Organization: Mercy Corps
Location: Addis Ababa
Grade: Mid level – Mid level
Occupational Groups:
Education, Learning and Training
Monitoring and Evaluation
Managerial positions
Closing Date:
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, and 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.
Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, academic institutions, the private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently, in six regional states – Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), and in Dire Dawa Administration and the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus on promoting inclusive and dynamic markets, promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement, improving natural resource governance, and integrated humanitarian response.
Program / Department Summary
The Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) department of Mercy Corps aims to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of its programs by developing and applying consistent standards, processes, and practices of program management. The PaQ acts as a liaison between various programs and teams, overseeing proposal development, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), quality assurance of program management standards, research and learning, gender equality and social inclusion, internal and external communications, and community accountability.
General Position Summary
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager is a key position at Mercy Corps, responsible for program information management, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring collected information is used to improve programs and included in high-quality reports and proposals. The country MEL Manager will be responsible for developing and coordinating the nationwide M&E system in partnership with the data analytics manager and program team. S/he will also maintain and constantly improve the system, train M&E staff in each office, ensure timely and high-quality reports, and validate data through staff capacity building and training. As a key member of the Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) team in Mercy Corps Ethiopia, the Country MEL Manager is responsible for institutionalizing learnings in the portfolio, with systems in place for analyzing and using M&E data for the development, learning, and adaptation of program strategies.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & VISION
Develop a MEL strategy that aligns with the 10-year pathways to possibility strategy of the country office.
Lead efforts to align all programs with the country-level MEL data systems, gather and set requirements for what analytics are needed.
Lead and update country learning agenda and provide technical contributions to research and evaluation studies across programs.
Develop and maintain strategic learning partnerships with key relevant academic and research institutions to enhance the learning and advocacy efforts of Mercy Corps Ethiopia
Lead country MEL management meetings and actively participate in country-wide strategy sessions to contribute to improved program implementation and adaptive management.
TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Lead and/or collaborate with external evaluators on the design and rollout of the program assessments, baseline, and evaluations while establishing effective systems for learning.
Support teams in collecting disaggregated data (sex/age, etc.) and utilizing disaggregated data to adapt our programs to be more inclusive and gender-sensitive data.
Work closely with the global PaQ team to lead the in-country deployment of Mercy Corps MEL policy minimum standards guides.
Supervise the integration of program indicator plans on TOLA and check regular updates of data and evidence on the platform.
Play a central role in all evaluation, design, and implementation of internal evaluations, as well as developing the capacity of teams in conducting internal evaluations.
Manage the development and/or implementation of appropriate data management systems that provide access to timely, accurate, and meaningful data, including MEL data and context data sources.
Ensure MEL systems produce evidence that can be used to inform programmatic and strategic decision-making and show the impact of Mercy Corps’ impact on the communities and individuals.
Support the design of evaluations and studies, including defining research questions, instruments, and analysis plans; identifying and recruiting researchers and ensuring quality and timeliness of fieldwork and partners; and producing evaluation and research projects, outputs, and reports.
M&E System Development AND IMPLEMENTATION
Work with the country Senior Management Team (CLT) to address MEL gaps affecting program implementation and conduct internal data quality assessments (DQA).
Develop the program-level MEL SOPs, taking into account Mercy Corps’ new MEL Policy and minimum standards.
Coordinate and coach all country M&E teams in developing and maintaining a system that improves the country’s ability to analyze and represent impact to donors, government, colleague agencies, and communities themselves.
Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain an excellent M&E system, including training on MEL tech Tola Data (a digital tool developed by MC), Commcare, PoweBI, etc. and the periodic reflection and analysis of program monitoring data to disseminate learning.
Lead efforts to establish M&E units in remote locations that will facilitate M&E for all programs and collaborate closely with Program Managers in developing and establishing the M&E system to the needs of the overall country portfolio and its field officers.
SECURITY
Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Supervisory Responsibility
Program MEL Managers/Advisors/Coordinators (depending on program structure), CLA Advisors.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Program Performance and Quality Director
Works Directly with the Country Director, Director of Program, Deputy/Chiefs of Party, Program Directors/Managers, Data Analytics Manager, Consortium partners MEL, Technical Sector Advisors, and other support functions (Operations and Finance), Regional MEL Advisor, HQ PaQ.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, and other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring, and evaluating our field projects.
Knowledge and Experience
BA or master’s degree or equivalent in economics, statistics, monitoring and evaluation, project management, or other relevant field required.
Minimum 5 years of experience in the areas of program development and monitoring and evaluation in development and/or emergency contexts, including relevant advisory/leadership experience building and managing an M&E system and team, supervising data collection and data validation exercises and building staff capacity.
Experience working with quantitative data analysis software like SPSS/STATA/R/Python and qualitative software like MaxQDA or equivalent preferred.
Experience in developing logical frameworks and proposals.
Must have extensive training skills and experience working with a variety of donors, such as USAID, EU, SIDA, etc.
Ability to manage and meet deadlines, work independently, and innovate.
Excellent communication and organizational skills.
Success Factors
The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for understanding and working effectively within the complex cultural, political, security, and social environment of Ethiopia. He/she will be an excellent communicator, multi-tasker, and able to work in ambiguous situations. He/she will be a tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures. He/she will have a good understanding of the roles that different data technologies play in high-quality MEL and how different datasets should be leveraged to provide information specifically needed for decision-making in different Ethiopian contexts. The successful candidate will be focused on team building and capacity-building of national staff, be a strategic thinker, have strong skills in design monitoring and evaluation of development programs, and maintain a sense of humor.
Living conditions / environmental conditions
The position is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and it requires up to 60% travel to field locations. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer, regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.
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 are 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 a 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 based on 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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 professionally, respect local laws and customs, and 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.
All interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised. All applications submitted to the Mercy Corps office include a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents. Applications will not be returned and will not be retained for future recruitment efforts. To ensure fairness, all applicants’ personal inquiries are not permitted.