​​​​​​​​​Monitoring, Evaluation and Resilience Learning Manager - Harare, Zimbabwe

Description

Monitoring, Evaluation and Resilience Learning Manager- Harare, Zimbabwe  (National only)

Position is contingent on funding.

About Mercy Corps

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.
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been present in Zimbabwe since 2002, leading innovative programming focusing on evidence-based solutions that have lasting impact and build resilience. Resilience building is an agency priority and involves using a systems-based approach that builds on proven solutions, accesses new ideas and information, and integrates multiple sectors and partnerships to strengthen food and water security, economic opportunities, and climate change adaptation. Zimbabwe continues to experience recurrent environmental and economic shocks that affect the wellbeing of its communities and undermine development investments. Mercy Corps puts resilience at the core of its strategy to contribute to the wellbeing of Zimbabweans by building communities’ capacities and strengthening systems and institutions. MC Zimbabwe therefore seeks to support communities in Zimbabwe to move towards sustainable development through building resilience and strong inclusive systems in the face of climatic and economic shocks and stresses.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Monitoring & Evaluation and Resilience Learning (MERL) [AT1][AT2][DJ3][DJ4]Manager for the anticipated SDC-funded “Urban Resilience, Inclusion and Socioeconomic Empowerment (U-RISE)” project in Zimbabwe. The anticipated program aims to enhance the economic resilience and well-being of vulnerable urban communities in Zimbabwe’s secondary cities. It works in and around food systems and green value chains to develop technical and business skills, improve financial inclusion, promote an enabling policy environment for economic opportunities, and strengthen market inclusion of women and youth. The project also aims to support enhanced learned, knowledge sharing, and coordination on urban resilience building in Zimbabwe.

General Position Summary

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Resilience Learning (MERL) Manager will provide technical expertise and leadership to generate and analyze quality evidence through assessments, monitoring, participant accountability mechanisms, and evaluations, feeding a strong, tech-enabled cross-consortium learning approach. They will be responsible for coordination and technical supervision for all M&E aspects of the U-RISE project and will additionally oversee Component 3 of the project -Enhanced Learning and Coordination for Urban Resilience. The MERL Manager will engage consortium partners and urban resilience stakeholders to spearhead the design and implementation of an adaptive and comprehensive MEL system and facilitate collaboration mechanisms that enable stakeholder collaboration on inclusive economic empowerment for urban resilience.

The MERL Manager must demonstrate experience building or strengthening unified monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems and approaches within consortiums (or across multiple actors), conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, designing effective data collection processes and survey methodologies for households and market actors, implementing digital data collection/management/analysis tools, and promoting evidence-based program management. Additional required qualifications include knowledge of and demonstrated experience in designing and implementing resilience-focused learning agendas and applying M&E frameworks for market systems development and resilience measurement.

Essential Job Responsibilities

M&E Management and Resilience Learning Technical Leadership

●Design and implement a strategic whole consortium M&E and learning system including the development of strategic documents such as the program theory of change, logical framework, M&E Plan, MEL Technology plan, learning agenda, performance indicator reference sheets, data protection standard operating procedures, sex and age disaggregation plans, and community accountability reporting mechanisms, guided by industry-standard practices for market systems development and resilience programming.

●Set up and oversee all unified consortium wide principal M&E system components, including protocols and data flows for monitoring and evaluation, data and information management, M&E budgets, managing M&E staff, competency building and technology systems.

●Establish tech-enabled monitoring mechanisms adapted to cross-consortium and private sector partner implementation.

●Design and oversee the implementation of participant-based surveys, including the scope of work, sampling strategies, questionnaires, analysis plans, statistical processing and analysis.

●Lead data collection, management, and analysis processes (baseline, midline, annual surveys, routine/recurring monitoring, etc.) vital to performing monitoring and evaluation efforts.

●Develop SOWs and oversee activities/consultants as required for specialized assessments, studies, and evaluations.

●Work closely with the Project Management Unit toembed a resilience and systems change framework and learning agenda into the U RISE MEL system, designing and facilitating periodic and routine quantitative and qualitative analyses and learning sessions to share, discuss and use monitoring data to strengthen the project’s resilience and systems change approach for economic resilience and well-being.

●Strengthen a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data.

●Oversee and support documentation and dissemination of lessons learned and evaluation/assessments findings.

●Support technical and implementation staff to understand and apply data for project improvements.     

●Ensure the project adheres to SDC requirements for monitoring and evaluation and the Mercy Corps M&E Policy and Record Management & Retention Policy.

Data and Information Management

●Work closely with other MEL staff in the project, consortium partners, and HQ technical teams to design and oversee the set-up of a comprehensive information management system, including consistent processes and technology solutions for data collection (e.g. CommCare), storage/processing (e.g. Microsoft Azure), analysis/visualization (e.g. Microsoft Power BI, MaxQDA), and reporting for all project indicators and additional data needs for learning, adaptation and reporting. Actively seek out opportunities for automatation and efficiency gains in information management.

