Background/IRC Summary:
The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees, IDPs, and others affected by war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. We address both the immediate, life -saving needs of conflict-affected people in an emergency and the reconstruction needs in post-conflict societies.
Job Overview/Summary:
The IRC recognized several years ago that while our focus on impact evaluations and research had put us on the cutting edge among NGOs for assessing contribution to impact, support to country programs on routine monitoring and use of data for decision making was not as strong as needed. As the IRC developed a new five-year (2015-2020) strategy, more systematic methods for tracking progress on achieving global outcomes had to be developed. This position was created to develop and implement a measurement framework that would put the IRC on a solid footing and allow us not only to speak with confidence about the results we are achieving, but to improve those achievements by adjusting program implementation in response to high quality and timely data accessible throughout the organization.
By using “measurement” in the title of this position rather than “M&E”, the IRC is explicitly emphasizing that we need to look beyond routine monitoring to assessing the broader effects and impacts of our programming. This position is very much a strategic one, but also contributes directly to improve project implementation in the field.
The measurement framework is being rolled out across the IRC. It has four main components:
- Regional Measurement Action Coordinators to lead implementation in each of the IRC’s five regions, including providing M&E support to country teams.
- Organizational core indicators tied to our new outcomes framework, which articulates five outcomes areas in which the IRC aspires to improve people’s lives: health, education, safety, economic well-being, and power. The core indicators are actually project indicators, designed to be high quality, standardized indicators for use by country teams in designing projects and constructing logframes, so they are embedded in project implementation (i.e., no extra work for project teams), but can be aggregated nationally, regionally, or globally.
- COMET (comprehensive online measurement and effectiveness tool), a data platform intended to replace the hundreds of spreadsheets in use around the IRC for tracking project data, based on the DHIS2 platform. In addition to facilitating aggregation of core indicator data, COMET provides a common data management and analysis platform across the organization, allowing immediate access to data at any level.
- Monitoring for Action (MfA) is a sub-initiative designed to provide concrete guidance to country teams on monitoring and use of data. It consists of monitoring standards that all projects are expected to meet, along with tools and guidance to support meeting those standards. It includes assessment tools and means of verification to allow tracking of progress.
This position sits within the Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Unit of the Policy & Practice Department, and coordinates measurement efforts across the other five technical units responsible for providing technical support to country teams (e.g., health, education, protection, governance), as well as across our International Programs Department, specifically working closely with the regional measurement action coordinators and deputy regional directors for programs.
Major Responsibilities:
Lead implementation of organizational measurement framework
- Manage all aspects of strategic measurement initiative project (including budget)
Implement data platform
Work closely with IT COMET team and vendor on first phase of COMET rollout country by country and planning for COMET second phase
Lead COMET steering committee
Lead training on COMET for technical unit and other staff
Core indicators
Support core indicator roll-out and coordinate development/review/updating of core indicators and guidance notes in collaboration with technical units
Ensure integration of core indicators into COMET and continuous monitoring
Monitoring for Action
Work with MfA Coordinator and regional measurement action coordinators on MfA roll-out
Monitor workplan and budget
Track MfA indicators
Regional Measurement Action Coordinators
Provide technical guidance and coaching/training
Support design and implementation of country performance scorecard
Work with strategy team to design scorecard, ensuring appropriate inclusion and aggregation of indicators
Ensure integration of scorecard indicators and dashboards into COMET
Contribute to quality M&E across the IRC and externally
- Consult with country teams as needed on strategic and specific technical matters
- Participate in InterAction’s Evaluation and Program Effectiveness Working Group (EPEWG) and other coordinating bodies
Supervise staff (including regular performance appraisals)
- MfA Coordinator
- COMET support specialists (2)
Technically mentor staff
- Regional Measurement Action Coordinators
- Sida Humanitarian Framework Agreement project Research, Evaluation, and Learning Manager
- Technical unit M&E focal points
Communications and coordination
- Work closely with REL’s communications officer to update and implement communications plan and develop content for email, web, and other communications
- Support IRC Communications Unit to develop program statistics for reports and communications materials
Job Requirements:
Essential qualifications, skills and experience
- Advanced degree in statistics or the social sciences with emphasis on measurement
At least eight years of professional experience with demonstrated skills in
Developing and implementing project M&E systems (including database design)
Designing and implementing agency-level measurement systems
Collecting data (with preference for digital methods)
- Data analysis
Using data for decision-making in multiple technical sectors
Proven ability to think strategically about data
Knowledge of the trends and issues in international aid monitoring, knowledge management and measurement
Experience training and mentoring staff
- Supervision experience
- Project management experience, and in particular the ability to manage multiple tasks and keep them on time and within budget
- Proven ability to coordinate effectively among a range of organizational units and achieve consensus and common goals
- At least four years’ experience working in developing countries and/or conflict-affected contexts
- Strong oral and written communication and presentation skills
- Fluency in English required
The chosen candidate will be a proven team player with the ability to work with multi-cultural teams and under tight deadlines.
Working Environment: Standard office environment
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