Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Director - Nepal

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 is implementing the BHAKARI program to enhance food and nutrition security, reduce future humanitarian caseload and improve the resilience of communities to recurrent shocks in the Karnali River Basin  in Nepal. The program is a three-year, $15M Multi-Year Emergency Food Security Activity funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and was launched in October 2020. It is being implemented in six districts (Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Surkhet, Achham, and Dailekh, with cluster hubs in Surkhet and Jumla) in the Karnali River Basin area. “Building Hope Along the Karnali River Basin (BHAKARI)”, builds upon many of the successes of the Nepal team’s previous Food for Peace program which ended in January 2020, the PAHAL program, but with some new districts and a much heavier emphasis on emergency response. It includes program components of agriculture and market systems, disaster risk reduction, water for productive use, natural resources management, and a large emphasis on a gender and social inclusion approach, all with a highly integrated multi-sectoral approach.
 
General Position Summary
The Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director is responsible for updating and implementing BHAKARI’s MEL system and plan, including a database to store and aggregate collected data. The general duties and responsibilities of the MEL Director are to provide oversight of project-level monitoring, evaluation and learning activities within the BHAKARI program, ensuring the quality of the project’s M&E activities, information management via the programs reporting system and Mercy Corps’ proprietary Tola systems, and geographic information systems (GIS), where applicable.

The MEL Director’s role is to also oversee and ensure coordination of the various technical areas across the MEL staff of the program and other relevant program staff and components. The MEL Director is responsible for the capacity building and mentoring strategy for program staff on themes related to monitoring, evaluation, accountability, reporting and learning.

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Essential Job Responsibilities**

P****ROGRAM M****ANAGEMENT

• Ensure the MEL system, including all tools and data collection processes for program activities are up to date and running.

• Oversee the implementation of the MEL System.

• Plan and lead all MEL activities including the assessments and evaluations and develop standards for data collection. Support the team, particularly the Knowledge Management and Learning Manager, in analyzing various data points to write rigorous learning agenda reports and other assessments (market price monitoring, HH needs assessments, etc).

• Supervise all sub-contractors involved in data collection activities including the midterm and other assessments and review their standards for data collection.

• Train project team members and partners on their MEL responsibilities

• Directly manage MEL staff in day-to-day MEL activities, as well as provide technical oversight of additional MEL staff located in field offices.

• Update MEL and project management systems to reflect program progress and needs; enforce proper usage of these systems by program staff.

• Collect, analyze and validate information and data on the performance indicators

• Present data analysis and periodic reporting in consultation with technical staff

• Ensure that lessons learned throughout the project are captured and communicated to internal and external stakeholders through appropriate channels

• Liaise with various stakeholders, including USAID, on relevant program MEL concerns. Represent the MEL team on regular check ins with USAID and during field visits with USAID. Also represent BHAKARI in government meetings with MoFAGA.

• Take on overall responsibility for project reporting including monthly, quarterly, annual, final and ad-hoc reports.

• Given the nature of the work, staff are expected to be flexible and may be asked to carry out duties which are not specifically listed above. The job description may be revised after discussion between the staff member and the organization.

• Review and update the Project’s MEL Plan including Data Management Plan as required.

• Address any other tasks assigned by the CoP.

T****EAM M****ANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

O****RGANIZATIONAL L****EARNING
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.
 A****CCOUNTABILITY TO B****ENEFICIARIES

• 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.

Supervisory Responsibility: MEL Manager, MEL Coordinator, Knowledge Management and Learning Manager, MIS Officer

Reports Directly To: Chief of Party

Works Directly With: DCoP, BHAKARI Technical Leads (GESI Director, Sr Ag Manager, Sr DRR Manager, Sr Emergency Response Manager, SBCC Manager, Comms Specialist), in-country finance and operations teams, Country Director

Knowledge and Experience

• MA/S or equivalent, preferable in statistics or economics, or a degree in a relevant field with substantial course work in quantitative methods
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation management and designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems as they are practiced in humanitarian response, longer term recovery and DRR-type programs; USAID or other donor, or NGO experience preferred.
• Experience with ArcGIS or other geographic information system preferred but not required.
• Ability to prepare clear and concise reports.
• High degree of computer literacy; Excel and Word skills are essential.
• Ability to manage and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently on multi-task load.
• Excellent Communication and organizational skills.
• Fluency in written and oral English. Must be able to read and interpret documents, and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively
• Extensive mathematical skills and able to perform job-specific mathematics with experience in statistical analysis and statistical software.
• Should also have experience in experimental design of evaluations.

Success Factors
The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for understanding and working effectively within the cultural, political, security and social environment of Nepal. S/he will be an excellent communicator, multi-tasker, and able to work in ambiguous situations. S/he will be a tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures. The successful candidate will be focused on team-building and capacity-building of their team; be a strategic thinker, have strong skills in design monitoring and evaluation of development programs and maintain a sense of humor.
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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.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.