Senior Information Management Officer

Job Details

Description

About Mercy Corps

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

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps implements high quality- analytical work in tough environments. We’ve been operating in Uganda since 2006 and currently manage a range of programs in Acholi, West Nile and Karamoja sub-regions with funding from a host of donors. In October 2017, Mercy Corps was awarded a 5 year USAID/ Food for Peace-funded program working in 4 districts in Karamoja (Amudat, Moroto, Kotido and Kaabong), the Apolou Activity. The Activity goal “improved food and nutrition security” has four purposes with cross cutting themes of gender and youth and resilience:

1. Inclusive and effective governance contributes to food and nutrition security

2. Improved health and nutritional status of pregnant and lactating women, children under five, and adolescent girls

3. Improved WASH conditions

4. Adolescent girls, adolescent boys, women and men access diverse and secure livelihoods through improved capacities and strengthened market systems

Apolou is implemented by a consortium of actors led by Mercy Corps, including Save the Children, Whave Solutions, four local partners (KAPDA, AIDI, NARWOA and Riam Riam) and Tufts University’s Feinstein International Centre (FIC).

General Position Summary

The Senior Information Management Officer will manage technology solutions throughout the MEL cycle, manage all data pipelines to ensure effective adaptive management and information sharing, and support advanced data analyses and synthesis to help Apolou improve and prove the effectiveness of its interventions and approaches.

They will be responsible for facilitating data demands, tooling and retooling the Apolou Information Management System (AIMS) to adapt to changing demands, ensuring that all data collection tools are well-tested, ensuring that MEL teams correctly assign mobile users, ensuring that The Senior Information Management Officer will work with the Mercy Corps Apolou Activity team as well as our local partner organizations to oversee and ensure the collection of quality M&E data for the program. The Senior Information Management Officer will be responsible for supporting the MEL Advisor to oversee the monitoring and data collection of the project, lead regular and annual field based household and group interviews, analyze data to provide insight to project team, and contribute to report writing. S/he will ensure that performance monitoring and results reporting tools and processes across the entire program are in place, effectively implemented and well synchronized between the Activity sites. The Senior Information Management Officer may supervise teams of enumerators in data collection, data analysis, and reporting according to the needs of the Activity. The Senior Information Management Officer will be an integral member of the Activity team learning and reflection processes, leading discussion on beneficiary feedback.

Essential Job Responsibilities

MEL DATA CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Set up or maintain all technological components of the Apolou Information Management System (AIMS): CommCare digital data collection platform, data flow matrix, tool updates and requests, mobile worker assignment tracker, mobile worker reports, data pipelines, analysis syntax and dashboards.
• Facilitate data demand to ensure that the resulting data will be correctly fed into information management flows
• Tool and retool the Apolou Information Management System (AIMS) to adapt to changing demands.
• Ensure that all data collection tools are well-tested and all mobile workers are assigned to the right geographic compartments of the AIMS databases before collection
• Ensure that appropriate supervision workflows are in place to guarantee that data is collected comprehensively and at high quality. Produce regular reports on the engagement of mobile users and program participants in AIMS.
• Establish data validation pre-collection (in digital data collection tools) and post-collection(validate incoming data in AIMS for completeness, duplications and missings and data quality).
• Others as assigned

DATA PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

• Build and run a quarterly and annual data pipeline to facilitate the automatic or semi-automatic cleaning of incoming data, including the calculation of all routine monitoring indicators and other variables as requested.
• Ensure the back up and re-import of clean data into the AIMS databases on a quarterly basis
• Manage integration or interoperability of all principal data collection and management systems in the program
• Create replicable statistical data analyses and dashboards of high quality and right-fit rigor to improve Apolou’s impact through data-driven decision making, in line with Apolou’s Increasing Impact through MEL analytical framework, both through self-initiative and on-demand.

• Ensure program compliance with all applicable data protection principles and guidelines and observe data confidentiality and anonymity regulations.
• Establish safe data access and sharing processes between Mercy Corps and consortium partners in line with management requirements and data protection principles and guidelines.

ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Facilitate analysis results, and adaptive management planning with program teams, in coordination with the Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation (CLA) Manager
• Oversee the training of program staff on data collection and use processes and tools, and train IM Assistants and MEL Officers and Assistants as trainers.
• Provide one-on-one support to program managers and team leaders to improve their data literacy and problem-solving capacity for evidence-driven management.
• Conduct regular field visits to ensure that all processes and tools in AIMS are being used effectively by all MEL and program team members across the consortium
• Build the capacity of our local partner organizations through ongoing support on the MEL data cycle, data flows, data pipelines and adaptive management.
• Others as assigned

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT

• Oversee the responsible management and maintenance of ICT equipment in the MEL team according to Mercy Corps asset management policies and procedures.
• Manage the purchase/subscription and renewal of technology softwares and platforms used in Apolou.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to food security programming.

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

• 2 Information Management Assistants
• Enumerators collecting field data as applicable
• Accountability

Reports Directly To: MEL Director

Works Directly With: MEL Manager, CLA Manager, MEL Officers and Assistants, Activity Program Managers and Team Leads, Activity Team Members

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in applied math, data science, statistics, economics, social science or related field with information management and quantitative analysis focus required.
• At least 5 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation of nutrition, food security, agricultural livelihoods or value chain development programs.
• Proficiency in designing and maintaining relational databases and case management platforms required. Proficiency setting up case management systems in CommCare as a data collection and management platform strongly preferred. Experience implementing feedback loops to mobile users through case management platforms a plus.
• Excellent and demonstrated data wrangling, analysis and visualization skills using MS Excel required. Excellent command of SQL or Tableau Prep, Stata or R, Google Sheets and Queries, and Tableau strongly preferred. Solid foundation of statistics, probability and counterfactuals strongly preferred. Proficiency working with APIs a plus.
• Demonstrated experience building data pipelines (including automated wrangling and integration) in required.
• Demonstrated competencies in effective data communication, critical thinking, training and coaching required. Strong team coordination, listening and consensus building competencies required.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Fluent in both spoken and written English. Fluency in spoken N’Karamojong preferred.
• A valid driving license and the ability to drive a motorbike safely are required.

Success Factors

The successful Senior Information Management Officer will combine excellent technical skills in information management and quantitative analysis with outstanding problem solving and facilitation skills. They will be able to simultaneously pay attention to detail while keeping a strategic vision. They will be able to identify, communicate, document and implement rigorous solutions to complex problems. They will have proven experience in capacity building and enabling non-technical teams to improve their analytical thinking. They will be able to leverage systems, evaluative, cartesian/decomposing, algorithmic/process and design thinking as appropriate to improve the effectiveness of information management in the program and in the program as a whole.

The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. A good sense of humor and the ability to learn from mistakes also goes a long way!

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in (Moroto, Uganda). The region is secure with access to most basic amenities.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. 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 locations.

Closes:7th Feb 2021

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