Regional Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Coordinator Latin America Colombia

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity, and accountability. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

What we are looking for

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is looking for an experienced, dynamic, and highly strategical individual to take up the role of Regional Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Coordinator for Latin America who will support the establishing and implementation of systems to promote evidence-based decision-making, programme and project performance, and internal management. The MEL Coordinator will contribute to quality programming through supporting access to and use of relevant and timely information on programme scale, relevance, and effectiveness. Within this context, the MEL Coordinator will provide technical support to in-country staff pertaining to MEL and build capacity in regional and country missions by identifying and supporting the implementation of effective, cost efficient and meaningful MEL systems. 

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 What you will do

1. Act as an Information Management (IM)/data focal point for the region 
2. Work closely with partners’ programme teams to ensure smooth function of the MEL system including internal and external reporting. 
3. Develop tools and necessary guidelines to ensure collection of output and outcome indicators. 
4. Develop sampling strategies, questionnaires, data collection, research protocols, as well as conduct data analysis and write up reports for MEL exercises.
5. Support in providing timely and robust information to promote the dissemination of learning, better project cycle management, and facilitate evidence-based decision-making through the provision of technical analysis.
6. Contribute to institutionalizing and strengthening of NRC MEL minimum standards regionally with specific focus on data management systems, tools and procedures for better reliability and quality of MEL data.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position. 

What you will bring

• At least 3 years’ experience in an international NGO preferably in an emergency or post-conflict setting, including M&E capacity and systems development.
• Thorough experience with and knowledge of principles and current approaches to monitoring and evaluation in relief and development programs, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Understanding of data and information needs for program management and decision making.
• Experience in facilitating the capacity building efforts of diverse colleagues, including local partner agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring and other formal and non-formal methods
• Analytic and computer skills, including MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access)
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts. 
• Knowledge about countries in the region is desirable 
• Proficiency in English and Spanish is a must 
• Experience in start ups or similar is an asset 

What we offer

• Duty station: Bogotá, Colombia or any other country where NRC has offices in Latin America
• Contract: national, 12 months, extendable
• Travel: up to 30% 
• Salary/benefits: grade 7 on NRC’s regional salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions for international contracts
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• Internal candidates only: please click on the suitcase icon labelled “I am an employee” to be redirected to NRC’s internal careers site.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We receive many applicants for each vacant position.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email [email protected] with the job title as the subject line.

  Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

The Latin American (LA) region faces multiple complex emergencies, including the internal and regional impact of the crisis in Venezuela, the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in Colombia, and the pervasive high levels of generalised violence in the North of Central America and in Mexico. These conditions produce some of the highest forced displacement numbers in the world. According to UNHCR, there are over 15 million displacement-affected people, including some 7,4 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across NRC country programme coverage in Latin America. The LA region also witnesses record numbers of transcontinental population movements generating significant protection risks as people are obliged to cross borders often through routes where conditions are dramatic. Restrictive asylum and migration policies also create flows of deportees and returnees, who struggle to re-integrate in their communities and often face violence, retaliation, discrimination and exclusion. Those phenomena are accelerating across the region. 

NRC has been operating in Latin America in a total of 8 countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico with an overall regional budget of approximately 60 million USD and 1,100 dedicated colleagues across the continent. Given the increasing number of displaced people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region, NRC decided to establish a Regional Office in Latin America from early 2024 to oversee the country programmes in the region, and provides strategic guidance and oversight across core programme, advocacy and support functions.

Regional MEL function/team is responsible for the implementation of the Global MEL Framework and strategy, policy, guidelines and technical developments in the region, as well as development and implementation of the regional strategic direction and priorities. This includes providing technical support to COs in improving MEL minimum standards, including data quality, reporting quality, evaluations, learning processes, as well as compliance oversight.  

Improving use of M&E data and evidence are one of the core objectives of regional Latin America strategy, and this entails several initiatives and strategic priorities cantered around a) ensuring foundations of our systems and minimum standards, b) creation and availability of quality evidence, c) and use of data and evidence at CO and RO level.  

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

Learn more about NRC