Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Start Date:  April 2023.

Benefits: Medical insurance, and vacation days.

Hours: 40 hours per week (9:00 to 17:00, about 10-15% travel involved mainly to Syria and Iraq).

Qualifications (necessary skills, experience, and education): 

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required. Degree in international development, humanitarian assistance, social work, or related field preferred.

Experience

• Essential:
  • 1-2 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation.
  • Experience with project planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.
• Desirable:
  • Previous experience with NGOs or civil society organizations.
  • Familiarity with M&E tools (i.e., KAP surveys, Most Significant Change).
  • Familiarity with Log frames and/or Theory of Change.
  • Experience with budgeting, financial management and monitoring.

Skills/abilities

• Essential:
  • Strong writing, communication, and organizational skills.
  • Strong relational skills to interact with different partners.
  • Ability to understand and advise on the challenges that local partners (NGOs & CSOs) face.
  • Ability to analyze narrative and financial documents to monitor and evaluate project success.
  • Proven organizational and administrative skills.
  • Fluency in Arabic and English (written and spoken).
  • Computer literate in Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Desirable:
  • Ability to expand partner’s understanding of PMER through empowering methods.
  • Ability in capacity building of small NGOs/CSOs including identifying needs and providing support.
  • Ability to monitor projects in the field and/or at a distance.
  • Ability to think strategically about projects and programs.
  • Awareness of gender and protection issues.
  • Ability in planning and carrying out training sessions for local CSOs/NGOs.
  • Training in financial risk management.
  • Computer literate in Microsoft Access and Kobo, advance knowledge of Microsoft Excel.

Personal qualities

• Essential:
  • Self-disciplined with ability to work proactively, using own initiative.
  • Appreciation for the variety of faith perspectives in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq and ability to respectfully interact with people of all faiths.
  • Understanding of the complexity of the Syrian conflict, openness to listen to all perspectives without judgment, and ability to focus on a politically neutral humanitarian response.
  • Friendly, faithful, and respectful of confidential information.
  • Maturity, flexibility, and sense of humor are necessary.
  • Ability to work as part of a team, to focus under pressure, and to work on tight timelines in support of MCC’s mission.
  • Capacity to show compassion in crisis situations, balanced with the ability to be objective enough to overcome distress and adhere to stated program goals.
  • Strong coping skills and ability to balance self-care with workload.
• Desirable:
  • Highly reflective and committed to developing themselves and others through reflective ongoing learning.
  • Demonstrated interest and involvement in issues of justice, compassion, and mercy.
  • Creative and innovative approach to work.

Assignment Narrative: (background information, accountability & support structure, schedule requirements)

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an international NGO established in 1921, has over 100 years of experience in peacebuilding, disaster response and development and has had an ongoing presence in the Middle East since the 1960s.

Since February 2012, MCC has been responding to the Syrian crisis through numerous local partner organizations in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, and to the Iraq crisis since 2014 in the areas of food assistance, shelter, WASH, NFIs, peacebuilding, protection, health, education, and psychosocial support. In Lebanon MCC is also programming work with host communities, vulnerable Lebanese populations, and Palestinian refugees.

The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer reports to the External Grants Coordinator. She/he will maintain regular office hours, 9:00 – 17:00, Monday-Friday. She/he is expected to occasionally work nights and/or weekends, especially during conferences or times when there are program deadlines.

Duties (specific tasks & responsibilities):

Program

• Assist in Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER).
• Assist MCC program staff in drafting MEAL plans that guide the program and monitor the work.
• Identify activities for monitoring inspired and approved by the project log frame.
• Identify performance indicators and set means of verifying for each indicator.
• Assist in drafting surveys and focus group questionnaires.
• Play an integral role in the collection and analysis of data along with the implementing partners’ staff.
• Assist in writing the activity, interim and completion narrative reports, concept papers, proposals, and evaluations.
• Plan and attend programmatic spot checks to the implementing partners including and not limited to interviewing team members, beneficiaries and vendors, random check of beneficiaries’ invoices to make sure all purchased elements are eligible.
• Attend on site monitoring visits and distributions to strengthen programming and partner relationships.
• Follow up with the sub-IP to make sure beneficiaries were informed about the complaint mechanisms and are receiving all the needed messages.
• Prepare and conduct various trainings with partners in areas such as M&E
• Collect stories, photos, and videos from partner projects to support MCC’s communications.
• Assist MCC in translation work (written and spoken) to support programming.
• Support MCC program visits to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq with logistics and hosting.
• Provide logistical and administrative support for various capacity building trainings and partner conferences.
• Attend coordination meetings when needed to build relationships with other INGOs/NGOs.
• Develop contacts and relationships with relevant external agencies (local government, national government, community based and NGO entities) to enhance program implementation and sustainability.
• Identify activities for monitoring inspired and approved by the project log frame.

General

• Attend MCC partner conferences and program retreats.
• Attend MCC weekly staff meetings.
• A willingness to help with various tasks to support MCC’s mission.
• A willingness to work extra hours when necessary (i.e., reporting periods).
• Communicate regularly with Lebanon Representatives.
• Model non-violent peacemaking in the workplace and community through respectful interactions with others.

Challenges:

• The worker must be willing to adhere to security guidelines and heed the advice of local partners and the MCC Representatives on security issues relating to programming.
• At certain times of the year, reporting deadlines may lead to heavier than normal workloads.
• Meetings or activities with partners can occur in the evenings or on the weekends. Flexibility will be needed.