M&E Manager

Title: M&E Manager

Reports to: Country Director, Yemen

Department: Monitoring and Evaluation

Team: Monitoring and Evaluation

Location: Based in Aden, Yemen

Open to expatriates: Yes

Type of contract: Fixed Term, Full-Time

About Search

Search for Common Ground (Search) is a non-governmental organization working to transform the way societies deal with conflicts. We have over 37 years of experience in peacebuilding and are based in 53 local offices worldwide. We strive to build sustainable peace for generations to come by working with all sides of a conflict, providing the tools needed to work together, and finding constructive solutions. While conflict is inevitable, violence is not! Our mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. Instead of tearing down an existing world, we focus on constructing a new one. We shift the everyday interactions between hostile groups of people, so they can work together to build up their community, choosing joint problem-solving over violent means.

Yemen program Summary

Yemen Search has been operational since 2010, and continued programming throughout the most recent conflict. Search is currently implementing seven multi-donor projects in over 29 districts in seven governorates across Yemen, with over 60 staff members.

Overview

The Yemen Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E) Manager is responsible for providing leadership and technical support on design, monitoring and evaluation for the Yemen-based DM&E team, currently consisting of two DM&E Coordinators and one DM&E Officer in Aden and Sana’a in Yemen and one DM&E officer in Jordan. The DM&E Manager will ensure high-quality M&E support for the Yemen Country Program. The DM&E Manager will track DM&E responsibilities and ensure quality monitoring and evaluation. Based in Aden or Sana- Yemen, s/he will report to the Yemen Country Director and work closely with the ILT Focal Point, the regional DM&E Specialist and the global DM&E Manager at HQ.

Job Description

M&E Team Management

• Line-manage the Yemen M&E team.
• Continually assess the technical capacity of the Yemen M&E team through formal Development and Evaluation plans as well informal follow-up; identify gaps and provide capacity building, coaching and training as needed.
• Provide orientation, technical support, and training to Yemen program staff members on design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Lead the reform of the M&E team structure in cooperation with the Institutional Learning focal point for Yemen and the Yemen Country Director.
• Continuously review the function descriptions and ToR of the M&E team members and unit to ensure these remain updated and relevant.
• Initiate and lead the recruitment of any new M&E team members as needed.

Technical Leadership

• Overall responsible for the quality and timeliness of DM&E efforts in the Yemen program as detailed in Search’s DME protocols, as well as the program’s contribution to regional DM&E.
• Supervise the creation of M&E plans and log frames for new and existing projects by the M&E focal points. Provide a quality review of all core M&E documents and ensure these are delivered timely and are regularly updated throughout the project cycle. Liaise with the ILT Focal point to ensure ILT reviews and approves M&E core documents.
• Provide a quality review of all M&E tools, other data collection tools and databases developed by the M&E focal points or Information Management focal point, and ensure these are delivered timely. Draft tools and databases as needed.
• Support the M&E Focal Points with drafting terms of reference (ToR) for external consultants conducting research, baseline/end line studies or evaluations. Ensure ToRs are delivered timely and in line with Search’s quality standards, and liaise with the ILT Focal point to ensure ILT reviews and approves ToRs.
• Support the M&E Focal Points with reviewing consultant deliverables, and liaise with the ILT focal point to ensure ILT review and approval.
• Support and lead the M&E team when conducting research internally; draft or review the ToR for internal research as well as any reports or other products. Liaise with the ILT Focal point to ensure ILT reviews and approves ToRs and reports.
• Review and approve M&E contributions to donor reports.
• Support the M&E focal points with organizing monthly M&E meetings with the project teams, including preparing and sharing monitoring data on progress and challenges, and following-up on action points and lessons learned identified through reflection and learning activities.
• Support the M&E Focal Points with organizing regular field visits, and ensure findings feed into monthly M&E meetings as well as the complaints, feedback and accountability mechanism.
• Coordinate with the Yemen grants team to ensure all M&E products and processes comply with donor requirements
• Provide leadership in the development of program level monitoring and information management systems (e.g. the development of program level databases, the online Grants Management System, and knowledge management plans).

Strategy

• Support the development of the country’s DM&E strategy, including identifying opportunities for synergy between projects and common indicators that capture the collective effect and results of SFCG’s work in Yemen;
• Liaise with the Country Director and Regional Director to align with national and regional priorities; Participate in regional DM&E conference calls;
• Liaise with the ILT focal point and regional ILT staff as needed to ensure Yemen
• Participate in Yemen senior management meetings representing the M&E team.
• Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the organization, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge, particularly contributing to its Institutional Learning efforts.

