Mercy Corps Vacancy for Monitoring & Evaluation Lead

Description

Position is contingent on new funding

National candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we collaborate to put bold solutions into action, helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
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.

Program / Department Summary

Enhancing resilience is at the heart of what Mercy Corps does and how we work. Resilience means that people and systems can protect and improve wellbeing in the face of shocks and stresses. Mercy Corps strengthens sources of resilience to enhance the capacities of people, markets, and institutions to handle shocks, reduce risk, build more equitable and responsive systems, and improve well-being. Through programs, partnerships, and influence, we support communities to cope, adapt, and thrive.
Mercy Corps began working in Nepal in 2005 and has since implemented projects in agriculture, food security and nutrition, financial services, youth engagement, and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptations. Mercy Corps Nepal’s programming has reached over 900,000 people in 23 districts working to reach some of the most vulnerable and remote individuals.
Mercy Corps is seeking a qualified Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Lead for the anticipated $12 million, five-year, USAID/BHA-funded Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) Activity in Nepal. The Activity is expected to reduce disaster risk and increase the disaster management capacity of the GoN as well as support highly vulnerable disaster-prone communities in Nepal to mitigate, withstand, respond to, and recover from disasters. The program is anticipated to begin approximately October 2025. Hiring is contingent upon successful award and USAID approval of the candidate.

General Position Summary

The M&E Lead is responsible for developing and implementing an M&E system and plan, including a database to store and aggregate collected data. The M&E Lead will provide technical expertise and leadership to generate and analyze quality evidence and data through monitoring, assessments, and evaluations. They will be responsible for the coordination and technical supervision for all M&E aspects of the Activity. The M&E Lead should demonstrate experience developing and operationalizing a comprehensive M&E Plan, including building or strengthening monitoring systems, conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis, designing survey methodology, and promoting evidence-based program management, ideally for USAID/BHA multi-year or resilience programs. The M&E Lead should demonstrate the ability to network and engage with necessary stakeholders. They will manage staff, resources, consultants (as needed) and coordinate closely with partners to fulfill the M&E requirements of the program as well as promote evidence-based decision-making, adaptive management, and a culture of learning.

Essential Job Responsibilities

M&E Management and Technical Leadership

• Design and revise strategic M&E documents, including the M&E Plan, theory of change, logframe, performance indicator reference sheets and tracking table, data protection standard operating procedures, and sex and age disaggregation plans.
• Set up and oversee all principal M&E system components, including protocols and data flows for monitoring and evaluations, data and information management, M&E 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 plans.
• Promote collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) through intentional and routine periodic learning initiatives sessions to share, discuss and use monitoring data, document and disseminate lessons learned and evaluation findings, support program management to conduct program improvements informed by data.
• 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 Activity adheres to the USAID/BHA Policy & Guidance and the Mercy Corps M&E Policy and Record Management & Retention Policy.

Data and Information Management

• Design and oversee the set-up of an information management system, including processes and technology solutions for data collection, storage, processing, analysis, visualization, and reporting for all activity indicators and additional data needs for learning, adaptation and reporting.
• 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 M&E, by conducting periodic DQAs, and integrating corrections and remedies as necessary, to align with Mercy Corps’ and USAID data protection and M&E standards.

M&E Team Management

• 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 M&E and partner staff that promotes M&E competencies and a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data.
• Actively provide mentorship and training to program and M&E teams to improve their competencies in quantitative and qualitative methods, information management, critical thinking, data communication, problem solving, facilitation and data literacy.
• Train teams in appropriate methods for both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including surveys, focus group discussion and key informant interviews and lead qualitative data collection in participating communities as needed.

Internal and external Coordination & Representation

• Represent Mercy Corps in M&E forums with humanitarian and development community.
• Develop working relationships and coordinate/collaborate with partner organizations and international and national agencies active in the target areas.
• Conduct due diligence of partner M&E systems and processes, including data collection, processing, analysis and reporting, and organize periodic workshops and sharing sessions, ensuring that they are equipped with adequate resources and systems to contribute rigorous data to the overall program.
• Collaborate closely with HQ- or region-based M&E and research and learning teams, 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 country Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanism (CARM) by assisting in the design of a program CARM Plan and supporting functions.

Supervisory Responsibility

Expected to supervise several direct reports on the Activity M&E team.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Activity Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Activity team members, Country Office MEL team, partner organizations, Regional Program Team, Mercy Corps’ Global and Regional M&E and Research and Learning teams.

Knowledge and Experience / Qualification and Transferable Skills

• MA/S degree in statistics or economics; or a degree in a relevant field with substantial course work in quantitative methods. BA/S plus two (2) years of additional applicable experience may substitute for a master’s degree.
• At least five (5) years of professional experience in designing and implementing M&E systems in the context of humanitarian response or DRR programs is required, with preference for experience on USAID/BHA-funded programs.
• Extensive experience in designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems as they are practiced in the context of humanitarian response, longer-term early recovery and DRR programs of similar size and complexity.
• Demonstrated experience in building or strengthening monitoring systems, quantitative and qualitative analysis, survey and sample design, and effectively promoting evidence-based program management with a strong understanding of the risk profile across systematically marginalized and vulnerable groups.
• Strong conceptual knowledge about theories of change, logic models, M&E plans, data quality assurance, mobile data collection, data utilization, and resilience, gender and youth integration into M&E. Strong preference for experience with USAID M&E frameworks.
• Demonstrated experience in participatory community governance, advocacy, capacity and development, and/or management and use of grassroots level-generated data.
• Experience supporting partner organizations to ensure quality of their M&E systems.
• Experience providing capacity building training to MEL team including partners.
• Excellent skills in software solutions and platforms for data collection, storage, processing, analysis and visualization (e.g. MS Office, CommCare, Stata, R, and Power BI) preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and fluency in English. Proficiency in Nepali and/or other languages spoken in western Nepal preferred.

Success Factors

A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. They will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, be accountable for results, and understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details. The M&E Lead will be comfortable working within a complex and sensitive setting and following laws and security protocols. The M&E Lead will have a good handle on adaptive management, integration and coordination, stakeholder engagement, capacity strengthening, community-level governance and planning, facilitation, and conflict-sensitive approaches. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving environments, and prioritize effective written and verbal communication in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Kathmandu, Nepal, with significant travel required to program locations across the country.
Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our projects.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient, and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our projects.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme — SCHR. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members must complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and annually.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).

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