Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer

About this role

Trócaire is an International NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We work towards five goals:

• Promote Access to Justice;
• Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
• Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;
• Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
• Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice.

Our work is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and in our values of Solidarity, Courage, Participation, Perseverance and Accountability.

About the division:
The Zimbabwe Country programme addresses four themes: promoting access to justice; climate and environmental justice; supporting women and girls’ protection, voice and leadership; and saving lives and protecting human dignity. Trócaire’s rights-based approach, partnership model, commitment to localisation and accountability, and the humanitarian–development–peace nexus underpin each programme area.
About the role
Under this Project, Trócaire leads a consortium of 17 civil society organisations implementing the donor-funded project in Zimbabwe. The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer will support the MEL Manager to monitor, verify, document and report on project results across all consortium partners, and will help partners apply Trócaire’s results-based management approach and digital data collection systems.
The post-holder will be part of the Project Team and will work closely with the country office’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning team and with Trócaire’s Programme Impact and Learning Unit in Ireland.
The role will report to the Project MEL Manager and will not manage any staff. The role is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, with frequent travel to project areas.
Key responsibilities
Monitoring and reporting

• Support the implementation of the project’s monitoring, evaluation and learning framework, results framework and indicator tracking, in line with Trócaire and donor standards.

• Carry out routine monitoring and field verification visits to partners and project sites and write field visit reports with clear follow-up actions.

• Manage the project’s digital data collection platforms and database, including designing and updating data collection forms, and managing user access.

• Clean, verify and check the quality of partner data, and consolidate it at consortium level, ensuring data is disaggregated by sex, age and disability, including use of the Washington Group questions on disability.

• Review partner reports and compile consolidated monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports with the MEL Manager.

• Track and document project results using relevant approaches as outlined in the MEL plan and framework.

• Collect and document case studies, human interest stories and evidence of value for money.

• Support commissioning of project evaluations and reviews, including designing of tools, enumerator training, fieldwork coordination and data analysis.

Data protection and accountability

• Ensure information about project participants is collected with informed consent, kept confidential and stored securely, in line with Trócaire’s data protection policy and Zimbabwe’s Cyber and Data Protection Act.

• Support partners to run feedback and complaints mechanisms and safeguarding processes, making sure complaints are recorded, referred and responded to.

• Promote accountability to project participants so that their views and feedback inform project decisions.

Learning and capacity strengthening

• Capture and share lessons learned and good practices and help plan and document partner review and reflection meetings.

• Coach and mentor partner staff on monitoring tools, digital data collection, results-based management and reporting.

• Support the MEL Manager to assess partners’ monitoring, evaluation and learning capacity and to implementing the capacity strengthening plans.

• Keep organised evidence and filing system to support donor reporting, audits and evaluations.

Teamwork and other duties

• Work with programme, finance and monitoring colleagues in the country office and at Head Office, and take part in country office monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning meetings.

• Undertake other mutually agreed tasks related to the Goal 1 work at the request of the line manager.
Requirements
Essential Requirements
Qualifications

• A degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Public Policy and Governance, Law or Human Rights, or a related field.
Experience

• At least three (3) years’ experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning, preferably in human rights, governance, access to justice or civic space programmes.

• Experience using logical frameworks or results frameworks and results-based management.

• Experience collecting, managing and analysing quantitative and qualitative data, including use of digital platforms such as KoboToolbox, ODK or CommCare.

• Experience working with local partner organisations or within a consortium setup.
Skills

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn data into clear findings and recommendations.

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.

• Data collection tool design, survey design and sampling skills

• Excellent written and spoken English, report writing and facilitation skills, and fluency in at least one local language.

• Ability to manage heavy workloads and meet deadlines.
Behavioural competencies

• Communicating: reflecting our value of Participation, communicates clearly and transparently across teams, locations and with external organisations, getting our message across with impact.

• Collaborating: reflecting our values of Participation…