Monitoring and Evaluation/Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism Officer in Osh

Information

Common information

About Mercy Corps 

Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. Our mission: to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. In more than 40+ countries around the world, over 5,400+ team members work side by side with people living through poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change. In 1994 Mercy Corps became one of the first international non-governmental organizations to work in the newly independent Kyrgyzstan. Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan attracted resources from more than 30 donor organizations, including the US, EU, UK governments, UN, private and corporate foundations, in the past 30 years to improve literacy and child nutrition, create access to clean drinking water, organize school orchards, provide emergency relief, address climate change, and build peace. Mercy Corps strategy for 2024-27 in Kyrgyzstan aims at enhancing access to food, water, and natural resources, while improving governance and conflict management capacity in vulnerable rural areas for resilient and inclusive communities.  

Program Summary 

McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program financed by USDA aims to improve the literacy of primary school-age children and increase the use of best health, nutrition, and dietary practices among primary school students and their communities. Program team will carry out activities related to providing a combination of USDA-provided and locally purchased commodities to participating primary schools, infrastructure rehabilitation and provision of grants for kitchen equipment purchase, engaging local authorities and complementary activities that will address WASH infrastructure needs, training for school cooks and officials, and a social behavior change campaign with local health care workers and parents. The combination of policy advocacy, institutional capacity building, and infrastructure support to enable school feeding ensures the sustainability of literacy and nutritional gains for primary school age children and the primary schools. The project directly supports the Government of Kyrgyzstan’s new education strategy and the 2019 School Feeding Law and its corollaries.  

Department Summary  

Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan’s MEL Department is dedicated to maintaining a culture of continuous learning and development in the organization. This requires the development of proper systems and tools for effective monitoring and evaluation of different programs, regular documentation and sharing the learning experiences, as well as continuous integration of new insights and learning into the programs’ design and implementation. 

General Position Summary  

Develop, maintain and carry out assessments, evaluation and monitoring activities, including program implementation quality, with a view to determine benefits of the program and how they influence the lives of targeted communities. Specific focus also includes maintaining, recording, reporting and closing the CARM feedback and conduct analysis and learning activities based on the coming feedback.     

Qualification requirements

Knowledge and Experience  

·         Undergraduate degree in economics, statistics, development studies or related field with formal qualification in monitoring and evaluation; graduate degree preferred 

·         Availability of PMI, PM@MC or Project DPro certificates are a great advantage.  

·         Experience in design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and research, including data collection and data management. 

·         Experience of working in the development sector implementing projects around school feeding and conducting MEL functions is a big asset.  

·         Good strategic and analytical thinking and ability to interpret data. 

·         Advanced computer skills in Excel and Word processing. Experience using databases and data analysis software desired. 

·         Knowledge of the monitoring and evaluation digital tools, including data collection software, GIS software, applications for qualitative and quantitative data analysis (MAXQDA, Atlas.ti, NVIVO or similar).  

·         Experience in nutrition and/or education sectors desired. 

·         Familiarity with Monitoring & Evaluation for US Government-funded projects desired. 

·         Excellent oral and writing skills in English, Kyrgyz, and Russian. 

Success Factors  

·         Ability to deal with ambiguity and change; 

·         Excellent interpersonal skills, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen and respect for colleagues. 

·         Must be capable of working both individually and as part of a team; 

·         Ability to analyze and propose solutions to problems; 

·         Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and changing environment. 

Duties

MEL responsibilities:  

·         Conduct data collection and entry exercises on all programmatic indicators for all program components (school feeding, literacy, WASH, SBC, etc.). 

·         Conduct data cleaning and quality assurance; proper recording of MEL data and closing CARM feedback loops. 

·         Provide training on software tools, M&E concepts, and data collection methods to program staff, field enumerators and partners as necessary. 

·         Visit program sites and provide detailed feedback on all program activities: trainings, infrastructure repairs, school feeding, literacy, etc. 

·         Support data analysis and reporting for program stakeholders including USDA, program beneficiaries and local and national government officials.  

·         Update data towards programmatic indicators in the TolaData database. 

·         In coordination with the MEL Manager, prepare and support implementation of M&E surveys and other assessments as needed (baseline, needs assessments, other thematic research).  

·         In coordination with the MEL Manager, prepare for and support the external evaluations (midterm and endline).  

·         Be up to date on the DM&E and PM@MC tools and policies used by Mercy Corps internationally, integrate these methodologies in work carried out for this program.  

·         Provide input in preparation of reports based on the findings in all program work areas.  

·         Identify and produce success stories and relevant context for social media platforms, track programmatic adaptations. 

CARM responsibilities:  

·         Collect all feedback received via different available feedback channels, like hotline number, face-face (help desk) and suggestion boxes in all intervention sites and ensure documentation of all feedback in the CARM database 

·         Ensure all feedback is logged and graded based on MC’s standard grading system and that appropriate action is taken based on feedback grade. 

·         Contact informants who provided non-anonymous feedback seeking additional information – only when necessary – (place, name, details of the case..) to resolve their feedback more appropriately. 

·         Ensure closure of all feedback cases by following up closely with relevant team member(s). 

·         Manage all feedback received in a secure and confidential Country-level CARM database and limit access to only designated MC team members. 

·         Assisting the MEL Manager in analyzing trends and preparing a quarterly reports 

·         Contact informants who provided non-anonymous feedback to inform them about case resolution and collect overall satisfaction and ensure documenting that in the Country-level CARM database. 

·         Collaborate with the MEL Manager in all steps related to partner assessment, capacity building plan and monitoring of their own CARM systems. 

·         Support the MEL Manager in tasks related to community engagement, sensitization and distributing CARM materials across all intervention sites. 

·         Work closely with program team, to integrate CARM related questions within all tools and ensure CARM indicators are incorporated within each MEL Plan for all programs. 

·         Ensure maintenance and organization of CARM country-level database in coordination with the MEL Manager. 

Other responsibilities:  

·         Promote GEDSI efforts of Mercy Corps, ensure that MC GEDSI standards are incorporated into all MEL/CARM activities. 

·         Actively learn about safeguarding and integrate it into the work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to MEL/CARM.  

·         Practice the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members. 

·         Encourage openness and communication in the team; encourage team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options. 

·         Other MEL and CARM functions as needed, including providing administrative support.  

  Security  

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

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

Conditions

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions  

The position is based in Osh, Kyrgyzstan and requires frequent trips to the field. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours and while travelling for work. 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. 

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 Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis. 

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). 

Interested candidates are invited to apply through the below link and submit their CV, cover letter and contacts of at least 3 referees for reference check.

Apply for M&E/CARM Officer position

The deadline for submission is August 25, 2024.