Job Description

Position Title: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Coordinator

Location: Mogadishu

Position Status: Full-time, Regular

  About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, 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.

The Program / Department Summary Mercy Corps has been operating in Somalia since 2005. With a staff of over 100 people and programs operating throughout the country, Mercy Corps’ overall country goal is building a peaceful and prosperous Somalia where all people feel secure, are economically empowered, and are meaningfully engaged. Mercy Corps’ current portfolio in Somalia focuses on humanitarian response and resilience; inclusive economic growth; enhancing trust and accountability between communities and their government; and improving youth livelihood opportunities.

General Position Summary

The MEAL Coordinator plays a vital role within the Mercy Corps country program, participating in program-level Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities. This includes ensuring the timely and high-quality delivery of comprehensive M&E reports using Mercy Corps’ proprietary systems such as Tola, Comcare, Power-Bi, and others that the MEL Coordinator may deem necessary under the guidance of the MEL Manager. In addition to managing information through these systems, the MEL Coordinator supports and facilitates technical coordination among program teams. H/She also contributes to capacity-building and mentoring efforts and takes the lead in conducting rapid assessments, analyzing data, and preparing reports. Furthermore, the MEL Coordinator maintains the program's PM@MC folders with up-to-date information, reviews activity reports, and actively engages in stakeholder meetings to ensure effective communication and coordination across the program's initiatives.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership and Accountability

• Under the guidance of the MEL Manager, ensure the program is effectively implementing required M&E systems and tools as per program and MEL minimum standards.
• Lead the program teams in M&E-related conversations and reviews like the Activity MEAL plan, Theory of change etc.
• Participate in internal and external M&E-related working groups and maintain close working relationships with M&E counterparts in other relevant international NGOs, local NGOs, and associations in Somalia.
• Participate in recruitment, training, and supervision of MEAL assistants, and enumerators!
• Supporting program staff in the design of evaluable programs and projects that are outcome-focused, client-responsive, and informed by learning, research evidence, and data—including data from client needs assessments and intersectional context analysis. Reviewing, and when needed coordinating the development of, program and project theories of change.
• Lead intersectional assessment of client needs and preferences, context and support program staff in developing action plans based on findings.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Information Management

• Under the guidance of the MEL Manager, conduct periodic including ad hock field level activity monitoring, and compile program-level innovations and feedback, incorporating into the broader country-level M&E system.
• Working with the MEL Manager, set up and implement a holistic country program level M&E system that uses open-source software and flexible cloud solutions to collect more accurately, monitor, verify, and document program activities.
• Contribute to program reviews, ensuring adherence to Mercy Corps M&E best practices and minimum standards, including the use of standardized indicators, form templates, and documentation methodologies.
• Support in ensuring accuracy and comprehensiveness in reporting on high-level indicators and other information as needed.
• Support program staff with data analysis, action planning, and capture of lessons learned.
• Facilitate or support program staff with M&E planning with partners.
• Lead the annual program-level participant count as per Mercy Corps standards.
• Responsible for supporting program leads to maintain UpToDate program filling and Tola update.
• Lead and facilitate program-level quarterly reviews to track performance and identify corrective actions.

Capacity Building and Mentoring

• Support implementation of a capacity-building strategy that promotes a culture of learning and adaption through systematic analysis of program data.
• Provide training and monitoring in the development of M&E plans, M&E tools as well as resilience survey design, methodology, data collection and analysis, and other skills as required for assessing the impact of programs.
• Work closely with Program Managers and Human Resources to ensure accountability issues are incorporated in all enumerator's scope of work.
• Contribute to the knowledge management repository with best practices in M&E and ICT and ensure that it is accessible to all staff 

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country.

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Supervisory Responsibility: Senior MEAL Officers, MEAL Officers                

Reports Directly to: Country MEAL/TRaQ Manager

Works Directly with: Director of Programs, Program Managers/Leads, Communication and Reporting Specialist, Program Teams, MEAL team, GEDSI Coordinator, Operations, Finance and HR teams. 

Experiences and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, Statistics, population studies, Agriculture, business administration, and other related fields.
• Post graduate training in Monitoring and evaluation preferred
• At least 4 years’ experience developing and implementing M&E plans; coordinating and/or conducting project assessments, conducting both qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
• Advanced M&E technical knowledge, including knowledge of basic M&E concepts and tools, as well as some or all of the following: design of evaluable projects, data analysis, statistics, electronic data collection, sampling, evaluation, and research methodologies, and Power Bi.
• Leadership experience with M&E planning, system set-up, maintenance, and oversight from inception to close-out.
• A strong understanding of routines that promote data quality and data-driven decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience with MEL capacity building/training.
• A strong understanding of principles and processes involved in the collection of data from linguistically diverse, communities in Somalia.
• Proven experience with program/portfolio reporting and data visualization.
• Advanced knowledge of Comcare application and Power-Bi required.
• Strong attention to detail (excellent proofreading and editing skills).
• Ability to work flexibly both independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, both verbal and written, with fluency in English.

Success Factors

The successful Knowledge Management and Learning Coordinator will be conscientious, with the ability to make excellent judgments. S/he will display an entrepreneurial spirit that is both creative and flexible. S/he will combine strong communication skills, creativity, initiative, participatory leadership, and tactful decisiveness to assist in the development and implementation of Mercy Corps Somalia's knowledge management strategy. S/he will have proven experience and confidence, and humility, to work effectively with a large variety of people who will be diverse culturally, economically, and in social status. S/he must be sensitive to political and cultural nuance and able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations. The coordinator will have the ability to foster solid working relationships with program teams, host Government, beneficiary communities, and partner organizations. 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.

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 based on 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC and have signed on to the  Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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 professionally, respect local laws and customs, and always adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all the times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Skills Required

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