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.

Job Description

Position : Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Specialist – Lake Chad Programme
Grade:  D1 non-accompanied posting
Department & Location : Plan International Lake Chad Unit based in the Country Office of Plan Cameroon in Yaoundé
Date : May 2021
Reports to (position): Lake Chad Programme Manager with dotted Line to Regional Head of MERL

Purpose:  How does this post support Plan’s strategy and mission?
Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organization committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice.  We actively unite children, communities and other people who share our mission to make positive lasting changes in children’s and young people’s lives.  We support children to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights to a fulfilling life, today and in the future. We place a specific focus on girls and women, who are most often left behind.  We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.

Plan has been operating in Nigeria since 2014, in Niger since 1998 and in Cameroon since 1996 helping poor children to access their rights to health, education, protection and livelihoods. Plan works to bring long lasting improvements to children’s lives. Plan International‘s main goals are that: Children grow well in a healthy environment; Children participate in the development process; Adults, particularly women, acquire literacy and life skills; Communities are well organized in order to protect children.

Plan International has full-fledged Country programmes in three out of four affected countries around the Lake Chad and developed a joint programme approach for its Lake Chad Response Programme, focusing on Child Protection in Emergencies, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, Education in Emergencies as well as Youth Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods.

The MERL-Specialist is in charge of maintaining a regional M&E Framework for the Lake Chad Response Programme, including the development of respective instruments and data collection tools to measure the impact of our programme. Furthermore, s/he will support the M&E specialists at country level to improve DRM programme quality and accountability through a) enhancing MERL capacity, networking and learning with regards to the Programme Quality, b) supporting and implementing high quality MERL and c) providing evidence for programme design, planning and effectiveness. S/he makes sure that MERL practices used within the Lake Chad countries are shared with the regional MERL network.

Dimensions of Role:

Responsible for the maintenance and revision of the Lake Chad M&E Framework including instruments and tools for data collection with a strong focus on impact monitoring
Responsible for overseeing the measurement of Key Outcome Indicators per technical sector (CPIE, SGBV, EiE, YEE and Livelihoods)
Supporting M&E specialists at country level in the effective implementation of the Lake Chad M&E Framework
Supporting research on subjects of interest to the Lake Chad programme
Member of the Lake Chad Unit
Matrix managed by the Lake Chad Programme Manager and the Regional Head of MERL
No line management responsibility

Responsibilities:

Lake Chad programme projects have quality M&E frameworks and are implemented according to the standards
Provides ongoing online and on-site technical support and oversight to the countries to ensure quality design and implementation of project M&E frameworks
Maintains updated and reliable Indicators Performance Tracking Table for the Lake Chad Program
Tracks Lake Chad data for the bi-monthly Snapshot.
Analyses and produce a quarterly report on the progress of the performance indicators for the Lake Chad Programme
Designs/develops Terms Reference (ToR) for and lead studies and evaluations (baseline, midline and end-line) to the Lake Chad Programme and the COs
Conducts periodic data quality control measures and propose and implement actions to strengthens the existing M&E systems in the countries
Promote innovative approaches and tools to improve effectiveness and efficiency
Supports Lake Chad Programme Manager in review of Lake Chad Programme Strategy and Country Response Plans for integration of effective MERL measures
Ensures effective implementation of the MERL standards in the Lake Chad region
Facilitates the Lake Chad M&E technical network
Supports the development and establishment of complaints and feedback mechanisms throughout the Lake Chad Response Programme and the programme implementation in line with the Core Humanitarian Standard
Produces a quarterly report on the complaints and feedback collected for the Lake Chad Program

MERL specialists at country level are coached and supported to deliver quality results in DRM context
Provides on-going coaching and mentoring to country-level MERL staff to leverage lessons learned, best practices, programme data, evaluations and provides evidence-based information, proposal annexes, success stories, case studies and other high quality, results-based documentation
Supports capacity development of MERL specialists at CO level in alignment with relevant programme and MERL policies and standards in DRM context
Prepares and facilitates regular MERL Lake Chad network meetings
Conducts staff trainings on high quality monitoring, evaluation and research processes in DRM context