Learning

• Contribute to cross-organizational learning, including providing information, guidelines, lessons learned, and tested tools to the HQ-based Institutional Learning Team.
• Organize quarterly reflection sessions for all Yemen projects in cooperation with the ILT focal point and relevant M&E Focal Points
• Attend DM&E events, conferences, and meetings to keep up to date and maintain relationships;

Accountability

• Design and operationalize the complaints, feedback and accountability mechanism for the Yemen program in cooperation with the ILT focal point
• Organize trainings on accountability and the complaints, feedback and accountability mechanism for all staff in cooperation with the ILT focal point

HR and Procurement

• Together with the ILT Focal Point participate in the recruitment of external consultants for evaluations, research, end line/base line studies or other M&E related tasks.
• Follow-up with the M&E focal points to ensure the contracting and procurement of external consultants is completed timely and in line with Search’s HR and procurement guidelines

Type and Nature of Contacts

• Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants in the office and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.
• Represents, as assigned, the M&E team or selected programs or projects in meetings with external partners, including but not limited to vendors, international and local partners, the clusters, donors and peer organizations.
• Interacts with country office and regional staff, including but not limited to the M&E team, project managers, grants team, Yemen senior management and the ILT focal point.
• Communities in a tactful culturally appropriate way with colleagues and partners in Yemen, the Search regional office in Amman and the Search headquarters in Brussels and Washington D.C.

Supervisory Responsibility

• The M&E Manager is part of the Yemen Senior Management Team (SMT), with supervisory responsibility of four M&E team members.

Requirements

Education

• A master degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, Economics, Information Management, Statistics or similar fields.
• Professional development courses or other training in monitoring and evaluation, accountability towards affected populations, applied research methodology or other relevant fields are considered advantageous.

Experience

• At least 4 years of experience working in conflict sensitive environments.
• At least 4 years of professional experience in DM&E positions, preferably with previous experience in managerial positions.
• Proven DME skills and experience, preferably in the field of peacebuilding.
• Experience working/researching in the field of conflict transformation in Yemen and in the region is a strong advantage.
• The position is open for Yemeni Nationals as international candidates.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• Previous knowledge and understanding of the social and political landscape in Yemen is highly advantageous;
• A high degree of competence in providing meaningful guidance and reflection on project implementation and programming.
• Proven ability to negotiate multiple relationships with various internal and external stakeholders;
• Strong oral and written communications skills;
• Demonstrated writing and reporting skills; preferably experience in writing donor reports and research products for a variety of audiences
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Excel and other data analysis software;
• Proficiency in advanced data analysis software (SPSS, R, Stata or others) or data visualization software is advantageous
• Proficiency with mobile data collection software like KoBo is advantageous.
• Proficiency with the Google software package (Google drive, Google sheets,…) is advantageous
• Strong organizational skills and attention to-detail

Behavioral Competencies

• Working with People: The ability to respect the views and contributions of other team members; shows empathy, listens, supports; consults others and shares information and expertise, builds team spirit and adapts to the team.
• Flexibility: The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and priorities, to tolerate ambiguity, to adapt personal style to different people and situations.
• Drive for Results and Efficiency: The ability to set quality standards, monitor and maintain quality of work, and set goals to achieve continuous improvement.
• Relationship Management: The ability to manage interactions, to provide service and to support the organization while building an effective internal and external network.
• Consultation (for managers and up): The ability to provide guidance to organizational stakeholders while applying creative problem-solving to address business needs.
• Leadership and Navigation: The ability to manage and contribute to initiatives and processes within the organization while making progress toward change and continuous improvement.
• Communication: The ability to effectively exchange information with others, to effectively deliver critical information, to gather information and communicate with others.
• Global and Cultural Effectiveness: The ability to value and consider the perspectives and backgrounds of all parties and be able to work cross-culturally.
• Ethical Practice: The ability to integrate Search vision, mission and core values, integrity and accountability throughout all organizational and business practices.
• Critical Evaluation (for managers and up): The ability to interpret information to make business decisions and recommendations based on keen analysis, best practices and an understanding of preferred outcomes.
• Business Acumen: The ability to understand and apply information to contribute to the organization’s strategic plan.
• Developing others (for people manager): The ability to provide support to enhance performance and professional growth.

Language Skills

• Spoken and written fluency in English is required. Fluency in Arabic is a strong advantage.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Conflict affected country with a fragile working environment and security situation that can rapidly change; ability to potentially travel within the country and internationally at least 25%. Willing and able to move to Yemen. Please note that this is an unaccompanied position.