence against project indicators and targets including PDM, HH assessment, Needsd Assessment, Merchant PDMS and other MEL exercises.
  • Supervise Data Learning officer and become oriented to the data sets that have been established for the project and MC data analytics tools
• June: Estimate up to 184 hours (23 days)
  • Lead and manage end line evaluation exercise
  • Support KM product development and CVA advocacy agenda with relevant evidence and information from Resilience Plus
  • Design and supplement information gathering, and in particular qualitative information  as pre-monsoon resilience baseline
  • Contribute to donor reports
  • Contribute to KM products
• July: Estimate up to 96 hours (12  days)
  • Disaster monitoring with sampled HHs from Resilience Plus phase 1 and 2 and with MRED and Zurich Flood response design post monsoon survey
• August/September:Estimate up to 40 hours (5 days)
  • Lead implementation of post monsoon survey and qualitative research.
  • Contribute to evidence analysis and presentations

Timeframe / Schedule:  

See estimate timeline and hours above:  Total number of estimate hours over period of May 5 to September 8 is 472 hours(59 days over 4 months).  The consultant should be available during MC working hours as needed to coordinate work with others.  The candidate should provide hourly or daily rates for a total of 59 days/472 hours.

The Consultant will work closely with:

KM Coordinator, Resilience Plus Team leader, Plan International MEL lead, Data and Learning Officer, Sr. Project Officer, Learning and Community Accountability Advisor, Policy and Advocacy Specialist-Zurich Flood Resilience Program ,Technical Support Unit. 

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5-10 years of experience in relevant technical field (required)
• MA/S or equivalent in statistics, data analytics, or relevant social science field
• Proven experience in designing MEL systems, as well as analyzing and promoting use of the data collected.
• Demonstrated experience in data collection, quantitative and qualitative analysis, reporting and experience with computer based statistics and data based programs or data visualization software, and advance excel
• Effective verbal and written communication in both English and Nepali.  Must be able to read and interpret documents, and communicate effectively with others as necessary.
• Excellent organization and prioritization skills and ability to work independently and meet deadlines
• Excellent negotiation, representation and ability to work comfortably with socially and ethnically diverse staff in a sensitive environment

Required Documents for Submitting the Proposal:

Qualified firms/ Individuals can send their application to np-procurement@mercycorps.org  with the Title “MEL Consultant" along with the following documents by 9 May 2021 COB.

1. Financial proposal
2. Company Profile/ CVs
3. Relevant Past Experience list 
4. Firm Registration & Renewal certificate (for Firm)
5. Copy of VAT Registration Certificate (for Firm)
6. Latest Tax clearance certificate (for Firm)
7. Copy of Pan card (for Individual consultant)

Note: Any form of canvassing will disqualify the applicants

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

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, color, 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 team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. 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.