MEL Officer or Manager

Title:  MEL Officer or Manager

Reports to:  Project Manager

Location:  Ramadi or Baghdad, Iraq

Travel:  Yes, 30%

Salary:  position grade and corresponding salary will be based on relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.

Position is contingent on funding.  The anticipated start date is November 1, 2022.

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is seeking experienced candidates for a Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer or as Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager position to be based in Ramadi or Baghdad, Iraq. NEF is a non-profit international development organization that has supported livelihoods recovery and community-based economic development in the Middle East, Africa, and Caucasus since 1915. NEF draws on local teams, experience, and partnerships in these regions to create community-led solutions to improve livelihoods and local governance among conflict and crisis-affected groups, while maintaining neutrality and ensuring inclusiveness in our approach. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF has operations in ten countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, and Syria. Our programs are organized around three pillars: Inclusive Economic Development, Climate-resilient Development, and Stabilization and Peacebuilding.

Position Description

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer or Manager is a key member of the Near East Foundation team in Iraq. Under the supervision of the Project Manager and in coordination with HQ teams (program, MEL) and country teams, the MEL Officer or Manager will ensure the successful implementation of the program’s MEL plans. NEF’s Iraq program comprises of multiple projects, which include non-agriculture business activation, business lending, business financing, secondary employment, market access, livestock value chain upgrade, vocational training, social enterprise building, and civil society capacity building.

Responsibilities

• Finalize the Program’s MEL plans;
• Manage and report on the implementation of the program’s MEL plans;
• Operationalize all the NEF MEL data collection, storage, analysis and reporting tools (AKVO software and smartphones, program’s databases, etc.);
• Train and support NEF staff, field agents, and other volunteers implementing enterprise selection survey, baselines, follow-up and end-line surveys (with AKVO tools), and collecting program’s activity data;
• Update and supervise Institutional Needs Assessment (INA), capacity building plans, key informant interviews and focus groups in close collaboration with other team members as required and will review and ensure the quality and accuracy of the data collected and stored (data cleaning and entry);
• Treat and analyze the data to be regularly reported on the program’s performance indicators as defined in the program’s MEL plans;
• Review and contribute to the finalization of the program’s reports;
• Facilitate statistical analysis (using SPSS or equivalent tool) for program’s impact assessments in coordination with the program and HQ teams;
• Facilitate the processes for program’s mid-term and/or final evaluations or other ad hoc evaluations;
• Contribute to the program’s learning activities in coordination with the program team;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements

Band 1: Officer position; _Band 2:_Manager position

• Bachelor of Arts, Science, Social Sciences, Economics, Agriculture, Food Security, monitoring & evaluation, demography, biostatistics, statistics, analytics or a related field;
• Experience in designing, establishing, and managing monitoring and evaluation systems, ensuring data quality, and managing data intensive, performance-based programs funded by international development donors [_Band 1:_2-5 years of experience; _Band 2:_6-10 years of experience];
• Demonstrated written, presentation, communication and organizational skills;
• Experience using data management systems, including databases, data entry, extraction, and analysis;
• Demonstrated experience and capacity in designing M&E tools and surveys, conducting data collection and data analysis;
• Proven experience managing staff (face-to-face and in a remote context) involved in M&E activities;
• Demonstrated ability to perform complex data analysis utilizing Microsoft Excel, Stata, and/or Business Intelligence tools;
• Demonstrated ability to prepare quality data visualizations and present data to a variety of audiences;
• Previous experience in drafting reports or contributing to reports;
• INGO experience preferred, and experience interacting with beneficiaries in the field of inclusive economic development (including business development and financing);
• Fluency in English and Arabic required;
• Ability to live and work in Iraq without company sponsorship.

Position Criteria

• Strategic thinking, including identification of MEL system weaknesses and initiative to address problem(s);
• Excellent organizational skills, accuracy and attention to detail;
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines;
• Ability to operate both independently and collaboratively as required.

Application Instructions

NEF will accept rolling applications until the position is filled. First review of applications will begin on Sunday, October 23, 2022. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Please apply by submitting the following documents:

1. Cover letter outlining all relevant experience
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. List of three references (including one from current, or most recent, employer)

Please note, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org**.**

The Near East Foundation promotes Equal Employment Opportunities for all applicants seeking employment and NEF employees.