Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager, Direct Services
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Grade: 8, Step 0
Monthly Gross: 273,095
Supervisor: Associate Director Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) 
Supervision Given: MEL Associates
 
About RefugePoint

Founded in 2005, RefugePoint envisions an inclusive world where all refugees can safely build stable, connected, and thriving lives. We partner with refugees to access life-changing solutions and transform how the world supports them. RefugePoint’s work is grounded in being Refugee-Centered, Anti-Racist & Anti-Colonial, Equity-Focused, Trauma-Informed, Evidence-Informed, and Collaborative. Our evolving Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) practice seeks to embed these values into all aspects of our work, while serving the agency, our sector and refugees with MEL excellence.  

A strong MEL system and team are critical for carrying out RefugePoint’s vision and mission. Specifically, MEL at RefugePoint’s drives one of the agency’s four key current programmatic strategies (Strategic Priority #3): to use program results to promote learning, program improvement, decision-making, and contribute to building knowledge and evidence in the sector. Every member of the MEL team contributes towards implementing this strategy, while also making unique contributions to the MEL team and the wider work of the agency, as described below. The work of the MEL team is supplemented by a group of colleagues in programmatic and operational roles who collect, validate and protect much of the data that the agency MEL system depends on. Though not a part of the MEL team formally, this group of ‘Data Deputies’ plays a critical role in ensuring the availability of quality and consistent data at RefugePoint. The MEL team engages with and supports the Data Deputies in making this critical contribution. 

Position Summary

The MEL Manager for RefugePoint’s Direct Services work holds overall responsibility for monitoring, evaluation and reporting activities for RefugePoint’s client-serving work. This role bridges both RefugePoint’s flagship Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) and Resettlement Program, as well as other programs in our Host Country Solutions (HCS) and Third-Country Solutions (3CS) portfolio. The primary focus of this role will be to directly support and interface with all RefugePoint programs to ensure that there is a comprehensive, well-coordinated and integrated approach to monitoring, evaluation and reporting of our client-facing programmatic work. The Manager will also line manage and support the professional development of Associate MEL staff tasked to Direct Services.

The Manager will also be responsible for quality control and completeness checks, completing and guiding quantitative and qualitative data collection systems and tools, ensuring data quality, and analyzing and reporting on data in an effective and timely manner. The Manager will support staff to build overall organizational capacity for monitoring, evaluation and reporting. The MEL Manager, Direct Services should have a strong skill set for quantitative data management and analysis, and an affinity for building the capacity of colleagues to learn and work with these skills in their own work. 

Projects the Manager and MEL Associate(s), Direct Services will serve include, but are not limited to: URPP, Resettlement/NGO Referrals Program, Family Reunification Initiative, Deployment Program, Labor Mobility Program, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services Program.

Responsibilities and Duties

Providing leadership and supervision:

• Ensures implementation of the agency’s MEL systems and approaches in all client-facing programmatic settings. 

• Directly supervises and guides the work of the MEL Associates; supports the MEL-related work of Data Deputies and other colleagues contributing indirectly to MEL.
   

Building and strengthening partnerships and stakeholder engagement:

• Participates in MEL Working Group and Program Management Team.

• As requested, contributes to proposal development and donor reporting coordinated by the Development team as well as development of content for the Communications team.

• Works in a complementary collaborative way with the MEL Manager for Field Building and Systems Change (FB/SC), to advance MEL excellence in programs as well cross-learning and exchange of methods and approaches across Direct Services and FB/SC work.

• Cultivates positive working relationships with program team leads.

• Assists with external evaluations of program or agency-wide work; engages with external parties conducting research with RefugePoint.
   

Co-creating strategy and policy; facilitating planning and reflection:

• Assists Associate Director MEL with planning and execution of Biannual Reviews with program teams, as requested.
   

Setting data standards and strengthening data systems: 

• Coordinates with Associate Director MEL to ensure their implementation and adherence to approaches, methods, definitions and other standards of MEL practice. 

• Interfaces with Data Deputies in programmatic settings to build awareness of and support compliance with these approaches, methods, definitions and standards. 

• Exemplifies compliance with RefugePoint’s Data Protection Policy, and guides colleagues on their own compliance. 
   

Executing expert data collection, analysis and communication of research-based insights (M&E):

• Supports MEL Associates and program colleagues to implement best-practices of data collection, analysis and sensemaking for MEL, including designing and facilitating participatory analysis and reflection sessions.

• Supports creation of indicators and targets, and design of programmatic dashboards.

• Responsible for accurate, timely and complete monitoring and reporting (monthly, quarterly and annual) on Direct Services activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts for all programs. 

• Conducts internal evaluations of program work. 

• Contributes to creating tailored products for communicating research-based insights from MEL work for diverse stakeholders.  
   

Facilitating learning and knowledge creation (L):

• Participates in and supports learning activities at program- and agency-levels connected to RefugePoint’s Learning Agenda.

Other related duties, as assigned

• Minimum of three to five years experience implementing and managing MEL, research or knowledge management in complex, rapidly changing environments. Previous experience in humanitarian or development organizations, private sector/social enterprise, governmental or international organizations preferred. 

• Working knowledge of refugee issues (in particular local integration, urban/out-of camp programming, livelihoods, psycho-social assistance and child protection) preferred but not required;

• Enthusiasm for, and dedication to, working with vulnerable populations;

• BA required, MA in relevant field preferred;

• Demonstrated experience as an effective line-manager or team lead, excellent organizational and project management skills.  

• Strong methodological and analytical skills with demonstrated ability to employ quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to measure impact, attribution and contribution, including data collection, management, analysis and reporting.

• Expertise with quantitative data analysis, strong command of data protection and data management.

• Familiarity with mobile data collection;

• Expertise with Salesforce is strongly preferred. 

• Familiarity with stats packages preferred (especially R).

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and diplomatic manner a must.

• Excellent English writing skills; ability to draft professional reports in English;

• Excellent Swahili speaking and writing skills; other language skills a plus;

• Experience with teaching or workshop facilitation is a plus.