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 partner to put bold solutions 
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. 
Now, and for the future. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We therefore welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program / Department Summary 

Mercy Corps Europe, formerly known as Mercy Corps Scotland, has been operational in Sudan since 2004. Mercy Corps is currently engaged in humanitarian and development response across several states of Sudan including Gedaref, South Kordofan, North Kordofan, Kasala, South Darfur and Central Darfur among others. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, nutrition, peace building and protection. 

General Position Summary 

Mercy Corps Europe’s Sudan office is seeking to recruit one individual to fill the vacant position of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) / Community Accountability & Reporting Mechanisms (CARM) Officer. The person will work with our program teams as well as our partner organizations to oversee and ensure the collection of quality MEL data for our ECHO funded Cash program in North Kordofan State – Elobeid office. The person will also ensure that feedback, concerns, and complaints raised by program participants and community members are collected and responded to in a safe, accessible, transparent, and confidential manner through Mercy Corps’ CARM system.

The CARM/MEL Officer will be responsible for supporting the Country MEL Manager, MEL Coordinator and CARM coordinator, to oversee the routine monitoring activities of the program, co-lead all assessments and surveys, lead the documentation of lessons learnt and ensure that CARM feedback is received and responded to in a safe and timely manner. The officer will specifically lead and manage all beneficiary registration processes, post-distribution monitoring activities, baseline, midline and endline surveys in the field as directed and guided by the MEL Manager and Coordinator. He/She will also help the CARM Coordinator to ensure proper procedures of managing and responding to all feedback is handled by Mercy Corps team members and partners. This will entail supporting the CARM coordinator to review feedback reports from partners and program participants and provide recommendations to programs for implementation improvements and overall learning.

Essential Job Responsibilities 

Monitoring, evaluation and learning (mel)

• Work closely with the MEL team, program teams and local partners, to ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting of program activities and results.
• Coordinate data collection with local partners, specifically tracking deadlines, ensuring adherence to monitoring formats and requirements.
• Compile progress against indicators and report back to the team according to the program monitoring plans.
• Perform spot checks on the program activities and data collected.
• Recruit, train and supervise enumerators.

Community accountability and reporting mechanism (carm)

Working under the direction of the CARM Coordinator. He/she will handle the following responsibilities:

• Ensure their program has at least three active, context-appropriate feedback channels informed by community preferences and by following proper procedures.
• 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 Mercy Corps’ 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 Mercy Corps team members.
• Assisting the CARM Coordinator in analyzing trends and preparing a monthly/bi-monthly 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.
• Support the CARM Coordinator in tasks related to community engagement, sensitization and distributing IEC materials across all intervention sites.
• Work closely with MEL colleagues, to integrate CARM related questions within all MEL 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 CARM Coordinator. 
• Comply with and ensure compliance of global data protection and privacy standards such as while confidentially receiving, following up on, and reporting on CARM feedback received. 

Program Management

• Contribute to all program learning and research agenda.
• Build the capacity of all relevant team members to implement program monitoring tools, accurately enter program data into relevant databases, and support them to develop excellent reports and other documents.
• Build the capacity of our local partner organizations through ongoing training and support on: monitoring tools, entering program data into databases, the development of reports and other documents.
• Document lessons learned and success stories on the project.
• Ensure adherence to program management minimum (PM@MC) standards in carrying out his/her duties, advising and supporting other staff in the same as required.
• Other duties as assigned.

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.

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. 

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Country MEL Coordinator and CARM Coordinator

Works Directly with: Cash Consortium of Sudan program staff, MEL Manager & PAQ manager 

Knowledge and Experience 

• BA/S or equivalent, preferably in Mathematics, Statistics, Information technology, Computer science, Communications, Journalism, Economics, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, or any other relevant field.
• 2-4 years of experience in Monitoring and evaluation. 
• Fluent in both spoken and written English.
• Previous experience working with INGO programs preferred.
• Relevant experience in field survey/data collection techniques, data entry and verification
• Good understanding and skills at data management.
• Strong computer literacy with a full knowledge of MS Office applications.
• Strong team coordination, listening, and consensus building skills.

Success Factors 

A strong team member will be conscientious, with excellent judgement, capable of multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and attention to detail with strategic vision.  S/he must have the 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, as well as the ability to foster solid working relationships with Mercy Corps staff, local partner NGOs and CBOs.  Working as part of a team and coordinating with project personnel, as well as strong organizational skills, are essential to this position.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions 

The position is based in South Darfur and will require extensive travel to the field within and outside the state to locations where the program is being implemented.  

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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