Vacancies

Program/Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Mercy Corps in the Kyrgyz Republic is pleased to announce the vacant position of Program/Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for the Water for Peace: Climate Resilient and Peaceful Communities (W4P) Program. The position is maternity leave cover and is based in Batken.

About Mercy Corps    

Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. Our mission: to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. In more than 40+ countries around the world, over 5,400+ team members work side by side with people living through poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change. In 1994, Mercy Corps became one of the first international non-governmental organizations to work in the newly independent Kyrgyzstan. Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan attracted resources from more than 30 donor organizations, including the US, EU, UK governments, UN, private and corporate foundations, in the past 30 years to improve literacy and child nutrition, create access to clean drinking water, organize school orchards, provide emergency relief, address climate change, and build peace. Mercy Corps' strategy for 2024-27 in Kyrgyzstan aims at enhancing access to food, water, and natural resources, while improving governance and conflict management capacity in vulnerable rural areas for resilient and inclusive communities.

Program Summary

The Water for Peace: Climate Resilient and Peaceful Communities (W4P) Program, funded by PATRIP foundation, contributes to the stabilization and/or prevention of extremist violence by improving irrigation and domestic water supply in communities of the Kyrgyzstan - Tajikistan border. The W4P program includes construction and rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure, implementation of infrastructure-related training measures, including conflict prevention, cooperation between state and civic actors and regional integration. Infrastructure upgrade and rehabilitation projects will focus on community water supply systems and small-scale on-farm irrigation infrastructure aimed at improving water use efficiency. The W4P program works with community-based groups and local governments to build their capacity to  effectively implement projects to recognize and mitigate climate change and conflict risks, and actively inform and engage community members in equitable and sustainable water management.     

General Position Summary

Under the direction of the Program Manager, Program/M&E Officer is responsible for the program activities implementation and monitoring in a timely manner by carrying out daily operations and keeping up to date with contextual and security developments. This includes liaising with operations and finance teams when needed while ensuring compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures. The Program/M&E Officer will ensure that programmatic objectives are met within schedule, budget, and quality standards.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Implement the program activities in compliance with MC’s and donor’s policies and procedures.
• Support the program work plan, procurement plan development and implementation.
• Maintain close regular contact with the local NGO partner and provide oversight and monitoring of their delivery of capacity building activities, troubleshoot any administrative problems and provide administrative, financial, and logistical support.
• Contribute to the preparation of the procurement initiation documents for services and goods.
• Conduct regular site visits of all program sites to ensure and monitor proper implementation of activities.
• Submit regular (monthly and biannual) reports on program progress, obstacles, and recommendations.
• Perform data analysis and reporting for program stakeholders including the donor, program beneficiaries and local and national government officials.
• Perform filing and record keeping of the program activities and data entry of program statistics as requested.
• Assist with security monitoring to ensure MC team, assets and partners are able to work securely.
• Maintain the database of all financed projects.
• Perform data collection and entry on all program indicators.
• Conduct data cleaning and quality assurance; and troubleshoot data collection issues.
• Provide training on software tools, M&E concepts, and data collection methods to program staff and partners as necessary.
• In coordination with the MEL Manager, cover all programmatic M&E needs (needs assessments, endline study, routine monitoring, thematic research).
• In coordination with the MEL Manager, prepare for and support the external evaluations (midterm and endline).
• Be up to date on the DM&E and PM@MC tools and policies used by Mercy Corps internationally, integrate these methodologies in work carried out for this program.
• Identify and produce success stories and relevant context for social media platforms.
• Ensure the program has active feedback channels and that proper procedures are followed.
• Promote and inform the program participants and partners about the feedback mechanism through CARM.
• Coordinate with government agencies, local authorities to ensure alignment of program goals and activities
• Organize and facilitate training sessions, workshops, transboundary dialogues and community events when necessary

Safeguarding responsibilities

• Actively learn about safeguarding and integrate it into the work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to the program/MEL
• Practice the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
• Encourage openness and communication in the team; encourage team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.
• Other Program/M&E functions as needed, including providing administrative support.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge and Experience

• University degree in a relevant field;
• Minimum 3 years’ NGO experience successfully implementing project/programs with 2 years of experience in design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation, research and/or analytical experience; program experience should include program implementation, DM&E, needs assessments, report writing and budget monitoring
• Good strategic and analytical thinking and ability to interpret data;
• Effective verbal and written communication;
• Advanced computer skills;
• Excellent negotiation and presentation skills;
• Excellent written and spoken English, Russian and Kyrgyz languages skills;
• Experience in cross-border projects and water resource management is a plus
• Experience in facilitating community meetings, capacity-building activities, and transboundary dialogues is desirable
• Understanding of the socio-economic context of the Batken region and border areas
• Proven ability to solve problems independently without direct supervision.
• Proven experience of using Microsoft suite and experienced user of Excel and Power Query.
• Ability to travel intensively to the field

Success Factors

• Ability to deal with ambiguity and change;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen and respect for colleagues.
• Ability to work both individually and as part of a team;
• Ability to analyze and propose solutions to problems;
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and changing environment.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Team Efficiency and Effectiveness 

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org). 

Interested candidates are invited to apply through the below link and submit their CV, cover letter and contacts of at least 3 referees for reference check.

https://recruiting2.ultipro.com/MER1024MERCY/JobBoard/c4864179-ca78-4883-9037-6ac7dc8a18f3/Opportunity/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=561faee7-877f-4b14-b050-c819048deb6a

The deadline for submission is April 16, 2025.