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, Mercy Corps partners to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future. 

Program Summary  

Mercy Corps has been operational in Sudan since 2004, and currently has a country office in Port Sudan and field offices in South Darfur, Central Darfur, South Kordofan, North Kordofan, Kassala, River Nile, Northern and Gedaref states. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, health, nutrition, resilience, and Market Systems Development. Mercy Corps’ Sudan crisis response seeks to meet the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Sudanese and other conflict-affected people across the country. Mercy Corps Sudan is recognized as a leader in market systems, agricultural, and food security and building on this experience, the Mercy Corps Sudan humanitarian program will layer in resilience and other program activities where appropriate and feasible to do so. 

The Sudan Somoud - Enhancing Community Resilience Project is an initiative funded by the World Bank which has two interlinked components:  

Component 1: Community Led Basic Service Delivery. This component supports: (i) delivery of improved community led basic services; (ii) temporary engagement of frontline workers and volunteers in select sectors; (iii) project management and technical assistance costs; and (iv) technical assistance and training to select local authorities.   

Component 2: Improving Food Security. This component supports: (i) increased resilience and production of select crops and protection of livestock assets in rural areas that supply food to the target communities; (ii) agricultural value chains; (iii) the scaling-up and strengthening of community consumer cooperatives and organizations and community food centers that distribute agricultural outputs and provide affordable food to vulnerable groups; and (iv) project management and implementation costs.   

General Position Summary  

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Lead will oversee all monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities for the SOMOUD program in Gedaref, Sudan. The MEL Lead will be responsible for designing and implementing the MEL framework, ensuring that all program activities are tracked, evaluated, and refined based on data and evidence. This role involves coordinating with technical teams across diverse sectors, leading the collection and analysis of statistical data, and ensuring that the program adheres to Mercy Corps' program standards and systems. The MEL Lead will play a critical role in providing data-driven insights to improve program performance and impact. 

Essential Job Responsibilities  

MEL Framework Design and Implementation: 

• Lead the design and implementation of the overall MEL framework for the SOMOUD program, ensuring it aligns with program objectives and donor requirements. 

• Refine indicators, data collection methodologies, and tools to track program progress and outcomes across various sectors. 

• Ensure that monitoring and evaluation activities are integrated across all components of the program, including agriculture, market systems development, and capacity building. 

• Implement data quality assurance mechanisms to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and consistency of collected data. 

• Coordinate baseline assessments, mid-term reviews, and end-line evaluations to track program impact over time. 

Data Collection and Analysis: 

• Oversee the collection, management, and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, ensuring that program results are measured accurately and consistently. 

• Provide regular feedback to program teams based on data and analysis, facilitating evidence-based decision-making and adaptive program management. 

• Analyze data trends to identify areas of success and areas requiring adjustment, ensuring program implementation is informed by robust data. 

• Lead the development of dashboards, reports, and presentations that communicate key findings and program progress to internal and external stakeholders. 

Program Integration and Learning: 

• Work closely with program teams to ensure that MEL systems are fully integrated into program implementation and planning. 

• Facilitate learning and adaptive management processes by organizing reflection sessions, lessons learned workshops, and regular feedback loops. 

• Collaborate with sector leads to refine program strategies and approaches based on MEL findings, ensuring continuous improvement and impact. 

• Promote cross-sector learning and ensure that MEL activities address the specific needs and contexts of each program component. 

Compliance and Standards Adherence: 

• Ensure that all MEL activities adhere to Mercy Corps’ global program standards and systems, including data protection and ethical standards. 

• Ensure compliance with donor MEL requirements, including reporting formats, timelines, and submission deadlines. 

• Regularly review MEL systems and processes to ensure alignment with Mercy Corps’ best practices and emerging global MEL trends. 

• Ensure that MEL data and processes are properly documented and maintained for future use, evaluation, and audit purposes. 

Capacity Building and Team Management: 

• Lead and manage the MEL team, providing supervision, mentorship, and capacity building to ensure high-quality implementation of MEL activities. 

• Conduct training and capacity-building sessions for program staff and partners to enhance their understanding and skills in monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices. 

• Ensure that all team members have clear roles, responsibilities, and professional development plans. 

• Foster a collaborative team environment that encourages learning, innovation, and adaptive management. 

Stakeholder Engagement and Representation: 

• Represent the SOMOUD program’s MEL activities to donors, government agencies, and other external stakeholders, providing insights and evidence of program performance. 

• Engage with local partners, beneficiaries, and stakeholders to gather feedback on program performance and ensure participatory approaches to MEL. 

• Participate in relevant external forums, working groups, and networks to share MEL practices and learnings from the SOMOUD program. 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring the integration of MEL into programmatic decision-making. 

Reporting and Accountability: 

• Lead the preparation of high-quality MEL reports for internal use, donor submission, and external communication. 

• Ensure timely submission of all reports and MEL deliverables to donors, ensuring accuracy and alignment with agreed indicators and targets. 

• Oversee the implementation of accountability mechanisms, ensuring that feedback from beneficiaries and other stakeholders is captured and used to improve program quality. 

• Ensure the MEL system incorporates effective grievance redress mechanisms and encourages active participation of communities in program monitoring. 

Security: 

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership. 

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies. 

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.  

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward 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. 

• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues. 

Supervisory Responsibility 

MEL Officers 

Accountability  

Reports Directly To: Chief of Party 

Works Directly With: Director of Programs, MSD Specialist, Director of Finance, Director of Operations, Program Performance & Quality Director & MEL Manager 

Knowledge and Experience  

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Social Science, Development Studies, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred). 

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) for large-scale development or humanitarian programs, preferably in fragile or conflict-affected contexts. 

• Proven experience in designing and implementing MEL frameworks for multi-sector programs, including agriculture, livelihoods, and capacity building. 

• Strong understanding of qualitative and quantitative data collection methodologies, statistical analysis, and data visualization. 

• Experience with donor MEL requirements, particularly for USAID, World Bank, or other international donors. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead and manage large, multi-disciplinary teams in challenging environments. Excellent communication skills, both verbally and in written.  

• Proven solid analytical and problem solving skills. 

• Excellent writing and verbal skills in English is required.  

• Extensive travel to program areas is required.  

Success Factors 

The ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel is required. A demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities is necessary. A professional standard of program, finance and procurement ethics as well as the willingness and ability to enforce compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures is essential. The post must be willing to travel to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites.