The Position Summary

This position is a key role on Mercy Corps’ program evidence and learning unit. The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer will support the program in planning and execution of evidence gathering and learning activities. The MEL Officer will support the MEL Manager in ensuring quality in accordance with accepted standards, providing essential feedback to team members and partners for learning, accountability and decision making, as well as conducting program assessments. The MEL Officer will be responsible for reviewing necessary tools that feed into the needs of Mercy Corps and donor reporting requirements.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGIC INPUTS AND OVERSIGHT

• Support review and implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools.
• Support inputs into program review documents.

RESULTS-BASED MONITORING, EVIDENCING & REPORTING

• Support implementing partners on activity-level MEL efforts, ensuring quality, reliability, and consistency in data collection efforts using program MEL templates.
• Validating and verifying core indicators against the different sources of information.
• Review, validation, and analysis of in-coming results data from implementing partners.
• Visit sites and partners to collect supplementary data, stories and conduct qualitative reviews both independently and in teams.
• Maintaining a database of results and related results tracking tools.
• Work with the Senior Program Manager, Program Officer, the MEL Manager and other relevant staff in tracking implementation of partners’ activities, attending necessary events in the targeted counties, as relevant, to ensure that activities are implemented on plan and progress towards targets is not compromised.
• Collaborate with the Senior Program Manager and Program Officer in the preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual activity reports and verification of reported

LEARNING

• Support the MEL Manager, program implementation staff and implementing partners to identify lessons learned from project implementation
• Regularly document and give support in sharing learnings from program implementation.
• Support the program implementation team in incorporating those lessons into the activity development cycle
• Maintain an up-to-date database that reflects progress and program indicators.
• Maintain strong working relationships with partners to enable robust results collection and feedback loop for program learning and adaptation.

CAPACITY BUILDING

• Build the capacity of implementing partners to develop and maintain an excellent MEL system;
• Facilitate implementing partners in conducting periodic reflection using outcome mapping and outcome harvesting processes, and analysis of project monitoring information that feeds into Sauti’s programming and learning.
• Support training of implementing partners in use of technology for MEL.

ASSESSMENTS, SURVEYS AND EVALUATIONS

• Support conduct of program assessments, evaluations and surveys.
• Support data analysis pertaining to assessments, evaluations and surveys.

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

Other Duties as Assigned

Remain flexible and open to taking on new/different responsibilities as the program evolves and progresses, especially as requested/ guided by the Programme lead.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports to: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager

Works directly with: Chief of Party, Senior Program Manager, Program Officer and implementing partner organizations.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in social science, Statistics, or relevant field.
• At least 5 years of program monitoring and evaluation experience.
• Should understand concepts and demonstrate skills in monitoring and evaluation, project cycle, results chain and frameworks, participatory monitoring.
• Should be able to implement assessments and surveys.
• Must have good writing and analytical skills.
• Should have knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data collection, reporting techniques. They should understand and be able to apply basic measures of central tendency and spread.
• In addition to Microsoft Excel, the incumbent should demonstrate fluency in use of at least one data statistical analysis software such as, SPSS, and STATA, and data collection software such as CommCare, ONA, Kobo
• Must be fluent both spoken and written English and Kiswahili.