Mercy Corps BRACED Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Job Vacancy in Nairobi Kenya March 2015

Mercy Corps BRACED Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Job Vacancy in Nairobi Kenya March 2015

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Driven by local needs, our programs provide communities in the world’s toughest places with the tools and support they need to turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve.

Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individuals to take up the following positions.

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, BRACED Programme – Nairobi

Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has recently been awarded funding under DFID’s BRACED initiative (Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters) to deliver a 36-month programme designed to build absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacity of individuals, households and systems in northern Kenya and northern Uganda. GENERAL POSITION

Summary: The BRACED M&E Officer will work in collaboration with the BRACED Programme Director, Programme Coordinator/Learning Manager, Programme Managers and BRACED consortium partners.

The M&E Officer will be based in Wajir County, northern Kenya and will act as a resource for all programme staff to enhance programme design, monitoring and evaluation, research and supportive quality assurance through adaptive management based on results.

The position will develop and implement organizational M&E systems focused on quantitative and qualitative data collection, aggregation, and analysis for both internal and external reporting.

The M&E Officer is expected to maintain an in depth understanding of the program goals and approaches in order provide informed guidance based on evidence that will inform decision making for programme managers.

This shall be done with a view to improving the delivery process and achieving high impact outcomes.

Additionally, the M&E Officer should maintain a day to day understanding of political, economic, social and environmental factors that could potentially impact the communities in BRACED areas of operation or the team’s ability to implement programming.

For this position, Mercy Corps requires a very high level of organization, attention to detail, statistical, analytical and investigative skills and solid writing skills to respond to stringent donor reporting requirements.

Essential Job Functions:

Work with the BRACED Senior Management Team, including the Programme Coordinator and Learning Manager, as well as external M&E partners to support the development, standardization and deployment of survey and data collection tools for measurement of resilience.
Support the set up and execution of the baseline, mid-term and end-line surveys, including coordination on operations and technical approaches to survey questions that respond to the BRACED logframe and theory of change.
Collect, manage, store and disseminate robust programme data sets through the use of data spreadsheet applications such as MS Excel, Google Docs Spreadsheets SPSS, etc.
Generate graphics and visual communications tools to relay findings on results and impact through the use of charts and graphs to compliment data.
Generate quarterly and annual reports for BRACED senior management for dissemination within BRACED as well as with the BRACED Knowledge Manager.
Monitor and compile data in line with Program PMPs.
Engage in regular travel for field and site visits for gathering of quantitative and qualitative data, as well as public relations support materials through capturing photographs, video footage and audio clips.
Actively engage with the Program Coordinator/Learning Manager on assessments, studies and analyses that are aimed at programme-wide research questions around resilience building in the ASALs.
Monitor political, social, economic and environmental trends, opportunities and threats within the programme area of operation to help the BRACED team determine potential programme risks, areas for informed adaptive management or enhanced programme quality.
Attend Mercy Corps trainings on resilience measurement as well as sector-based capacity building to better understand programme goals to determine whether or not they are being achieved.
Other duties as assigned

Other Job Functions:

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), Reporting and Learning: The M&E Officer will support BRACED Programme Manager and Team Leaders in the achievement of program targets and objectives and support efforts towards the design effective M&E systems and operations.

Facilitate the coordination, scheduling and production of formal and informal reports and documentation and communication of reports and learning materials.

The M&E Officer will play an active role in planning and coordinating learning events with BRACED partners, resilience actors and government officials within BRACED thematic areas, and will interface with the BRACED Knowledge Manager to support their field missions in evaluating and capturing programme activities.

The M&E Officer should be committed to helping Mercy Corps better understand what works in resilience building and what doesn’t, and support the transfer of this knowledge and learning through the team and help the BRACED Mercy Corps team relay these lessons to a greater audience.

The M&E Officer should be committed to supporting Mercy Corps’ goals in excellence and innovation around measurement of impacts in resilience programming, particularly around gender and resilience.

Coordination and Representation: The M&E Officer should be capable of professionally representing Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant fora and events in the field, in close coordination with the Programme Director.

Attend key events, committee meetings, fora, seminars, etc. as they relate to East Africa resilience.

Coordinate activities with consortium partners, sub grantees, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.

Staff Management, Professional Development and Team Building: The M&E Officer will contribute to country team-building efforts, and ensure the integration of all team and consortium members into relevant decision-making processes.

Program Support Operations: The M&E Officer will ensure close communication across cross-country field teams and consortium members regarding program activities and plans, challenges and obstacles to timely and quality implementation.

Coordinate with program, finance, and administration staff for troubleshooting and problem solving and play an active role in work planning and informing the decision-making process to ensure that programme delivery happens in the highest quality fashion, reaching targets on time and within the parameters of programme resources.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability: 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, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects and ensuring Value for Money.

Reports Directly To: The Programme Coordinator/Learning Manager

Knowledge and Experience:

Bachelor’s or Advanced degree from a recognized college or university in Economics, Statistics, M&E or related field and at least three years’ experience with a similar organization.
Experience in M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory)
Demonstrated experience and skill in information analysis and writing comprehensive and high quality reports
Advanced computer skills in MS Office programs, particularly SPSS and Excel
Excellent oral and written English skills
Experience contributing to donor-funded proposal processes including assessment, design, and writing
Previous experience with and strong understanding of DFID M&E result frameworks and reporting protocols

Success Factors:
The successful candidate will have the following characteristics:

Proven ability to work independently as part of a regional team and with international professionals.
Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
Excellent analytical and information management skills.
Good organizational skills and ability to work under stress and in austere contexts of remote locations.
Attention to detail, ability to follow procedures and meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
Demonstrated ability to train, coach and build capacity of staff of competencies
Proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results.

Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit applications on or before 19th March 2015, by 4.00pm, containing a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to hrkenya@ke.mercycorps.org

The email subject line must clearly quote the job title and location being applied for.

Applications without the right subject heading will be automatically disqualified.

Please do not attach any certificates.

(ONLY qualified candidates who meet all the essential required qualifications will be contacted for interviews)

NB: Mercy Corps does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.