Country Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) Advisor (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the URL link provided below)

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. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps is committed to generating positive opportunities for women, men, boys and girls from Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian communities, with a strong focus on engaging youth.

• Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping build secure, productive and just communities. We do this through:
• Addressing the humanitarian and protection needs resulting from crisis situations for the most vulnerable communities
• Enabling local communities, civil society and government to better prevent and respond to conflict, address needs and deliver sustainable development solutions
• Promoting economic growth and catalyzing economic opportunities for vulnerable, under-employed groups in Lebanon

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps is looking for a highly qualified and dynamic Country Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) Advisor to join the Lebanon team within the Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) Unit. The Country MERL Advisor will help nurture and help develop an effective, impact-driven leadership culture.

The Country MERL Advisor sits within the Program Performance and Quality (PAQ) unit and provides day-to-day support to the Lebanon team with primary focus on building team capacity to implement high quality standard Monitoring, Evaluation Research & Learning (MERL) processes across the country programs portfolio. S/he will support the country leadership team and the respective program teams, and the MEL leads in particular, to implement sound M&E systems, assist with the roll out of existing and new MEL standards and guidance, use data and generate evidence to improve programs, scale what works and influence decision making, and build skills and capacity of the program teams on essential MEL skills as needed.

S/he works closely with MEL and program staff to ensure the development and maintenance of high quality MEL processes, from data collection, management and analysis and encourages a culture of inquiry and learning across teams by supporting critical thinking, facilitating regular data reviews and participating in team learning events. S/he supports efforts that ensure quality of program data, from coaching team members on good practices to performing regular visits to observe program and MEL activities, as well as leading spot checks on evidence documentation. S/he also supports the development of research planning and implementation.

The Country MERL Advisor will also support program teams to design, develop program MEL frameworks, mechanisms, systems and tools, including application of appropriate mobile technologies. S/he will engage and provide technical support to the development of new program proposals as well as to internal and external program evaluations, studies and reviews, working closely with the country, Regional MEL Advisor  and HQ level PAQ and MEL Advisors to ensure alignment and collaboration. Building the MEL capacity of MERL team members is one of the major focus areas of this role. The Country MERL Advisor will help identify best practices in MEL, link program teams through an effective community of practice and drive learning across programs, leveraging knowledge from the region and the rest of the organization.

Essential Job Responsibilities

MONITORING & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

• Working with respective program teams and MEL leads, providing technical support on core MERL tasks through the data lifecycle, including planning, implementation, close out. This entails but is not limited to support with development and refinement of program logic models, indicators, MERL plans, research and learning agendas, IPTT, MERL tools and mechanisms, providing oversight for data collection, analysis, data visualization and reporting processes and products, and promoting use of data for decision making.
• Coordinating the contextualization, standardization and harmonization of MERL tools, templates and processes in Lebanon.
• Providing guidance and recommendations to program teams on data collection, measurement and sampling methodologies to ensure quality data is collected and applied. Supporting teams with the development and roll out of data collection tools, templates, monitoring forms and databases
• Performing regular spot check visits to program and MERL activities to assess quality and support team in identifying where improvements are possible
• Facilitating and / or supporting programmatic data reviews and data quality checks
• Maintaining a pool of service providers and enumerators that can be engaged as needed across programs to support data collection functions.
• Supporting the PaQ team and programs to conduct Data Quality Assessments and leading on routine checks of MERL program evidence and documentation and coordinating data quality spot checks for indicator evidence
• Strengthening accuracy and availability of quality data for programmatic MEL by identifying opportunities for data flow automation and supporting teams with the use of Mercy Corps recommended mobile technology platforms, including ComCare, PowerBi, Azure and other MEL4TEC tools.
• Contributing to the development and activation of the MCL Information Management (IM) strategy, in close coordination with the PaQ team, to map data flow in order to inform the development of a functional information management system and strong data visualization.
• Coordinating with the PaQ team to ensure all programs are reporting against ActivityInfo indicators and updating the TOLA evidence database and linking evidence to their indicators.

EVALUATION

• Leading the design and implementation of major program evaluations (baseline, midterm, endline) in close coordination with the PaQ team and program teams, including selection and management of team of evaluators, coordination of data collection and quality assurance on final reporting
• Conducting and providing technical inputs and oversight on program reviews, evaluations, studies by reviewing methodologies, tools, and products developed to ensure they are of high quality.
• Leading and coordinating with program managers to conduct Mercy Corps’ Final Internal Performance Review (FIPR) by the end of each grant to assess how the program’s performance evolved throughout the lifetime of the grant.

