M&e Assistant / Tripoli

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon has solidified its emergency response programming while integrating longer-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods.    With support from the government of the United Kingdom, Mercy Corps is expanding an eight-month pilot project to a two-year program aiming at improving the stability and resiliency in target communities in the North of Lebanon and the Beqaa through reduced unemployment and increased income for businesses. INTAJ (Improved Networks, Training and Jobs) is focused on three main components: skills development, small and medium enterprise (SME) development, and solid waste and recycling management (SWM/R).   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY The monitoring and evaluation assistant will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation functions related to tracking project progress and quality, collecting useful, timely and actionable information for manager and decision-makers, and contribute to the frequent review, reflection and key learning process to improve performance. The M&E Assistant will work closely with the MEL Officer in Tripoli, INTAJ Project Manager in Tripoli and the INTAJ M&E team to develop and document M&E plans and develops the data management systems.  He/She will assist in developing review and learning processes (eg. complaints mechanisms, feedback loops, lessons learned documentation and sharing, etc.) ensure that systems and people are in place to ensure proper management of these functions and responsibilities. S/he will work closely with Program/Sector Manager, MEL Manager, coordinator and Officer, and partners involved in project implementation in order to ensure a coherent and comprehensive project is implemented, lessons are learned and experiences shared across the various sectors and program teams.   ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES   Monitoring and Evaluation Conduct timely data collection, entry, analysis, quality assurance, sharing of information and learning, etc.; Work with the INTAJ MEL officer and the INTAJ Project Manager in implementing project M&E plan and updating indicators; Coordinate with INTAJ MEL Manager and coordinator to use the appropriate monitoring, tracking and reporting systems, tools and templates that enhance monitoring of project outputs and quality; Update and maintain the project database and indicator tracker; Generate quality evidence on project impact and promote and ensure use of data for decision-making processes; Coordinate with partner organizations to ensure data is collected on time and entered in a timely manner; Assist in conducting assessments and evaluations; Contribute to understanding of and support for mobile data collection hardware and software; Conduct regular monitoring visits to the different project locations; Write up beneficiary stories from the field; Document project progress through tracking attendance sheets, photos, etc.   Analysis of data and Reporting Support project team in data collection and data analysis; Liaise with other project teams and M&E staff as required to ensure that the project databases complement and align with each other; Coordinate with the INTAJ MEL officer to review indicator updates on a monthly basis.; Generate data reports (tables/graphs/reports) from the project databases at regular intervals; 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; Other tasks as required.  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 project team to ensure that communities are informed about our project 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; 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.  OTHER 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; Participate in internal office coordination and planning meetings and workshops.   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 Reports directly to:  MEL Officer in Tripoli Works directly with:  Operations, Finance, Program, and M&E Teams   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE At least 1-2 years of experience in Monitoring and Evaluation; Computer and data management skills; 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 The post holder will have strong organizational skills and the ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel. S/he will have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, and a demonstrated ability to multi-task and process information into action. The successful candidate will have proven experience working with a cross-cultural team and possess strong capacity building and mentoring skills that promotes a culture of learning. They will demonstrate a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, and make effective communication a priority in all situations, and maintain a sense of humor.