SENIOR DATABASE OFFICER

Location: Monrovia, Liberia

Position Status: Full-time

Salary Level:

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program

Mercy Corps Liberia began operations in 2002 in response to the humanitarian crisis brought about by the two Liberian civil wars that ended in 2003. Mercy Corps’ interventions have evolved based on the context and needs of the Liberian people. With funding from the European Commission, French Development Agency, Irish Aid, the Embassy of Sweden and US Department of Agriculture, among others, Mercy Corps Liberia focuses on Food Security, Peace and Good Governance and Economic Opportunity. Mercy Corps Liberia works closely with the Government of Liberia (especially the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Health, Labor and Education), the private sector, civil society, international and local NGOs to implement its programs from three offices/sub-offices (Monrovia, Buchanan, and Rivercess). Mercy Corps is one of the foremost development actors in Liberia implementing strategic and systems driven programming in youth employment and entrepreneurship, market systems development and good governance. This role is contingent on funding.

The Position

The Senior Database Officer (SBO) 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 the Incentivize Learning Activity (ILA) improve and prove the effectiveness of its interventions and approaches. The SBO will work directly with the ILA CLA/MEL team, program staff and partner organizations to oversee and ensure quality data is collected, analyzed and visualized for ILA. They will support the MEL Manager to oversee the monitoring and data collection on the program, lead regular trainings for staff and enumerators, analyze data to provide insights to the program team and contribute to quarterly and annual reports. 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 five counties of implementation. The SBO will be an integral member of the CLA/MEL team learning and reflection processes

Essential Responsibilities DATA CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Support the setup of the program’s CommCare digital data collection platform, data flow matrix, tool updates and requests, mobile worker assignment tracker, mobile worker reports, data pipelines, and analysis syntax
• Support the setup of the program’s Powerbi dashboard
• Facilitate data demand to ensure that the resulting data will be correctly fed into information management flows.
• Ensure that all data collection tools are well-tested, and all mobile workers are assigned to the right geographic zones ahead of data 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 CommCare
• Establish data validation pre-collection (in digital data collection tools) and post-collection (validate incoming data for completeness, duplications and missing and data quality).

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 CommCare database 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 PowerBi dashboards of high quality and right-fit rigor to improve ILA’s impact through data-driven decision making
• 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 CLA/MEL Lead and the MEL Manager
• Oversee the training of program staff on data collection and use processes and tools, and train MEL Officers and MEL Assistants as trainers for enumerators.
• Provide one-on-one support to program staff to improve their data literacy and problem-solving capacity for evidence-driven management.
• Conduct regular field visits to ensure that all processes and tools 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.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: CLA/MEL Lead

Works Directly With: MEL and Program Teams

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• At least 5 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation; education, food security and USAID experience are preferred.
• Experience using CommCare, ODK and PowerBi are essential, formal training in this software is strongly desired.
• Excellent and demonstrated data management, analysis and visualization skills using MS Excel 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.

Success Factors

The Senior Database 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. 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.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Monrovia, Liberia and it requires up to 20% travel to field locations.

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.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse 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.