Job Description:

General Position Summary

The Monitoring & Evaluation Officer will be responsible for supporting the MEL Director in overseeing the overall aspects of program monitoring, evaluation and learning activities conducted in Kandahar province programs. He/she will be responsible for daily monitoring and evaluation of activities implemented by program teams. As part of the job, the MEL officer is responsible to provide productive feedback in order to improve the quality of the programs, and works as the lesson learned.

MEL Department Summary:

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Department oversees all aspects of M&E including a country-level data management system. The MEL team ensures programs use the necessary M&E systems and tools across the country portfolio, to inform and improve programming through evidence-based learning. The MEL team supports Mercy Corps Afghanistan commitment to staff capacity learning through the training of new and innovative M&E methods and tools.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The MEL Officer will be responsible for all monitoring, evaluation and learning activities under STAR and Nova Invest projects in Herat, which includes but not limited to baseline/end line surveys, process monitoring, spot-checks and FGDs. As part of the job, the MEL officer should participate in MEL related sessions conducted at STAR consortium and Nova Invest Programs and take part in tools development, data analysis and other MEL related activities.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

• Coordinate with the relevant departments including finance, operations and program to ensure the effective oversight of MEL functions

• Take part in development of relevant M&E tools and systems that are consistent with the M&E system of STAR and Nova Invest programs

• Conduct sites visits and capture strengths and weakness of program implementation using a unified tools that will be developed jointly with MEL team

• Participate in data collection (i.e. baseline assessment, evaluations, monitoring tools, etc.).

• Conduct data analysis of surveys, in line with the directions of the MEL Director (when required).

• Provide support to MEL Director on developing reports for the program, especially reports intended for internal circulation.

• Conduct data analysis of surveys, in line with the directions of the MEL Director (when required).

• Prepare and maintain MEL related documentation to adhere to Mercy Corps' Program Management Minimum Standards as per the PM@MC methodology

• Facilitate learning and feedback mechanisms in response to findings of project monitoring, in coordination with STAR and Nova Invest program teams.

• Translate different MEL tools such as survey questionnaire, indicator plan and etc. to the local languages, as and when required.

• Assist in regular data entry into the MEL databases and donor required database, if required.

• Establish cordial, professional relations with MC and STAR and Nova Invest team members and beneficiaries, ensuring Mercy Corps’ ability to work with transparency, accountability and good will.

• Conduct him/her both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and in no way jeopardize our humanitarian efforts.

• Provide technical assistance to program staff in order to maximize use of the MEL data collection tools.

• Develop capacity building and facilitation series to support program teams to better monitor and evaluate their program components, and to make better use of program information.

Other Responsibilities

• Support efforts towards accountability, specifically to MC beneficiaries and donors.

• Apply Do No Harm standards in the monitoring process to ensure activities do not have detrimental effects on vulnerable communities;

• 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;

• Other assigned tasks, as necessary.

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 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 - None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: MEL Director

Works Directly With: MEL team, program, Operations, Finance team members

 

 

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum of 2-3 years combined work experience in M&E activities, project management , and information systems

• Bachelor degree in social sciences, statistics, economics, project planning and management.

• Good understanding of quantitative and qualitative data analysis

• Ability to conceptualize, plan and implement M&E activities creatively, as well as possess the ability to analyze data and utilize lessons learned for the continuous improvement of program implementation and to promote a culture of learning.

• Experience in building staff capacity through facilitating formal trainings or workshops

• Experience with data management and statistical analysis including the ability to use statistical packages such as SPSS and Stata,

• Fluency in verbal and written Dari and Pashto

• Proficiency in both written and spoken English

• Excellent organizational and communication skills

• Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks and produce results in a timely and quality manner

 

While sending your CV & Cover letter, please state the title/ subject line as:

MCA012-2023 Application for Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer

*Application received after the closing date or with a different subject line will not be given consideration.

Only short listed candidates whose application responds to the above criteria will be contacted for interview. Interested candidates should send their Application to: [email protected]