Plan International Sierra Leone

Job Announcement (1 Position for nationals only) 

21-11-23 Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Manager

Plan International is an independent non-profit development and humanitarian organization 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 is 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 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

We are currently seeking to recruit:

Title:                 Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Manager

Grade:             Level 16

Location:          Country Office with 40% travel   

Department:    Programme Influencing 

Reports to:       Head of Programme Development and Quality

ROLE PURPOSE

Working in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, Plan International’s purpose is to strive for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

The program departments of Plan’s Country Offices in West Africa have MER units whose purpose is, to improve program quality and accountability through supporting and implementing high-quality MER and, to provide evidence for programme design, planning, and effectiveness.

The MER manager heads the MER unit and is accountable for all MER-related components in the development and implementation of the Country Strategy in alignment with Plan’s programme policies and standards including the Program Quality Policy. S/he makes sure that good MER practices are used within the country and are shared with the regional MER network.

DIMENSIONS OF THE ROLE

• Responsible for leading key aspects of the Program Quality Policy (PQP) cycle: situation analysis implementation, development of MER framework for the Country Strategy, baselines, and Country Strategy review
• Responsible for in-country and partners MER capacity building plan and contributions to the regional MERL network;
• Responsible for managing MER activities with other agencies and government institutions
• Accountable for the quality of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and research of Plan in the country;
• Supports Country Strategy design and planning including reviews of the resource planning
• Responsible for ensuring that all MER activities are conducted in line with Plan International’s child protection and ethical principles, and for promoting accountability to beneficiaries
• Manager of MER unit: Line manages the Planning and Monitoring Specialist, the Evaluation and Research Specialist, the Programme Unit (PU) based MER Officers, and the M&E Grants Officers (depending on the number of grants in the CO).

ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Technical MERL Support in:

• Country Strategy (CS)

• Lead CS evaluation

• Support context analysis study and baseline for new CS
• Lead monitoring, annual review or mid-term review of the CS and produce related reports
• Support the roll-out and establishment of the MERL system in Plan International Sierra Leone

Country Programmes

• Plan and implement the annual research and learning agenda
• Adapt and share results frameworks per Area of Global Distinctiveness (AOGD)
• Develop monitoring tools and support full utilization across all programmes

Projects

• Support project design and ensure alignment and contribution of results to CS
• Input in funding proposals and support strong log-frames and theories of change
• Support project M&E planning at start-up and annually
• Lead implementation of project baselines and evaluations
• Support regular review of project performance progress and reviews, and undertake field monitoring visits

Key Responsibilities – Key End Results of Position

• Plan International Sierra Leone can provide evidence of the results and effectiveness of their country strategy (CS) 

Activities 

• Lead the development of the MER framework for CS and model MER frameworks for projects
• Lead the implementation of the Situation Analysis to inform the CS development
• Lead the development of the Terms of Reference (ToR)
• Dissemination of Situation Analysis results and designed CS
• Manage the review process for the CS, from the development of the TOR to the dissemination of CS review report

• High-quality and evidence-based projects through excellence in situational analysis, planning, monitoring, evaluation and research practices and knowledge management

Activities 

• Identify research opportunities
• Ensure that all research and evaluation initiatives comply with global standards
• Prepare management responses for all evaluations
• Conduct annual quality analysis of all evaluation reports against criteria defined in Plan’s evaluation standards and identify trends in findings for review and follow-up by Senior Management
• Fill out the MER quarterly report for the regional office
• Set up and implement a knowledge management plan for the MER unit
• Put in place a mechanism to collect good practices and lessons learned from programme implementation
• Share annually at least one good practice or lesson learned with the regional MER network and contribute regularly to discussions and announcements on the WACA MER workspace
• Ensure collaboration with other agencies and manage partnerships for MER-related purposes

• Plan International Sierra Leone programme staff and partners have increased MER capacity

Activities

• • Set clear objectives for MER unit including budget
  • Conduct MER capacity assessment with relevant positions at PU, CO, and partner levels to identify gaps and training needs
  • Develop and organize the implementation of a MER capacity-building plan for the country

• Coach and mentor PU and CO MER staff to leverage learning

Safeguarding Commitments:

• Commit and contribute to an environment where children and adult program participants feel respected, supported, safe, and protected;
• Never act or behave in a manner that results in violence including SHEA against a child, young person, or adult or places them at risk of such violence;
• Be aware of and adhere to the provisions of the Safeguarding Policy, PSHEA Policy, and COC of Plan International;
• Report and respond to safeguarding and SHEA concerns and breaches in line with the applicable procedures of Plan International;
• Maintain confidentiality of safeguarding and PSHEA concerns reported;
• Never participate in or support child marriages.

