Location: Kathmandu, Nepal- with frequent field visits.
Position Status: Full-time, Regular, 6-month duration 
Salary Level M2  

Program / Department Summary  

Mercy  Corps  is  preparing  a  number  of  emergency  response programs  and  is  looking  for  a  strong  Monitoring, Evaluation,  Accountability  &  Learning  (MEAL)  Manager  to  lead  the Monitoring, Evaluation,  Accountability  and Learning  activities  and  initiatives  for  the emergency  response  work  as  a  whole,  including a  large  consortium  of international  and  local  implementing  partners.  The  program  will  ensure  basic  needs  for  the  most vulnerable  in Nepal, as a response to the COVID-19 epidemic but also to ensure that the resilience of vulnerable households is strengthened and maintained into the monsoon season.  Activities will include unconditional cash transfer, mostly via digital platforms, social and behavior change communications, WASH, health and nutrition programming, cross-cutting  protection  work,  and  key  linkages  to  government  shock  responsive  social  protection  systems,  including influencing  the  humanitarian  community  via  key  lessons  learned  and  knowledge  management  materials.  The program will cover three provinces, including 7 districts and is expected to last approximately 6 months. However, Mercy Corps is scoping a number of new opportunities and interested in expanding some of this work beyond this particular  program  duration,  so  the  ideal  candidate will be  interested  in  making  a  long-term  commitment  to  a progressive, cutting-edge and dynamic team with Mercy Corps Nepal.  

General Position Summary  

The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning(MEAL) Manager, under the leadership of the Emergency Response Consortium Director,  is responsible  for  developing  and implementing  the  Monitoring,  Evaluation,  and Learning (MEL) and Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanism (CARM) system and plan for the overall consortium. The general duties and responsibilities of the MEAL Manager are to provide overall leadership to all of project-level MEL and CARM activities within the emergency response program, including setting up the systems, ensuring the quality of the project’s MEL and CARM activities and the roll-out of proper information management systems. The MEAL Manager’s role will also ensure the CARM system in project partners with providing adequate support to set up the system in IPs. S/he is responsible for the capacity building and mentoring strategy for project staff on themes related to monitoring, evaluation, accountability, reporting, and learning. 

As gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), safeguarding, governance, and environmental sensitivity are cross-cutting  and  core  components  of  all  MC  projects,  the  MEAL  manager  is  required  to own  these  components  and ensure these components are integrated into his/her work area. 

Essential Job Responsibilities  

The specific duties and responsibilities of the MEAL manager include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Strategy & Vision 

• Provide overall leadership to the consortium on MEL and CARM systems and processes.  
• Lead the development and implementation of the projects MEL and CARM systems 
• Ensure effective, proactive and iterative design of the MEL and CARM system in the project and support project team to integrate the MEL and CARM system throughout the project implementation. 
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.  
• Actively participate in meeting and strategy sessions for the consortium.  

Technical Leadership  

• Set-up the MEL and CARM system, including all tools and data collection processes for the overall project consortium  
• Design,  set-up  and  manage  the  software  system,  CommCare,  that  Mercy  Corps  will  be  using  to  track beneficiaries and other data. Train relevant consortium partner staff on its use.  
• Lead the development of the project’s MEL and CARM Plan, with the consortium partners.
• Plan  and  lead  all  MEL  and  CARM  activities  including assessments, evaluations,  routine  monitoring  (i.e. PDM) and develop standards for data collection.
• Build the capacity of all relevant project consortium team members and partners on the MEL and CARM systems and responsibilities
• Update  MEL,  CARM  and  project  management  systems  to  reflect  project  progress  and  needs;  enforce proper usage of these systems by all project consortium staff.
• Collate,  analyze  and  validate  information  and  data  received  from  assessment,  evaluations  and  regular monitoring activities.
• Collage  and  analyze  CARM  data  received  from  individual  partners  and  present  pattern  analysis  and recommendations back to the consortium as a whole.  
• Present data analysis and periodic reporting, in consultation with technical staff, to the consortium.
• Ensure  that  lessons  learned  throughout  the  project  are  captured  and  communicated  to  internal  and external stakeholders through appropriate channels
• Conduct planning and progress review meetings; ensure regular analysis and adaptation based on data, especially with a dedicated GESI-focus
• Provide   guidance,   recommendations,   supervision,   and   leadership to   ensure that   the MEL   and CARMsystems meet the needs of programs, managers, and senior leadership.  
• Adhere to all Mercy Corps procurement, logistics and administrative regulations related to programming
• Develop  and  manage  a  clear  system  for  tracking  and  reporting against  deliverables;  and  support  in ensuring timely submission of high quality donor reports.

