Monitoring And Evaluation Learning Officer

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 works in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. 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 funding from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), 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). ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: The MEL Officer is responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system across INTAJ. The MEL Officer will ensure that MEL systems, procedures, performance monitoring and results reporting are in place and effectively implemented. In addition, the MEL Officer will build internal and partner capacity to constantly improve systems and data quality. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: M&E Management: • Oversees M M&E team to ensure all data is collected based on agreed plan and requirements to measure output, outcome, and impact indicators by conducting regular field visits; • Adapt an M&E system with flexible solutions to more accurately collect, monitor and verify program activities and ensure they are aligned with the program indicators and the country strategic and annual plan; • Follow-up with relevant stakeholders on agreed upon system corrections, adjustments and actions, informing and strategizing with the MEL team, as necessary; ● Provides technical guidance and recommendations for the M&E assistants on data collection, measurement and sampling methodologies to ensure quality data is collected and applied; ● Ensure that data collection tools and templates, including assessments, baselines, monitoring forms, and final evaluations are well used in field as well as oversee the INTAJ database system. ● Support the EMD MEL Manager and Coordinator in designing and implementing of final program evaluations and research studies that help to identify the drivers of impact.; ● Contribute to success stories informed by data collected under communications plan. Capacity Building and Mentoring ● Ensure program staff and partner capacity building strategy is implemented to promote a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection; ● Provides training and mentoring in survey design, methodology, data collection and analysis and other skills as required for assessing the impact of programs including ODK Collect,,and MS Office products; ● Contributes to the knowledge management repository with best practices in MEL and Information Communication Technology and ensure that it is accessible to all staff and partners. 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; • 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 in Lebanon; • Participate in internal office coordination and planning meetings and workshops; • Other duties as assigned. 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. Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards 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, M&E of our field projects. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY: REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: EMDMEL Coordinator SUPERVISES: M&E Assistants WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Program Manager, Project Manager, Coordinators, and M&E Team. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: ● Bachelors degree in development studies, research methods, statistics, economics, social sciences, monitoring and evaluation, project management or other relevant field required. ● 2 years relevant professional experience, including at least one year working in M&E. ● Knowledge of major aspects of program development, implementation and documentation and excellent verbal and written communication skills required. ● Experience in training and capacity building of staff and implementing partner agencies. ● Demonstrated understanding of intermediate statistics and ability to summarize and make predictions from multiple data sets. ● Fluent in Arabic and English with excellent writing skills 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.