Partnership Mel Manager

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: This position has responsibility for leading Mercy Corps’ monitoring, evaluation and learning strategies for its specific areas of our portfolio. Working collaboratively with key program and partner stakeholders, s/he will have responsibility for implementing strategies to enhance partner accountability and M&E processes. More than just measuring results, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor will support the Program Development and Quality and Program teams to review the intervention logic of proposed partner projects, ensure the formulation of measurable and manageable M&E strategies, as well as support broader partner capacity building strategies focused on M&E. The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager will additionally lead efforts to strengthen Mercy Corps’ learning and results management at the aggregated program level through development and management of a cloud-based results management system. Responsibilities: Ensure quality of partner project design and use of standard indicators, drawing on Mercy Corps’ standard indicator library (DIG) where appropriate. Provide technical support to partner MEL staff on design of specific data collection tools (such as surveys, questionnaires) and appropriate sampling strategies. Assist partners to focus their MEL efforts on collection of information that improves their understanding of project performance, while meeting Mercy Corps’ reporting requirements. Ensure that implementing partners have an appropriate beneficiary accountability mechanisms in place. Provide support to the program teams to improve partner reporting procedures, potentially including the development of web-based progress update forms. Align sub-grant logframes and MEL tools with grant requirements to ensure streamlined reporting. Provide training and mentoring in the development of MEL plans, MEL tools as well as survey design, methodology, data collection and analysis and other skills as required for assessing the progress and impact of programs. Facilitate learning of partner organization about MEL, through supportive techniques such as coaching, peer to peer guidance and reflection. PROGRAM QUALITY Collaborate in consolidating MEL tools across partners to leverage existing resources and provide comparable data. Harmonize and give guidance to partners on methodologies/tools: including needs assessments, indicators definitions, reporting on indicators, beneficiary counting and tracking, research approaches and evaluations. Work with the Information Manager and programs teams to analyze information supplied by Field Officers and develop feedback loops to ensure this information is available to program team, and partners where appropriate. Provide technical guidance, advice and support regarding activities directly carried out by Field Monitors, including on the process and impact monitoring and measurement systems put in place and the ability for Mercy Corps to respond, adapt and improve. Support the collaboration between MEL and program teams to capture the impact of MC partner activities and overall program footprint. Ensure compliance with PM@MC and Design for Impact (DIG) requirements, applying MC’s internal Program Management standard procedures. In close collaboration with Information Manager and MEL team, support the design of a cloud-base database system to enable analysis of Mercy Corps impact at the program level, in line with regional initiatives. Update and manage indicators to ensure the program level database is up to date. Support program teams to ensure indicators are linked to appropriate evidence within the cloud-based system. Organize regular reviews from the MEL perspective to show the progress, findings, learning and provide recommendations to programs and partners accordingly.   TEAM MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING Manage the MEL partnerships team across the country program. Plan for capacity building, trainings and other HR needs of team members.  Provide technical training and mentoring of MEL field teams tasked with monitoring partner activities in the field. Proactively plan coordination and communication operating procedures with program teams. Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence. Develop and oversees implementation of the MEL staff performance appraisal process and ensure a work environment that promotes a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of work and feedback to the team. Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain an excellent MEL system, including integrating into the program cycle regular reflection and analysis of program monitoring data.