MERL Manager

Career Opportunities: MERL Manager (39700)

Requisition ID 39700 – Posted 06/02/2021 – Country (1) – Monitoring and Evaluation

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using our reach, experience, and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

Plan Rwanda’s activities are focused in four areas: Inclusive and Quality Education; Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD); Economic Security and Active Citizenship, and Child Protection. As such, Plan Rwanda is a leader in national civil society and NGO networks and has developed and strengthened strategic relationships with key government ministries. With extensive local networks and community reach, Plan drives positive change through broad community participation, achieving sustainable results by actively engaging and providing services to individuals, families, communities, and governments. Plan International has been working in Rwanda since 2007.

Position Description

Plan International is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Manager for the anticipated USAID-funded education activity in Rwanda. This program will support the result areas of the LEARN Project under the Homes and Communities Activity, with the purpose of improving literacy outcomes for all Rwandan children by the end of primary grade 3 (P3). The MERL Manager will be responsible for leading the design and implementation of the program monitoring and evaluation framework and information system to track delivery against targets, outcomes, and impacts. S/he will lead analysis of data collected for assessment of progress and areas of improvement and overall data management. S/he will guide reporting processes amongst technical staff and consolidates program reports, and promote learning and knowledge sharing of best practices and lessons learned. The position is contingent upon award of the project by the donor.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the design, implementation, and ongoing revision of the program’s M&E system ensuring that it responds to the needs of the program and adheres to USAID guidance.
• Develop data collection methodologies and tools.
• Train staff and local implementing partners on M&E systems, concepts, tools, and processes.
• Ensure data quality by conducting routine data quality assurance activities.
• Collaborate with technical leads to develop a comprehensive research and learning agenda that contributes to program implementation.
• Oversee all research related activities, including developing terms of reference, reviewing research methodologies, and overseeing data collection of third party research partners.
• In coordination with the program team, help with the identification, analysis, and synthesis of lessons learned and best practices.
• Oversee donor reporting.
• Work closely with the MERL Advisor at Plan USA to ensure that the program’s M&E systems are compliant with Plan USA policies and procedures and USAID rules and regulations.
• Ensure Plan’s Child Protection Policy and Guidelines and Research Standards are adhered to during project implementation.
• Represent the program positively and professionally to internal and external stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• A masters’ degree in a relevant discipline, such as business, statistics, or international relations.
• At least seven (7) years of experience designing and implementing monitoring and evaluating activities for complex programs.
• A firm command of the M&E issues with respect to improvements in USAID-funded programs.
• Demonstrated experience monitoring and evaluating USAID funded projects
• Demonstrated experience in setting up and managing M&E systems that track performance as per the objectives of this project (e.g. service integration and performance against each result area).
• Demonstrated analytical skills to measure the outcomes of the project’s activities and support project supervision.
• Strong writing and organizational skills for monitoring and reporting on program and program outcomes and impacts.
• Professional level of oral and written fluency in English.

Location: Kigali

Reports to: Chief of Party

Grade: D2

Closing Date: 18-02-2021

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early.

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights, and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

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