Organizational Background:

Label STEP established its presence in Nepal in 1997. The non-profit organization monitors and validates fair trade standards across the complete supply chain of handmade carpets produced by STEP Fair Trade Partners (licensees/importers). Health and safety at the workplace, minimum wage requirements, labour rights, environmentally sound production, and the prohibition of child labor are among the STEP’s Fair-Trade Standards. The compliance criteria are systematically audited and wherever non-compliance is detected, corrective actions are taken. Label STEP Nepal also conducts the 'Weavers Community Empowerment Program,' which aims to build the capacity of weavers via education and training, including financial literacy. 

Label STEP uses an interactive web-based database named ‘STEP Web’, streamlining the verification process, enabling the sharing of audit reports throughout the international supply chains, organizing the implementation of corrective actions and providing data and insight for quantitative evaluation and statistical reports. 

Since November 2019, Label STEP has been executing the "Artisans Villages Revitalizing Nepal's Carpet Industry" in the Sarlahi area of Province-2, in conjunction with the UKAID Skills for Employment Program. The project aims to replicate Kathmandu's success model, which has seen an unprecedented rise in the carpet industry for over six decades, while also creating jobs and improving the livelihoods of the marginalized community, as well as overcoming the hand- knotted carpet industry's crippling labor shortages. To keep track of the weavers’ development as well as the production management, Label STEP has developed a Weavers Management app and Weaver Database as a part of the project.

The IT tools are not only used in Nepal but also in the other Label STEP Country Programs in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Morocco as well as by the STEP Head Office in Switzerland and the STEP affiliated industry and trade stakeholders in the European and North American markets. STEP plans to set up a Data Competence Center in Kathmandu to coordinate and consolidate all the data collection enabled through STEP Web and Weaver Management app in the different country offices.

Responsibilities and Accountability: 

The Data and MEL Manager (DMM) will liaise closely with the STEP Head Office and IT service provider to manage the data competence center in KTM – that will oversee audit activities for all STEP country offices. This will entail management of STEP Web and Weaver Management Application in particular besides generating regular data analysis and reports for the head and country offices. 

At strategic level, the DMM will have following responsibilities

• Undertake analysis of quantitative data and findings from regular data collection (including regular support and guidance to STEP auditors) and determine key information for inclusion in different reports (such as monthly, quarterly, annual reports) on wages, health and safety, child labour, environmental compliance among others.
• Initiate development of innovative assessment tools, alerts, dashboards, industry profiles (with priority on compliance status) etc. through coordination with IT service provider, STEP Head Office and country offices.
• Conceptualize relevant infographics, graphs, maps and tables to be included in internal/external reports and updates to the industry stakeholders, partners, licensees among others.
• Contribute to regular and timely reporting, and provide regular, complete and concise compliance tracking reports of the partner licensees to the Managing Director and STEP Country Representatives.
• Develop and organize an induction program for STEP country offices/ auditors on the effective use of database. Provide regular oversight on data management and generate periodic reports based on data/ inputs from different country offices.

• Review and approve the Audits and Verifications as well as Weavers Empowerment Programs uploaded into the STEP Web.
• Check for gaps in the audit activities and mobilize the audit team for follow up audits as well as undertake periodic field visits to ensure data validation/ accuracy.
• Analyze the audit and wage data from the system and generate weekly and monthly narrative and statistical reports.
• Ensure regular functionality of the databases and coordinate with the app developers/ IT team for any issues in the system.
• Support the development and scaling of the apps by gathering use cases and system requirement specification and conveying to the app developers and testing and providing feedback.
• Identify erroneous data capture and give feedback to the team on the errors
• Keep track of the weavers’ progress in Weaver’s app and ensure that the regular update of the data is being done by the responsible staff members.
• Keep the suppliers and weavers’ information up-to-date in the system in coordination with the audit team. This includes updating the weavers’ and suppliers’ information and archiving the suppliers and weavers that are no more affiliated with STEP. Support the program team with surveys and data analysis. Undertake staff trainings and capacity building on data management.

Key Competencies:

The staff member shall demonstrate the following competencies: 

Technical:

• Completed University degree from accredited academic institution.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Nepali.
• Has a background in IT.
• Having programming knowledge is an added advantage.
•  Has experience working with databases and knowledge of SQL
• Adept in Microsoft office applications like Excel.
• Experience working with Business intelligence tools such as Google Data Studio, Power BI etc.
• A minimum of 5-7 years of working experience in data management. 

Behavioral:

• Accepts and provides constructive criticism.
• Follow all the relevant procedures, process and policies of the organization.
• Assumes responsibility for meeting commitments and for any shortcomings.
• Proactively looks for technical solutions to any issues in the functionality of the organization and communicate thereof to the responsible person.
• Actively shares relevant information and maintain clear communication both verbally and in writing.
• Works effectively in team and takes joint responsibility for the team’s work.

Working Hours: 

• 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 5 days a week.