DRM aspect of the MERL work is improved in the West and Central Africa Region
Supports regional gender transformative research projects (including conduct of literature reviews, writing of concepts notes and ToR, guidance and supervision of consultants, report reviews)
Disseminates research results (for example, writing of abstracts and summary papers, presentations at conferences and workshops, designing of dissemination material)
Documents and disseminates internally good practices on MER and programme quality in DRM context

Dealing with Problems:

Complexity of problems handled & the degree of investigation, analysis, & creative thinking required to solve them

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) are crucial components for ensuring high quality outcomes and impact in rights-based programming. Likewise, meeting high standards of MERL is a crucial requirement for learning and continuous improvement. Barriers that the Lake Chad MERL specialist may have to deal with include:

Plan International’s M&E work in the sector of Disaster Risk Management has been mainly focused on the monitoring of outputs; outcome indicator measurement needs to be improved.
Weak needs assessment can negatively impact the design of response programmes
The MERL staff at Country Office (CO) may have technical competency gaps regarding:
the development of theories of change/logic models and results-based management,
participatory tools for planning monitoring and evaluation exercises with children,
quantitative and qualitative data management
development and implementation of policies and procedures for data sharing, dissemination and feedback to relevant right holders and duty bearers,
the organisation of MERL activities with and for children (in particular girls and boys with special needs),
the conduct of gender sensitive studies, and
the implementation of the learning through all their activities.
There are insufficient and/or inadequate budget allocations for MERL activities and the budgets allocated to MERL technical capacity building have been deficient.

Communications and Working Relationships:

High level contact:

Internal:

Lake Chad Programme Manager
The Lake Chad Steering Committee
Lake Chad MERL network (country level MERL teams);
RH MERL unit

External

Partners at regional, sub-regional and country level

Medium level contact:

PU staff / staff of field offices
NO staff
International Programmes Department at GH

Qualification, Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Required to Achieve Role’s Objectives:

Qualification

Master degree in Social science or equivalent (demography, measurement, planning, monitoring & evaluation, development or humanitarian studies, Social Sciences, Statistics)
At least 5 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation and research functions including knowledge management

Knowledge

Understanding of the international humanitarian system, international humanitarian standards (Sphere, INEE, CPIE, CHS)
Knowledge of theories of rights-based programming and child protection (programmatic and safe-guarding)
Knowledge of the Lake Chad context including trends, challenges and opportunities and implications to community development as well as social cohesion is an advantage
Demonstrated experience as a development or humanitarian professional in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs
Knowledgeable on participatory MER tools and systems
Knowledgeable on tool design for qualitative and quantitative research

Skills

Strong planning and organisational skills
Skills in managing qualitative and quantitative data collections
Working experience in community participation in development/programming
Skills for data base management (design, entry, analysis)
Strong analytical skills
Extensive working experience of SAP and SAP BI Online
Ability to deliver to tight deadlines
Demonstrated facilitation and active listening skills
Good presentation skills
Solid writing skills (report writing, concept paper writing etc.)
Fluency in French and English
Skills in using Microsoft Office and other software applications relevant to MER (e.g. MAXQDA, SPSS, epi-info, CSPro or similar)

Behaviours

Coaches and builds capacity of MERL staff at country level
Promotes innovation and learning
Communicates clearly and effectively
Strong team building and motivational skills
Demonstrates clear respect of all and 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 behaviour
Sees contribution of own part of the organisation in wider Plan and external context
Balances future vision with practical delivery
Cross culturally adept
Acts as a team player, willing to get the best outcome overall, adjusting own priorities if necessary
Promotes a strong learning culture in the organisation
Remains calm and positive under pressure and in difficult situations
Committed to promoting gender equality at the workplace and beyond

Physical Environment and Demands:

Typical office environment with up to 60% extensive travel to programme countries, programme locations, as well as potentially outside the region.

Level of Contact with Children:

The position will be based at a Country Office and level of contact with children is medium.

Closing Date: 04/06/21

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.