Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Job in Kenya

Mercy Corps is a leading global relief and development agency saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places. In more than 40 countries, we partner with local people to put bold ideas into action, help them overcome adversity and build stronger communities. 

We help communities survive and move beyond emergencies. When natural disasters strike, economies collapse or conflict flares, Mercy Corps is there. 

Working with communities, we leverage local logic to help people transform their lives to grow more food, earn higher incomes and ultimately advocate for their needs. We see global challenges as an invitation to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions. 

Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individual to take up the following position.
 
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer – Wajir, Kenya
 
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps is implementing two programs in Wajir: Building Resilience in Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) and Growing Livelihoods through Agricultural Development (GLAD).

BRACED is a global initiative funded by DFID that aims to benefit up to 5 million vulnerable people, especially women and children, in developing countries by helping them be more resilient in the face of climate extremes and disasters.

The implementation of BRACED is through a consortium in Kenya and Uganda which aims to enhance resilience to climate extremes in northern Kenya and Northern Uganda through a community-led and systems-driven programme.

GLAD is an EC funded program that aims to stimulate sustainable livelihoods in the arid lands of northern Kenya through promoting ASAL-based value chains, and strengthen risk minimizing strategies in water management to reduce drought vulnerability. 

It is implemented within the broader Kenya Rural Development Programme (KRDP) structure, enabling the relevant Ministries, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and County Governments to be actively and visibly involved at all stages of implementation.

General Position Summary:
 The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer will work in collaboration with the Wajir based BRACED and GLAD program staff, BRACED Program Director, Programme Coordinator and Learning Manager, the Programs Manager 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 BRACED and GLAD programs’ goals and approaches in order provide informed guidance based on evidence that will inform decision making for program management. 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 program areas of operation or the team’s ability to implement programming.

Essential Job Functions: 
  • Implement the BRACED & GLAD M&E systems at the field levels to provide periodic progress monitoring and reporting, in line with the overall reporting timelines under the program;
  • Train partners/sub grantees in joint monitoring and reporting and engage them in monitoring their own projects and implementing any findings;
  • Ensure that M&E work plans are updated and that other technical units are aware of their targets and accomplishments; 
  • Develop, standardize and deploy survey tools, and other data collection forms to realize the effective use of monitoring plans; 
  • Work with stakeholders, set out the framework and procedures for evaluating program activities and outcomes; 
  • Review existing social and economic data, including methods employed in data collection to ensure they are fit for use as baseline statistics for impact evaluation; 
  • Design, together with program staff appropriate tools for conducting participatory discussions with groups of beneficiaries/the community; 
  • Implement and improve existing monitoring tools to ensure the appropriateness of the program and to gauge its impact, including a system of recording and presenting relevant data;
  • 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 log frame 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.;
  • Monitor and compile data in line with Program Management Plans (PMPs); 
  • Prepare consolidated program progress reports for management submission to relevant bodies. Also guide partner agencies in preparing their progress reports; 
  • Mentor staff on quality report writing keeping in mind the donors and all other stakeholders; 
  • Document and disseminate key findings from program studies and evaluations in accessible forms that can influence program design and donor policies;
  • Prepare other documentation for internal Mercy Corps use and external requirements as may be required;
  • Support to generate quarterly and annual reports for the programs and submit to the BRACED Programme Coordinator and Learning Manager and the GLAD Program Manager for review;
  • Train program staff and local partners on the logical framework, data management, data analysis and results-oriented programming, basic surveying and sampling techniques, monitoring and evaluation methods and principles and report writing techniques and requirements for Mercy Corps, DFID and EC; 
  • Train program staff on user-friendly data collection, ensuring they all understand the importance of M&E for the program; 
  • Program documentation of all BRACED and GLAD to the level of the PM@MC minimum standards; 
  • Supervise partner/sub grantee joint monitoring teams and reporting teams and engage them in monitoring their own projects and implementing their programmatic components; 
  • Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission; 
  • Other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibility: None
 
Accountability
 
Reports Directly To: Wajir Program Manager and Head of Officer with a dotted line to the BRACED Programme Coordinator and Learning Manager
 
Works Directly With: BRACED Program Director, Wajir-based program staff, the M & E focal point in the Uganda BRACED program, consortium partners and operations and finance support staff
 
Knowledge and Experience:
  • Bachelor's or Advanced degree from a recognized college or university in Economics, Statistics, M&E or related field and least years’ experience with a similar organization.
  • Experience in M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory)
  • 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:
  • Very high level of organization, attention to detail, statistical, analytical and investigative skills and solid writing skills to respond to stringent donor reporting requirements
  • Demonstrated ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
  • Excellent information management skills.
  • Good organizational skills and ability to work under stress and in austere contexts of remote locations.
  • Demonstrated ability to train and build capacity of staff and partners
  • Proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results.
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to ke-hrkenya@mercycorps.org on or before Thursday 6th October, 2016 by 4.00pm. 

The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for. 

Applications without the right subject heading will be automatically disqualified. 

Please do not attach any certificates.

(Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will only get in touch with shortlisted candidates.)

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