Program Management 

• Contribute  to  project  implementation  to  ensure  adherence  to  Mercy  Corps,  donor  and  international standards, including the use of standardized indicators and documentation methodologies
• Lead the institutionalization of learning in the project structure by supporting the project team to develop and understand the projects results/monitoring framework, monitoring systems and feedback loops that enable learning and adaptive management.
• Support  the  implementation  of  MEL  and  CARM  systems  at  field  level  through  proper  orientation  and backstopping.
• Ensure that the MEL and CARM data trends is presented in a report and shared with the consortium team regularly to ensure timely integration of learning into activity adaptation and identify project priority 
• Work  with  technical  sector  teams  to  support  in developing, understanding  and  implementing  specific sector MEL requirements and toolkits
• Address shortfalls in MEL, CARM and information management that affect project implementation
• Ensure Consortium Director has sufficient data and analytical narrative to include in donor reports 

Coordination & Representation

• Represent MEL and CARM progress to donors as well as within relevant working groups i.e Cash Working Group; 
• Share the  learning from  the  project  with  the  greater  humanitarian  community  within  Nepal  as  well  as regionally and globally as relevant 
• Participate in project planning and review workshops and meetings  

Team management & capacity strengthening

• Create  and  sustain  a  work  environment  of  mutual  respect  where  team  members  strive  to  achieve excellence. 
• Promote  accountability,  communicate  expectations  and  provide  constructive  feedback  via regular performance reviews. 
• Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary. 
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives. 
• Contribute  to  country  team-building  efforts,  help  team  members  identify  problem-solving  options  and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes. 
• Facilitate  trainings  and  regular  coaching  sessions  to  ensure  all  project  staff  are  concurrent  with  MEL systems, tools and methodologies 
• Strengthen the capacity of all staff’s understanding of and contribution to the MEL. 
• Serve  as  an  overall  member  of  the  Mercy Corps  Nepal  team,  including  participation  with  various  team building and capacity strengthening initiatives 

Security 

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership. 
• Proactively ensure that team members and community operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Organizational Learning  

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.  

Accountability to Beneficiaries 

• Mercy  Corps  team  members  are  expected  to  support  all  efforts  toward  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. 
• Team  members  are  expected  to  conduct  themselves  in  a professional  manner  and  respect  local  laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues. 

Safeguarding, Ethics & Integrity

• All Mercy Corps staff members are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate the highest integrity in their  professional  and  personal  life.  Mercy  Corps  has  zero  tolerance  to  any  form  of  fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment or exploitation. Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination. 
• Mercy Corps has zero tolerance for abuse, sexual misconduct and sexual exploitation (PSEA) of the people we work with and our own staff members. All staff must commit to internal policies. 

Others 

• Ensure  proper  integration  of  safeguarding  and  GESI  aspects  into  sector  specific  project  planning  and implementation.  
• Mercy  Corps  as  a  humanitarian  agency  is  expected  to  respond  as  and  when  crisis  and  humanitarian situation engulfs. As an MC employee all staff are expected to be part of humanitarian and emergency response in addition to their regular roles and responsibilities. 
• Create  and  sustain  a  work  environment  of  mutual  respect  where  team  members  strive  to  achieve excellence. 
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not to jeopardize its humanitarian mission. 
• Other duties as assigned by his/her supervisor and or Country Director. 

Supervisory Responsibility: N/A

Accountability  

Reports Directly to: This position reports directly to the Emergency Response Consortium Director 

Works Directly with: International and National Consortium team,  Mercy Corps Nepal’s operations, HR, finance and other project teams; Mercy Corps’ HQ teams including  technical  advisors  in  cash  and  digital  cash,  gender, protection  and  emergency  response,  plus  the  UK-based  finance  and  project  support  teams.In  particular,  close coordination with Mercy Corps’ regional and HQ-level MEL and CARM teams. 

Knowledge and Experience  

• MA/S or equivalent, preferable in statistics or economics, or a degree in a relevant field with substantial course work in quantitative methods (two additional years of experience may substitute for a MA/S) 
• Minimum  of  5-7  years  of  experience  in  designing,  managing  and  implementing monitoring,  evaluation and accountability systems; with at least 2 years of experience at a managerial level.  Previous experience in emergency response, digital cash, and working with a consortium is preferred. 
• Experience  with  cross-cultural  team  and  capacity  building, individual  staff  development  and  strong mentoring skills.  
• Proven experience in developing and working with ICT for MEL and data management systems, including databases, web-based tools or other MIS solutions; experience with mobile data collection technology a plus. 
• Proven experience in designing and implementing MEL systems, as well as analyzing and promoting the use of the data collected. 
• Demonstrated  experience  in  data  collection;  quantitative  and  qualitative  analysis;  and  reporting; including experience with computer-based statistical packages and databases (STATA, SPSS, SAS, NVIVO, etc.); preference given to candidates with familiarity with GIS mapping software and/or data visualization software such as Tableau 
• Effective  verbal  and  written  communication,  multi-tasking,  organizational  and  prioritization  skills  are necessary. 
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required 
• Excellent negotiation, representation, skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse staff in a very sensitive environment 
• Knowledge of MC Nepal systems and procedures highly desirable 
• Fluency in written and oral English. Must be able to read and interpret documents, and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively 

Success Factors  

A successful candidate will have the ability to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment with a capacity to spark innovative approaches to programming and inspire groups to collaborate closely to implement high-quality programs. S/he will have proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results, with an ability and willingness to remain mobile for short-term  and/or  long-term  as  necessary  within  the  region,  based  on  programmatic  needs. An  ability  to  work independently and as part of a team, with curiosity about and sensitivity to new cultures, a desire and ability to learn and grow, both personally and professionally, and a great sense of humor. 

The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in  evolving  and  changing  environments  and  make  effective  written  and  verbal communication  a  priority  in  all situations.  Mercy  Corps  Team  members  represent  the  agency  both  during  and  outside  of  work  hours  when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.