MEL Officer - Beirut (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the link provided)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team (Program / Department Summary)

The “Market-Based Opportunities and Skills Training for Women and Youth” (3Amaly program) is a $10 million CAD integrated four-year (anticipated November 2018 - September 2022) program designed to improve livelihood opportunities for women and youth (aged 15-34) from vulnerable populations. The program will target youth between the ages of 15-24, as well as young adults between the ages of 25-34 from Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian families, with a specific focus on women and girls in the target areas. The overall objective is that women and youth are empowered and valued for playing an active economic role within their households and communities in Saida, Nabatiyeh, Mount Lebanon (Barja Area), and Tripoli.

The primary objectives of the program are:

1. Women and youth are gainfully employed or self-employed as a result of program interventions.
2. Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Startups improve their capacity to develop their businesses and hire women and youth;
3. Women and youth have a supportive enabling environment for their economic activities

The position will be based in Beirut with frequent travel to all program areas.

The Position (General Position Summary)

The MEL Officer is expected to contribute to the quality assurance of the 3Amaly program implementation. S/he will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation functions related to tracking program progress and quality, collecting useful, timely, and actionable information for management, and contributing to the frequent review, reflection, and key learning process to improve performance. The MEL Officer will work closely with the MEL Manager, and the Program Manager to implement and document MEL work plans for the 3Amaly program and use the data management systems. S/he will assist in implementing review and learning processes (eg. complaints mechanisms, feedback loops, lessons learned documentation and sharing, etc. S/he will work closely with the Program Manager and the other MEL officer, and partners involved in program implementation in order to ensure a coherent and comprehensive program is implemented, lessons are learned and experiences are shared across the various sectors and programs teams. S/he will provide direction and mentoring for the MEL Assistant.

Essential Responsibilities (Example Section Below - Adapt to Specific Role)

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Contribute to developing and managing program databases to facilitate timely information updates, data quality assurance, sharing of information and learning, etc.;
• Work with MEL Manager to ensure the development of appropriate monitoring, tracking, and reporting systems, tools, and templates (including a MEL plan) that enhance monitoring of program outputs and quality, generate quality evidence on program impact and promote and ensure the use of data for decision-making processes;
• Work with program team to integrate MEL into ongoing project planning and implementation systems and ensure adherence to Mercy Corps M&E minimum standards;
• Coordinate with partner organizations to ensure data is collected on time and entered in a timely manner;
• Support use of digital data collection for MEL needs wherever possible;
• Contribute to the generation of quality evidence on program impacts and promote the use of data for decision-making processes;
• Conduct regular monitoring visits to the different program locations;
• Support documentation of program progress through tracking attendance sheets, photos, etc.
• Share regular written reports on monitoring findings and program participants' stories;
• Organize Lessons Learned sessions and disseminate results across the teams.

Analysis of data and Reporting

• Support project team in data collection and data analysis;
• Liaise with other project teams and MEL staff as required to ensure that the project databases complement and align with each other.  This will ensure that data on project outputs and project impacts are aligned and reported together;
• Coordinate with the program team to review indicator updates on a monthly basis.  Generate data reports (tables/graphs/reports) from the project databases at regular intervals, ensuring reports/information are available for project implementation staff as required, under the supervision of the MEL Manager. Facilitate data analysis with program implementation team as requested;
• Assist the MEL Manager in maintaining a comprehensive list and schedule of private and institutional funding reports, including the detailed requirements necessary for the donor/program;
• Work with the MEL Manager to update the program reporting schedule and share among program team as needed;
• Contribute to developing project operational reporting templates that facilitate the acquisition and aggregation of information in projects;
• Review or edit data in reports as requested and required;
• Produce analytical summaries: graphs, charts, tables, narratives, and appealing visuals, as requested, to fulfill internal and external reporting requirements;
• Support in the intra-agency referral mechanism;
• Other tasks as required.

Capacity Building

• Work with the MEL Manager to build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain a robust MEL system;
• Assist, as needed, in building the capacity of local partners in the area of MEL and reporting;
• Work with the MEL Manager to adapt existing protocols and plans to mentor and coach colleagues to enable them to develop high-quality reports.

Accountability

• Coordinate with the team in the office to build systems that promote beneficiary accountability by ensuring that communities participate in initial assessments and project design;
• Coordinate with program team to ensure that communities are informed about our program and what we do, are aware of their entitlements, are comfortable to give feedback and that feedback is used to improve the quality of our projects;
• Ensure that Mercy Corps’ Community Feedback and Accountability Mechanism is clearly communicated to program beneficiaries, and that the hotline numbers are visible to end beneficiaries throughout the program;
• Ensure all activities are gender-sensitive and follow Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity Policy;
• Apply Do No Harm standards 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.

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly To: MEL Manager

Works Directly With: 3Amaly team, MERL Technical Advisor

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 field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• At least 3 years of experience in program development, MEL and reporting;
• Training skills and experience building national staff capacity;
• Experience working with a variety of donors;
• Advanced computer skills and experience developing data management systems;
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methodologies required;
• Team player who takes initiative, is a problem-solver and able to multi-task;
• Effective verbal and written communication skills;
• Written and oral communication skills in Arabic and English.
• Detail-oriented and highly organized.

Success Factors

• Conscientious, with excellent judgment;
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, and simultaneous attention to detail are essential;
• S/he must have the confidence, and humility, to work effectively with a large variety of people who will be diverse culturally, economically, and in social status;
• S/he must be sensitive to political and cultural nuance and able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations;
• Ability to foster solid working relationships with teammates, local partners, and others.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to work independently;
• S/he will have the ability to comfortably adapt to a quickly changing environment with a sense of urgency, humor, and curiosity;
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Excellent writing skills – ability to write in a variety of styles for multiple audiences;
• Able to work remotely with a geographically dispersed team;
• Able to manage several projects simultaneously and under the pressure of deadlines.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Beirut, Mercy Corps main office and it requires up to 40% travel to other program areas, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.  Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

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

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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.