Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To create a better world, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills so that we can be stronger and have long-term impact.
Mercy Corps began work in Niger in 2005 in response to the severe food crisis at that time.
Our programming has since expanded to include a focus on early recovery, food security, resilient
livelihoods, peace and good governance, financial inclusion, and youth economic opportunity, along with continued humanitarian response. Drawing on a skilled team of more than 135 colleagues, Mercy Corps has assisted more than one million vulnerable Nigeriens as well as Malian and Nigerian refugees over the years. We currently work in the regions of Niamey, Tahoua, Tillaberi, and Maradi, and implement cross-border programming with Mali and Burkina Faso.
Mercy Corps is seeking a qualified Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)/ Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Director to lead the MEL/CLA Team responsible for implementation of the MEL plan, systems, and related learning and research activities for an anticipated, five-year USAID Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Niger. The Activity will contribute to food and nutrition security for households and communities in vulnerable areas of Niger.
The MEL/CLA Director is a member of the Activity’s senior management team and will be responsible for designing, managing, and implementing Activity MEL and CLA systems, as well as a quality assurance mechanism and potential research activities. The ME/CLA Director will play a key role in ensuring high quality of program implementation by providing timely and accurate analyses for adaptive management and data-based decision making. This role will also be responsible for leading the approach and mechanisms to ensure a holistic, meaningful, and localized CLA approach throughout the life cycle of the program and in close coordination with program technical leads, partners, and stakeholders. Support to information management, reporting, and technology applications will be key. The MEL/CLA Director may also oversee a team of research, learning, data, and technology experts, and will need to ensure coordination with other relevant programs and initiatives. The MEL/CLA Director is responsible for capacity building and mentoring for program staff on themes related to MEL, CLA, reporting, and accountability to participants and stakeholders.
MEL/CLA MANAGEMENT & TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP
● Design and revise strategic MEL documents, including the MEL Plan, learning agenda, theory of change, performance indicator reference sheets, logframe, indicator performance tracking table, data protection standard operating procedures, and sex and age disaggregation plans.
● Set up and oversee all MEL system components, including protocols and data flows for monitoring and evaluation, data and information management, MEL budgets, staffing, competency building, and technology systems.
● Design and oversee the implementation of participant-based surveys, including the scope of work, sampling strategies, questionnaires, statistical processing, and analysis.
● Promote CLA through intentional and routine learning initiatives to share, discuss, and use monitoring data; document and disseminate lessons learned and evaluation findings; and advise program management to implement program improvements informed by data.
● Oversee and/or coordinate research and learning initiatives by staff or partners to contribute to the Activity’s learning and adaptation needs.
● Champion the inclusion of qualitative data collection and analysis for both direct and supplemental measurements of program performance.
● Ensure that the Chief of Party is alerted to any issues that prevent full implementation of the Activity in line with the Theory of Change.
● Ensure the RFSA adheres to all applicable USAID and Mercy Corps MEL policies.
DATA & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
● Design and oversee the setup of an information management system, including processes and technology solutions for data collection, storage, processing, analysis, visualization, and reporting for all Activity indicators as well as additional data needs for learning, adaptation and reporting. Actively seek out opportunities for automatization and efficiency gains in information management.
● Design and implement data flows that align indicator definitions, tool matrices, databases. and sampling frames to ensure traceable, timely, comprehensive, high-quality and demand-responsive data collection and processing in compliance with USAID and Mercy Corps requirements.
● Ensure data quality in all aspects of MEL by conducting periodic DQAs and integrating corrections and remedies as necessary to align with Mercy Corps’ and USAID data protection and MEL standards.
TEAM MANAGEMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING
● Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect, accountability, and clearly communicated expectations where team members strive and are equipped with the resources to achieve excellence.
● Develop and oversee the implementation of a career development strategy for MEL and partner staff that promotes MEL competencies and a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data.
● Actively provide mentorship and training to program and MEL teams to improve their competencies in quantitative methods, qualitative methods, information management, critical thinking, data communication, problem solving, facilitation, and data literacy.
● Train teams in appropriate qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, and lead qualitative data collection in participating communities as needed.
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION
● Represent Mercy Corps in MEL/CLA forums with the broader humanitarian and development community.
● Develop positive working relationships and coordinate/collaborate with partner organizations and national and international agencies active in the target areas.
● Conduct due diligence of partner MEL systems and processes, including data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting, and organize periodic workshops and sharing sessions, ensuring that partners are equipped with adequate resources and systems to contribute rigorous data to the overall Activity.
● Collaborate closely with HQ- or region-based MEL and research teams and lead and/or collaborate with external evaluators on the design and roll out of the program baseline and evaluations, while setting up effective systems for learning.
● Contribute to Mercy Corps’ country-wide Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanism (CARM) by assisting in the design of an Activity CARM Plan and supporting functioning of CARM channels.
Supervisory Responsibility