Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Officer – Plan International Nepal

Plan International is a development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners in over 75 countries. Our programs are underpinned by a core of defined values, including transparency and accountability, team collaboration, inclusion and integration, as well as the overall ambition to empower girls and young women as legacy.

Plan International has been working in Nepal since 1978 and developed a strong reputation as a respected development and humanitarian actor helping marginalized children, their families and communities to access their rights to health, education, economic security and protection. Through the support of local partners, Plan International has worked in 42 districts in Nepal since 1978. 

Plan International strives for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Our ambition from now to 2027 is to see All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change.

Plan international Nepal seeks candidates who practice feminist leadership, promote diversity, actively seek innovative solutions for problems, courageously and respectfully share their opinions and ideas, break down barriers and engender cross-department collaboration, practice active listening, maintain confidentiality, build trust and are passionate about children’s rights and equality for girls.


ROLE PURPOSE

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Officer will support and lead to ensure an effective MERL system is in place for the project. This will include development and implementation of MERL systems of assigned project, regular collection of monitoring data and its analysis for management information purposes. The position holder will provide inputs to Project Director and MERL team in project design to ensure effective application of program learning, as well as to support in all baselines, mid-term and endlines evaluations and research with technical support from the Research, Evaluation and Knowledge Management Specialist. S/He will also develop capacity of field and partner organisation staff in all MERL related tasks, systems and processes.      


Plan International also seeks the following position for an anticipated Department of State  program in Nepal. These position is contingent upon donor funding and approval.

DIMENTIONS OF THE ROLE

MERL Officer will closely work with Project Director, Regional MERL Coordinator, MERL Specialist, Regional Team and other program staffs and partners in close coordination with MERL unit. 
S/He is also expected to work closely with partner program staff and build their capacity as required. S/He is expected to conduct frequently monitoring visit to project implementation sites and share findings to project team, regional team and MERL team with action plan.


ACCOUNTABILITIES 

Contribute to project design and reporting 

  • Support the project team in planning for and conducting needs/contextual assessments through mobilizing internal team or third-party monitoring/evaluation entities or partners.
  • Provide inputs in proposal writing, program development and facilitate planning activities including the logical framework. 
  • Participate in project design workshops through presenting lessons learned and best practices surrounding similar projects and ensuring those are reflected in upcoming project designs.
  • Ensure the MERL component is incorporated in each steps of project implementation. 
  • Compile and provide required data for reporting to donors and Plan International Nepal’s requirements.


Establish effective project monitoring system
 

  • Support in designing Monitoring and evaluation framework for assigned projects. 
  • Improve the existing MERL system, in coordination with the regional program teams, project team and MERL unit to ensure quality delivery in time.
  • Ensure all MERL activities are conducted timely as per project calendar.
  • Develop project monitoring checklist based on quality benchmark and project implementation guideline.
  • Conduct regular project monitoring visit for quality enhancement, sharing lesson learnt and good practices.
  • Perform regular field visits to ensure the quality of data collected by program and partner staff and to verify the accuracy of reported data.
  • Support project team by finding improvement areas and contribute in quality activities delivering.
  • Ensure monitoring data is collected, consolidated and analyzed according to the MERL Standard.
  • Prepare, disseminate and follow up MERL report as part of Plan International’s information management system. 


Facilitate accountability and stakeholder feedback mechanisms
 

  • Lead to enhance accountability mechanism in the community level and project implementation sites.
  • In coordination with Project Director, design and carry out review and reflection with partner organisations and communities.
  • In coordination with implementation partner, design, plan and carry out social audit. 
  • Develop plan of action based on recommendations from review/reflection and social audit events of the project.
  • Support the project team to establish complaints and feedback mechanism for assigned programmes/projects to respond to the complaints/feedbacks/concern from community and beneficiaries, including analysis of data with management actions identified.
  • Ensure that a system for collecting and managing complaints at the level of beneficiary communities is effective and make any improvements in Plan International’s accountability to its beneficiaries.

Evaluations, research and learning generation 

  • In collaboration with the Research, Evaluation and Knowledge Management Specialist, Project team and regional team, support in all evaluations and research activities of assigned project.
  • Participate in the development of data collection tools and the design of evaluations and research. 
  • Perform quantitative and qualitative data analyses using appropriate software.
  • Work with program teams to utilise data for quality improvements in project implementation.
  • Document good practices, lessons learned and feedback to influence and guide the design and implementation of our programs.
  • Organize learning events and workshops for to document lessons learnt, good practices and areas of improvement.


TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

Essential 

  • Minimum of five years of professional experience in a senior M&E position responsible for implementing M&E activities of international development projects. 
  • Proven success in designing, implementing, and operating project M&E systems from project initiation to closeout stages. 
  • Experience in planning and managing various studies; for example, performance evaluations, baseline studies, case studies, and gender/diversity/related studies. 
  • Experience designing and managing multiple disaggregation variables for participant monitoring and database systems, including gender and age. 
  • Bachelor’s OR Master’s degree in statistics, demographics, public policy, international development, economics, or related field.
  • Master’s degree OR Bachelor’s plus an advanced certificate in M&E, statistics, economics, or international development preferred; or, ten (10) years or more of related work experience. 
  • Experience in strategic planning and performance measurement, including indicator design, target setting, reporting, database management, and developing M&E and/performance monitoring plans. 
  • Experience in designing and administering data collection tools, conducting data entry, data cleaning, data processing and analysis. 
  • Knowledge of the major evaluation methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed method, and impact) and data collection and analysis methodologies. 
  • Experience managing and providing ongoing training to M&E field officers and/or subrecipients. 
  • Experience with data quality assessments and oversight. 
  • Understanding of gender mainstreaming and analysis frameworks and development of indicators pertaining to adolescent girls’ and women’s economic empowerment is preferred.


Desirable
 

  • Experienced in rights-based approach to development.
  • Facilitating child led monitoring, evaluation or research.


PLAN INTERNATIONAL’S VALUES IN PRACTICE
 


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 organisation 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. 


PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

  • Typical office environment with regular field travel.


LEVEL OF CONTACT WITH CHILDREN
 

Mid contact: Frequently interaction with children.


“Say Yes ! To Keeping Children and Young people safe and Protected”                 

Application Method

Application Method

For Registered Candidate:

Login to https://p2p.com.np/ with your username and password, click on the job you want to apply for and press “APPLY” that appears on the selected job page.

For New Candidate:

Go to https://p2p.com.np/

Register/Create new account,

Use your newly created username and password to login

Click on the job you want to apply for

And press “APPLY” that appears on the selected job page.

If cover letter/ CV is not attached, a pop up will appear The pop up will direct to “MANAGE COVER LETTER/ CV” page where you can add/upload cover letter/ CV, then press “APPLY” at the bottom of the page.


Application Deadline: Monday, 25th September 2023

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