 Dealing with Problems

The complexity of problems handled, and the degree of investigation, analysis, and creative thinking required to solve them

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research (MER) are crucial components for ensuring high-quality outcomes and impact in rights-based programming. Barriers that the MER manager will have to deal with include:

• The technical capacity for MER is low at CO and PU levels, hence, the quality of M&E in sponsorship and certain grant projects is low.
• There is an increasing demand for high-quality MER by donors.
• There are misconceptions and a lack of clarity on what the MER unit should be doing
• Most data collection is done using pen and paper methods meaning inefficiencies and data reliability issues

The MER manager needs to be able to:

• Convince other staff of the benefits of implementing high-quality MER
• Be capable of driving organizational change regarding MER practices forward
• Communicate concisely on what needs to be done in terms of MER
• Handle challenges with pragmatism and flexibility

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS, AND KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications/Experience

• Understanding of integrated development issues and critical analysis of child poverty
• Understanding of gender transformative program/projects
• Knowledge of measuring influencing project outcomes
• Knowledge of theories of child-rights programming and child protection (programmatic and safeguarding)
• Knowledge of development issues, trends, challenges and opportunities, and implications to community development
• Demonstrated experience as a development professional in planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs/ projects including gender aware
• Knowledgeable on participatory M&E tools and systems
• Knowledgeable in tool design for qualitative and quantitative research
• Knowledgeable in strategic planning processes
• Demonstrated experience in team management

Qualification 

• Master’s degree in demography, measurement, planning, monitoring and evaluation, development studies, social sciences, or other relevant field;
• At least 8 years of progressively responsible experience in design, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and research in international development, preferably in education, health, child protection, household economic security, DRM, gender and inclusion

Skills

• Strong planning and organizational skills
• Skills in managing decentralized teams
• Skills in managing qualitative and quantitative data collections
• Working experience in community participation in development/programming
• Skills for database management (design, entry, analysis)
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to deliver to tight deadlines
• Demonstrated facilitation and active listening skills

• Strong facilitation and coaching skills
• Solid writing skills (report writing, concept paper writing etc.)
• Able to read and write in English, fluency in English an advantage
• Skills in using Microsoft Office and other software applications relevant to MER (e.g. MAXQDA, SPSS, epi-info, CSPro, or similar

Behaviors

• Coaches and builds capacity of staff in COs and PUs
• Promotes innovation and learning
• Communicates clearly and effectively
• Strong team-building and motivational skills
• Demonstrates clear respect to all especially children and women without discrimination
• Involves others in setting and achieving goals
• Demonstrates honesty and transparency in holding self and others to account to deliver on agreed goals and Plan’s standards of behavior
• Balances future vision with practical delivery
• Acts as a team player, willing to get the best outcome overall, adjusting own priorities if necessary
• Promotes a strong learning culture in the organization
• Remains calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations

Key Relationship

Internal:

High-level contact:

Internal: The Country Office and PU level program team, in particular, the other members of the MER unit;

External: Partners and consultants

Medium-level contact: The Country Office operations team, the RO MER unit

Low-level contact: NO staff, IH

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

• Typical office environment with 30% travel to program units. There will be occasional travels to West and Central African Region countries for peer assistance purposes.

Level of contact with children

• The position will be based at the Country Office and the level of contact with children is medium of interaction

Other

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY

Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.

Ensure staff understands Plan International’s commitment to driving a feminist agenda within the organization, and the ambition for gender equality and gender transformative leadership is embedded in our value-based leadership framework.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES 

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organization for all children, girls & young people.

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximize long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners, and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• We empower our staff to give their best and develop their potential
• We respect all people, appreciate differences, and challenge equality in our programs and our workplace
• We support children, girls, and young people to increase their confidence and to change their own lives.

Applications: 

Last date for submission of Applications (CV and cover letter) is: 4th December 2023 by 5:00 pm

Your application should include:
·         A cover letter
·         A comprehensive CV including details of two referees, one of whom should be your current of most recent supervisor

  Send applications to the below link: Sierra-Leone.Recruitment@plan-international.org

Only short-listed candidates shall be contacted. References will be taken and background and anti-terrorism checks will be carried out in conformity with Plan International’s Safeguarding Children and Young People’s Policy.

Plan International follows an equal opportunity policy and actively encourages diversity welcoming applications from all especially women and people living with disability.

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