Senior PMER Officer at International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Vacancy No:IFRC04336

Duration: 06 months

Duty station: Nairobi

Job Purpose

• To coordinate with National Societies in the East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands Cluster and the Regional Representation Office in ensuring that the elements of programme quality are considered, prioritized and resourced in programme set up, development and learning processes and systems in terms program design, emergency plans of action and reports.
• Provide oversight and technical guidance to national societies and regional programme staff in programme planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.  
• Lead in quality assurance of program proposals, emergency plans of action and reports as a major contribution to the mobilization of funds for the Federation programmes and donor compliance.
• To provide technical support and facilitate greater emphasis on outcomes, impact and learning through strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Collaborate with Regional NSD unit in EAIOI NS capacity building initiatives through NS self-assessments and strategic planning processes.

Maintain relations with external partners on PMER including RCRC partners, institutional donors and other humanitarian actors

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) Compliance

1. Ensure that project managers submit regular, timely and accurate narrative reports, including coordinating and providing appropriate training and capacity building of all staff and delegates to fulfil their responsibility for ensuring program quality and impact.
2. Conduct PMER capacity assessments of targeted NS and development of NS action plans.
3. Program Management/ Analysis:
   • Provide technical support to programme management in developing and reviewing country and cluster strategies, thematic plans, and annual operational plan development
   • Analyse the key challenges in quality programming and consistency with established standards. A key focus of the role is ensuring that critical cross-cutting issues (alignment with Sustainable Development Goals and Hyogo Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction; quality, accountability and learning, partnerships and civil society engagement; Red Cross/Red Crescent collaboration; promoting gender equity and diversity; risk identification and management) are mainstreamed in programs and emergency operations.
   • Facilitate inter-sectoral planning and integration of common strategies into programme planning processes, and harmonization of various internal planning processes.
   • Actively contribute during project planning meetings with all programmes (regional, bilateral) to ensure that reporting on activities will be impact-based and result-oriented and reflect detailed log frames and budgets of each programme.

Report Management

• Compile accurate, regular, timely and consistent narrative appeals and reports in standard formats for the Federation and for donors; compile other reports and information materials as required both within and outside the Red Cross Movement.
• Provide technical guidance on the documentation processes for the best practices and lessons learnt based on programme approaches pertinent to the implementation of relief and development interventions.
• As a member of the Regional Disaster Response Task Force, ensure proper planning and input of all reporting aspects during the preparation of Emergency Appeals in close consultation with the Disaster Management department (number and timing of operations updates, inclusion of reporting support in the appeal budget).
• Contribute to strengthening the region’s internal system of accessing appeals and reports from the region in a regional electronic data base in coordination with the IT department and the Regional Reporting Unit
• Coordinate all planning and reporting issues with the Regional Reporting Unit and the Regional Finance Unit for better harmonization of the system in the field.
• Improve the use of statistics, maps, photos, etc. in reports and develop a specific filing/database system for easy retrieving of materials by interested parties.

Monitoring and Evaluation systems development

• Establish monitoring and evaluation systems within the EAIOI cluster
• Provide technical support to cluster program staff and NS in developing monitoring tools
• Capacity building of staff on monitoring and evaluation
• In collaboration with program staff and NS, conduct monitoring visits to project sites to ensure compliance and accountability to donors and communities.
• Supports program staff, national societies, and partner national societies in development of evaluation terms of reference.
• Undertake evaluation of programs within the EAIOI cluster.
• Ensure learning from program evaluation towards continuous program improvement.

Capacity building of National Societies

• Work with national societies and provide technical support in setting up and operationalizing appropriate internal and external planning and reporting systems.
• Working closely with the NS PMER focal points and programme managers, in particular in providing support, on the job coaching, training and development for NS HQ/regional and branch level staff to enhance their planning monitoring and reporting skills.
• Working closely and coaching NS PMER focal points and programme managers to ensure development of standardized tools/templates and compliance with the same.
• Developing planning monitoring and reporting templates/tools for ongoing programme /emergency operations and orienting NS programme staff on the same for effective/timely reporting.
• Work with National Societies and provide technical support in setting up monitoring and evaluation systems.
• Provide coordinated planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting related training for National Society staff and Federation regional staff, and through them when required, for the various networks and working groups they support (RC-NET)

Pledge Management

• Monitor expenditure on PMER pledges, ensuring expenditure on PMER pledges are in line with the budgets.
• Identify opportunities for funding of PMER activities

Education

Degree level (or equivalent qualification) in social sciences, international development, communications, or another relevant subject

Experience

• Minimum of 7 years relevant experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning for an international organization
• Demonstrable experience in research and compilation of information, preparing and writing quality technical plans and reports
• Demonstrable experience in the project cycle management (logical framework design, monitoring and evaluation cycle).
• Proven experience in building relationships with multiple stakeholders across multiple countries and teams
• Experience in developing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms with impact indicators

Knowledge, skills and languages

• Strong background in report-writing and product delivery to tight deadlines. Ability to write, edit and analyse complex reports
• Sound background of social research methodologies, including a highly developed analytical and communication skills and ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences
• Demonstrable understanding of processes involved in developing logical frameworks, including outcomes, outputs and impact indicators
• Skilled in building and maintaining key stakeholder relationships at a senior level both internally and externally
• Excellent computer skills. (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat). Ability to perform page-layout, incorporating text, photos and other graphic elements for a printed page
• Data management skills- SPSS, KoBo collect, Ona or Power BI
• Sound understanding of basic project finance (e.g. ability to explain variance between budgeted and actual expenditure)
• Basic understanding of legal framework of humanitarian operations, as well as gender, protection, social or human vulnerability issues
• Excellent contextual analytical skills and ability to summarise complex information clearly and concisely for a variety of audiences