Internal Advert: Country Senior MEL Officer

Senior Country Monitoring, evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer

Position Description

Location Kampala, Uganda

Position Status Full-time

Salary Level: Level 6    

Current Team Member: New Position

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization and has been operating in Uganda since 2006 with a growing portfolio and proven track - record of providing market-oriented solutions (currently valued at over $60 million) focused on humanitarian response; food security; agriculture and livestock market systems development; peace-building, youth economic productivity; and resilience. Mercy Corps runs programs across Northern Uganda and in Kampala (currently valued at over $60 million) and applies market-driven solutions to communities across the Country, equipping individuals and households with the knowledge, skills and confidence to generate improvements in their access to markets, livelihoods, health, nutrition, and security, in order to improve their overall resilience. Mercy Corps has applied market-driven solutions to communities across the Country, equipping individuals and households with the knowledge, skills and confidence to generate improvements in their access to markets, livelihoods, health, nutrition, and security, in order to improve their overall resilience.  Our programs focus on:

• Strengthening market systems to enable inclusive economic growth and resilience
• Strengthening governance structures, to prioritize and advocate for community needs, making informed decisions, and allocating resources in a participatory, transparent and accountable manner
• Building institutional capacity to enable communities to attain better health, nutrition and sexual reproductive health outcomes
• Meeting the immediate needs of refugees and hosting communities, while strengthening market systems and resilience capacities

Mercy Corps drives high-quality, analytical work in tough places. We have been operating in Uganda since 2006 and currently manage a breadth of programs in Acholi, Karamoja and West Nile sub-regions with funding from a basket of donors. We partner with private and civil society actors to systemically broaden opportunity for people across northern Uganda. Much of our work focuses on crowding- in private sector actors to deliver highly demanded but poorly supplied products and services that enhance the growth and competitiveness of the agricultural sector and improve the overall quality of life for the poor. Our work is market-oriented and consistently innovative and dynamic.

General Position Summary

The Country Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer will play a key role within the PAQ department to develop (with close supervision from the Country MEL Manager and dotted line wit Director of Programs), coordinate, maintain and continuously improve the M&E system at the country level, as well as build the capacity of M&E staff in each office or program. The general duties and responsibilities of the Country Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer are to oversee all monitoring, evaluation and learning activities within the country, ensuring the quality of the programs’ MEL activities, information management via the programs reporting system and Mercy Corps’ TolaData system.

Essential Job Responsibilities

 Strategy & Vision

• Support the CMM with the development of country MEL strategy, provide leadership to field offices in developing individual program level M&E systems that inform and improve each program, as well as feed into the broader nation-wide M&E system and country strategy.
• Develop the program level MEL SOPs taking into account Mercy Corps new MEL Policy and minimum standards.
• Provide support with coordination and coaching of the country M&E teams in developing and maintaining a system that improves the country’s ability to analyze and represent impact to donors, government, colleague agencies, and communities themselves;
• Support with providing leadership to the country MEL management meetings and actively participate in country-wide strategy sessions to contribute to improved program implementation and adaptive management.
• Support the Program MEL leads in coordinating the baseline, mid-term evaluation and final evaluation, along with other key research activities including market assessments and gender assessments

 Program Management

• Work with MEL staff, Program Managers to promote a culture of adaptive management, and evidence gathering;
• Lead program quality review processes including respect of MEL minimum standards, quality of MEL data collection and analysis, periodic program reflection meetings;
• Use existing MC resources to train M&E and program teams in the area of monitoring, evaluation and learning and the use of MEL Tech Applications
• Build the capacity of relevant team members to develop and maintain an excellent M&E system, by providing training on the TolaData toolbox and; ensuring MEL leads organize periodic meetings of data reflection and analysis to disseminate learning
• Lead TolaData adoption and integration into new programming and the institutionalization of TolaData at the country level by working closely with country leadership, program and MEL team members, and regional and HQ team members.
• Manage and contribute to country and regional status reports and accountability metrics on TolaData usage and adoption.
• Set up and supervise MEL team by actively coordinating the hiring, onboarding and orientation, as well as providing regular supervision for M&E staff;
• Support the creation and implementation of work plans (weekly, monthly and project- specific) so as to better prioritize tasks and ensure a proactive approach to data collection and project monitoring

MEL System Development and Implementation

• Coordinate a timely development and implementation of high quality MEL plans ensuring all MEL Policy and MEL SOPs standards are met;
• Supervise the integration of programs indicator plans on TOLA and check regular updates of data and evidences on the platform;
• Play a central role in all evaluation, design and implementation of internal evaluations as well as developing the capacity of teams in conducting internal evaluations;
• Work with the country Senior Management Team (CLT) to address MEL gaps affecting program implementation and conduct internal data quality assessments (DQA).

Accountability

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our participants and to international standards, while actively engaging participant’s communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• Contribute to the establishment of an effective complaints, accountability and response mechanism (CARM) to enhance feedback, trust and confidence with program participants. Identify areas of Mercy Corps work which need to be improved and ensure that Mercy Corps learns from the feedback provided through this process.
• Work closely with the Senior CARM Officer to implement a strong community accountability and reporting mechanism (CARM) throughout the program.

Other:

• 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
• Perform any other duties assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: None

Reports Directly To: Country Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager (CMM)

Works Directly With: Director of Programs, Program Managers, Grant & Program Specialist, Technical Advisor- Climate Change, Livestock And Agriculture, Operations department, Director of Strategic Operations and Program Support, and the Country Senior Management Team; Implementing Partners, and Global PAQ Team.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S or equivalent, preferable in social sciences, business administration, public administration, Degree in Management, Statistics, Economics, or related field.
• 3 to 7 years of experience in the areas of program development and monitoring and evaluation, including relevant experience building and managing an M&E system and team, relevant experience supervising data collection and data validation exercises, and building staff capacity;
• Experience designing practical and effective monitoring systems, including data and database management systems;
• Experienced in training and capacity-building in person and remotely and fostering a collaborative relationship with field practitioners and management;
• Experience with data analysis and presentation using Excel, Access, and advanced data analysis and visualization packages. Additional software and technical skills (databases, mobile technology, GIS, Power Bi, Ona, CommCare, TolaData,) preferred;
• Excellent ability in report writing.
• Strong communication skills; able to work in person and remotely with a geographically dispersed and culturally distinct teams
• High degree of computer literacy; Excel and Word skills are essential.
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines.
• Good computer skills and experience developing data management systems including ONA/KoBo/ODK is an asset;
• Previous experience working with international and/or local NGOs;
• Good understanding and skills at data management;

 Success Factors

The successful candidate should be a strong team player, with good communication and diplomatic skills. S/he should combine exceptional management skills and experience in building and maintaining partner relationships. S/He should be able to facilitate team dynamics and achieve aims, have excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, good organizational skills and ability to work independently, with a strong commitment to advancing learning in international development through monitoring and evaluation. S/he 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. S/he should be active within the M&E and learning community and have strong relationship-building skills and commitment to working collaboratively.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Kampala, Uganda and it requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. 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 locations.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

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.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Risk levels assigned to this position:

• Level 3: Frequent contact with participants, direct contact with children, access to sensitive data , and/or high level of accountability.
• Level 2: Some contact with participants; unplanned non-direct contact with children

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 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. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 to adhere to 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. As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).

To Apply:

Interested applicants must submit their Cover Letter & CV saved in 1 document as a PDF of no more than 5 pages by 5^th February 2025.

Please note that any application submitted that does not follow the above instructions will be automatically discarded.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Locals with the required qualifications are encouraged to apply.

Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.