●Train partners on data collection as required and conduct periodic data quality assessments to ensure quality and consistency. 

●Establish and oversee the U RISE consortium’s community accountability reporting mechanism, adhering to Mercy Corps’ standards.

Coordination and Representation for Stakeholder Resilience Learning [MM5][KK6][MM7]

●Align the project M&E system and learning agenda and oversee project activities under Outcome 3 to contribute towards a knowledge base to guide future interventions and share learnings publicly with urban resilience stakeholders.

●Facilitate design and implementation of U RISE’s activities to participate and strengthen learning coordination platforms and joint learning activities to foster a collective approach to urban resilience building in Zimbabwe.

●Maintain active communication and outreach for cross-project collaboration with other relevant initiatives.  

●Facilitate regular learning sessions (Pause and Reflect, After-Action Reviews, etc.) with stakeholder within and external to the consortium

●Develop positive working relationships and coordinate/collaborate with partner organizations and international and national agencies active in the target areas.

●Represent the U RISE project in M&E forums with the broader humanitarian and development community.

M&E Team Management and Capacity Building

●Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect, accountability and clearly communicated expectations where team members strive and are equipped with the resources to achieve excellence.

●Manage MEL team members and support their career development. Actively provide mentorship and training to project M&E teams to improve their competencies in quantitative methods, qualitative methods, information management, critical thinking, data communication, problem solving, facilitation and data literacy.

●Conduct due diligence of partner M&E systems and processes, including data collection, processing, analysis and reporting, and organize periodic workshops and sharing sessions, ensuring that they are equipped with adequate resources and systems to contribute rigorous data to the overall program.

●Train teams in appropriate methods for both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including surveys, focus group discussion and key informant interviews and lead qualitative data collection in participating communities as needed.

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 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.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

●Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.

●Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.

●Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Supervisory Responsibility

MEL staff in the project and Communications and Knowledge Management staff[DH8][KK9]

Accountability

Reports Dire[AT10]ctly To: Team Lead 

Works Directly With: Technical team in the Project Management Unit; and Area-based implementation teams; HQ and Regional Technical Resources and Quality team; Evidence & Learning team; partner organizations

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our projects.

Knowledge and Experience / Qualifications and Transferable Skills

●MA/S or equivalent experience in a quantitative field (economics, agricultural/development economics, statistics, biostatistics, nutrition, applied sociology, anthropology, or other relevant field) with significant training in quantitative methods.

●At least seven years (10 years + if only undergraduate degree) of relevant experience leading the M&E of multi-year economic development or resilience awards. The candidate must have experience leading M&E in a consortium.

●Demonstrated experience and expertise in developing and operationalizing a comprehensive MEL plan for market systems development and resilience approaches.

●Strong conceptual knowledge about theories of change, logic models, M&E plans, data quality assurance, mobile data collection, data utilization, and resilience, gender and youth integration into M&E.

●Demonstrated experience in overseeing implementation of effective MEL/digital Technologies to enhance data collection, storage/processing, analysis/visualization

●Strong ability to present complex data and analyses in an accessible fashion, and encourage critical reflection among stakeholders

●Demonstrated experience in participatory learning approaches, establishment of shared learning agendas, and management and/or use of grassroots level-generated data.

●Strong quantitative background and demonstrated expertise in designing annual monitoring surveys including probabilistic sampling strategy and estimating sample size, developing appropriate weights, and analyzing quantitative data.

●Demonstrated experience in facilitating learning sessions, pause and reflect, after-action reviews, etc. across a diversity of stakeholders

●Demonstrated expertise in designing qualitative studies, in-depth knowledge about qualitative sampling, and experienced in using interview and interactive tools to generate qualitative information and analysis.

●Familiarity with systems change measurement approaches

●Experienced in developing data quality assurance strategies, data management, and data visualization.

●Demonstrated expertise and experience in data utilization strategies and able to creatively think about active data sharing techniques.

●Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Working proficiency in Shona and/or Ndebele preferred.

●Experience working in urban settings preferred.

●Excellent skills in software solutions and platforms for data collection, storage, processing, analysis and visualization, such as MS Office, CommCare, Stata, R, and Power BI.

Success Factors

A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. They will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, be accountable for results, and understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details. They will be comfortable working with and coordinating with many stakeholders to produce shared outcomes while adhering to deadlines. The MERL Manager understands the challenges of measuring outcomes in market systems development and resilience measurement; has a strong grasp on practical approaches for adaptive management, integration and coordination; and is comfortable engaging stakeholders through capacity strengthening, facilitation, and co-creation. They will be curious and encourage curiosity and engagement with data and evidence in those around them. The most successful Mercy Corps team 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.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions 

The MERL Manager is based in Harare with frequent travel to all project sites. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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.

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.

Team Engagement and Effectiveness 
Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.
We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

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 prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.