RESEARCH, AND LEARNING

• Spearheading the development and roll out of MCL Research & Learning Agenda and producing learning products to ensure knowledge management and raise MC’s profile.
• Supporting the PaQ team in Regional Research and Learning Agenda development and/or review and implementation.
• Coordinating with the Research and Learning team to identify research opportunities in line with the Research and Learning Agenda, contributing to the evidence-driven framework.
• Supporting the implementation of organizational learning events, such as annual strategy reporting, including participant count, portfolio reviews and others as they may come.
• Helping program teams to use MERL data in program decision making greetings, through program learning events, program reviews, pause and reflection sessions, and contribute to evidence-based learning at all levels.
• Promoting iterative analysis and organizational learning, using examples to build replicable prototypes that can be used by other programs

COORDINATION, CAPACITY BUILDING & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

• Supporting the contextualization and roll out of the Mercy Corps’ MERL Policy in Lebanon, and working closely with the program teams to ensure that the  MEL standards are met.
• Providing active support during the five phases of the programs, from programs identification, to programs close out, including  identifying MERL resources, MERL staff recruitment and taking on MERL lead function while staff is being recruited.
• Leading on the organization and coordination of the MC Lebanon MERL Community of Practice (CoP) with the MERL leads of MCL different programs, including setting up monthly meetings, developing a workplan and a resource development plan.
• Promoting documentation and dissemination of learning across the programs and for MCL as a whole. Through the community of practice, organizing Learning events to engage and encourage learning and application of knowledge gained from evidence and analysis to improve development outcomes and ensure accountability for the resources used to achieve them.
• Coordinating MERL support as needed with regional and HQ teams like the regional PaQ unit, Technical Support Unit (TSU), PaQ, Research Team and Tech for Development (T4D).
• Identify MERL capacity and learning needs through a comprehensive assessment, and use the results of the assessment to develop a comprehensive long-term capacity building and training plan for MCL to enhance their skills and knowledge on core MERL competencies
• Conducting Capacity Assessments for MERL staff and partners to identify Capacity Building areas.
• Developing program staff and partner capacity building strategy that promotes a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection
• Providing one-on-one mentoring as well as broader trainings in areas such as survey design, methodology, data collection, data management and analysis and other skills as required for assessing the impact of programs
• Supporting activation and sharing of resources within the Lebanon MERL Community of Practice
• Effectively participate in the Regional MEL Community of Practice, sharing lessons learned and best practices with other MEL Leads in the Middle East region.
• Contributing to the knowledge management repository with best practices in MERL and ICT and ensure accessibility to all staff and partners
• Represent Mercy Corps Lebanon in external coordination meetings related to MERL
• Leading the development of MERL design for new program concept notes and proposals, including the development of logical frameworks and MERL plans in a coordinated manner
• As needs arise, leading the coordination of needs assessments for new programs or covering leadership gaps in key program MERL functions

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.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: Program Performance & Quality (PaQ) Manager
• Works Directly With: PAQ Unit, Program Managers. MEL Managers and MEL teams, Support Departments, Regional MEL advisor and HQ focal points

Knowledge and Experience

• BA in international development or other relevant social science (MA preferred).
• 6+ years of experience working in international relief and development programs, focused on providing MERL technical support to programs
• Demonstrated skill with program design, including assessments, proposal development, indicator selection and MERL planning.
• Demonstrated skill and experience with facilitating program design processes, logical frameworks, theories of change, and overall program logic, as well as planning and conducting program evaluations.
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with internal and external stakeholders, and to play a leadership role in convening groups. Experience in capacity-building and fostering a collaborative relationship with field practitioners and management,
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative data analysis and presentation using Excel, Access, and advanced data analysis and visualization packages, as well as mobile data collection platforms. Proven experience in ODK, Ona, ComCare, PowerBi, Max QDA and similar tools is a great plus. Additional software and technical skills (databases, GIS, and statistical packages) preferred.
• Excellent analytical, writing and communications skills required.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps program sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Fluency in English and Arabic are required.

Success Factors

The Country MERL Advisor will demonstrate a successful record of accomplishment in program Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, and bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project s/he undertakes. The candidate will have a deep commitment to programmatic excellence and will be leading and driving the Lebanon MERL workstream along with championing our agency-wide and regional-level commitment to evidence-based decision-making. They will take a deep personal interest in humanitarian and development assistance.  They will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality. They must have change management skills and the ability to multitask, set priorities, pay attention to detail, and work under tight deadlines within complex team environments. In addition to technical competencies, this position requires strong interpersonal and communication skills that quickly builds and maintains productive relationships across teams.