MEL Assistant
Beirut, Beirut Governorate, Lebanon | Full-time
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently works in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps is committed to generating positive opportunities for women, men, boys and girls from Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian communities, with a strong focus on engaging youth. Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping build secure, productive and just communities. Our programs focus on four sectors: Economic Opportunities, Governance and Social Stability, Youth and Humanitarian interventions. The Mercy Corps Lebanon team consists of over 180 staff working across six offices throughout Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley.
The Program
Following the tragic explosions in Beirut of August 4, 2020, numerous lives were lost, thousands wounded and hundreds of thousands rendered homeless. The infrastructural damage has been devastating. Lebanon is also experiencing a debilitating confluence of financial, political, economic, COVID-19, and social crises as the central government struggles to respond. The social and economic consequences of the events from October 2019 have seen tens of thousands of businesses close, hundreds of thousands of jobs lost and the increasing struggle of the majority of the population to afford even the basic necessities of food, medicine, and shelter. Lebanon’s economy is on the verge of collapse.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the main economic drivers in Lebanon, representing 97 percent of the total enterprises, employing more than 51 percent of the working population, and are mostly family-owned. Mercy Corps’s Beirut Response Program seeks to support blast-affected MSMEs to protect, maintain and grow MSMEs to protect the livelihoods of those they employ, and ensure their continued provisions of basic goods and services to the neighborhoods in which they work. Mercy Corps particularly focuses on poorer and lower middle class neighborhoods, already struggling prior to the explosions and struggling to survive, yet vital to the survival of their neighborhoods to get back on their feet.
Even before this explosion struck, Lebanon was facing a crisis on multiple fronts. Home to the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita in the world, the financial woes are stark with the Lebanese Pound having lost 80% of its value since October and the country in hyperinflation for the last two months. Lebanon is also experiencing an escalation in COVID-19 cases, with around 200 new cases reported every day. This explosion comes at the worst possible time for Lebanon and adds yet another setback that will deeply affect people’s ability to cope.
The primary objectives of the program are to:
- Assess immediate urgent needs of blast-affected MSMEs in Beirut for rapid response interventions allowing quickest possible reopening and resumption of services.
- Provide targeted, unrestricted recovery grant support to identified MSMEs to contribute to losses suffered from the blast and accumulated during the past year of financial and economic crises, as well as COVID-related shutdowns.
- Explore the scaling of geographic and programmatic breadth and width of the program for greater humanitarian and economic impact.
- Build the foundation for a broader-based Phase II program design that effectively transitions from emergency response to recovery to larger scale, market systems-based development.
The Position
The MEL Assistant is expected to contribute to the quality assurance of program implementation. They will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation functions related to tracking project progress and quality, collecting useful, timely and actionable information for management, and contribute to the frequent review, reflection and key learning process to improve performance. The MEL Assistant will work closely with the MEL Coordinator and the Project Manager to manage field activities for the program’s MEL functions. They will assist in implementing review and learning processes (e.g., complaints mechanisms, feedback loops, lessons learned documentation and sharing, etc.). They will work closely with partners and other stakeholders involved in program implementation in order to ensure a coherent and comprehensive program is implemented, lessons are learned and experiences shared across the various sectors and program teams.
Essential Responsibilities
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
- Contribute to development and management of project databases to facilitate timely information updates, data quality assurance, sharing of information and learning, etc.;
- Assist in the development of appropriate monitoring, tracking and reporting systems, tools and templates (including a M&E plan) that enhance monitoring of project outputs and quality, generate quality evidence on project impact and promote and ensure use of data for decision-making processes;
- Work with the MEL Coordinator and Program teams to integrate M&E into ongoing project planning and implementation systems and ensure adherence to Mercy Corps M&E minimum standards;
- Coordinate with partner organizations to ensure data is collected on time and entered in a timely manner;
- Conduct data collection for assessments and evaluations;
- Support with the training of enumerators on M&E tools and supervise data collectors in the field;
- Support use of digital data collection for M&E needs wherever possible;
- Generate quality evidence on program impacts and promote use of data for decision-making processes;
- Conduct regular monitoring visits and spot checks to the different project locations;
- Support documentation of project progress through tracking attendance sheets, photos, etc.
- Share regular written reports on monitoring findings and program participants stories;
- Participate in Lessons Learned sessions and disseminate results across the teams.
Data Analysis and Reporting
- Support project team in data collection and data analysis;
- Liaise with other project teams and M&E staff as required to ensure that the project databases complement and align with each other. This will ensure that data on project outputs and project impacts are aligned and reported together;
- Coordinate with MEL Coordinator and the project team to review indicator updates on a monthly basis.
- Contribute data and analysis to program reports;
- Contribute to program achievement reporting on TOLA, Activity Info, and other relevant reporting mechanisms;
- Support in the intra-agency referral mechanism;
- Other tasks as required.
Accountability
- Ensure that Mercy Corps’ Community Feedback and Accountability Mechanism is clearly communicated to project beneficiaries, and that the hotline numbers are visible to end beneficiaries throughout the program;
- Ensure all activities are gender sensitive and follow Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity Policy;
- Apply Do No Harm standards to ensure activities do not have detrimental effects on vulnerable communities;
- Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
- Other assigned tasks, as necessary.
Organizational Learning
As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve – we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
Supervisory Responsibility
None.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: MEL Coordinator
Works Directly With: PAQ Unit, PM, Project Officers, Enumerators
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
- BA/S or equivalent, preferable in social sciences, business administration, public administration, international development or other relevant disciplines;
- Experience with data collection and/or humanitarian/development work;
- Fluent in both spoken and written Arabic with good knowledge of English;
- Previous experience working with international and/or local NGOs;
- Good computer skills and experience developing data management systems (including ONA/KoBo/ODK) is an asset;
- Relevant experience in field survey/data collection techniques, data entry, data verification, and analysis;
- Good data management understanding and skills;
- Strong team coordination, listening, and consensus building skills.
Success Factors
The successful MEL Assistant will be bright, energetic, hard-working and eager to learn. They will take a deep personal interest in humanitarian and development assistance. They will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality. They will be creative and flexible, contributing to developing and encouraging new and innovative solutions, but at the same time will not have any difficulty in adhering to systems and procedures. They will strictly follow all protocols related to safety and security, and hold themselves accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Mercy Corps’ values.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
