Alumni Talent Pool: MEL Tech Automation Lead Roles

Mercy Corps

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Alumni Talent Pool is open exclusively to former Mercy Corps team members who were employed within the past 4 years and completed at least 1 year of service. Mercy Corps has created an Alumni Talent Pool to support emergency response, transitions and complex program start-up, by fast-tracking Mercy Corps alumni into temporary MEL Tech Automation Lead Roles. The initiative focuses on matching qualified team members with urgent country-based needs, for short-term placements (3 months on average). This is an opportunity for senior program leaders that offers more professional and personal flexibility and access to diverse experiences. Mercy Corps alumni who were employed within the last four years qualified to fill Senior MEL Roles will be eligible to join the Alumni Talent Pool. Once selected into the Pool, members will have access to short-term opportunities in countries where Mercy Corps operates. Responsibilities and supervisory structures will vary depending on the type of assignment. When on assignment, members will be eligible for competitive salary and benefits. The eligible salary ranges and a description of all benefits associated with these short-term positions will depend on the type of employment they are hired under and may vary if this is an expat position, consultancy or if the work is done remotely.

Requirements

BA/S or equivalent in a relevant field (information systems, data science, statistics, international development, or related); advanced degree preferred.
At least 5 years of field experience in emergency and/or development programs with a strong MEL and MEL tech focus.
At least 2 years of experience in a senior MEL or MEL Technology role with demonstrated ownership of data systems design and implementation.
Prior experience with Mercy Corps within the last four years, as an employee and/or consultant (Should have worked with Mercy Corps for at least one year).
Proven completion of Mercy Corps MEL Tech training content.
Demonstrated hands-on expertise of: CommCare, Power BI is required
Proven ability to design and manage data pipelines, automated workflows, and structured databases in field program settings.
Experience building and training MEL digital systems; ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
Demonstrated experience with data analysis, data quality management, and visualization/reporting for varied stakeholder audiences including donors.
Experience leading teams, managing performance of supervisees, and coaching or mentoring staff.
Professional proficiency in at least one of Mercy Corps' working languages (English, French, Spanish, Arabic); multilingual proficiency strongly preferred.

Nice To Haves

Prior demonstrated experience working in data engineering/databasing platforms such as SQL, datalake/warehouse architecture, and/or Microsoft Azure is preferred though not required.
Prior demonstrated experience in GIS/geospatial analysis preferred though no required.

Responsibilities

Lead design and implementation of MEL Technology plans, covering end-to-end data collection, storage, management, analysis, and visualization (within the Mercy Corps MEL Tech Suite – in particular CommCare, Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Azure).
Develop and implement MEL Technology plans for data collection/case management (CommCare), data management/storage (Microsoft Azure), analysis and visualization (Microsoft Power BI), in line with donor and internal learning requirements and organizational reporting needs.
Establish and oversee CommCare data collection and case management applications to ensure program participants and activities are tracked longitudinally.
Establish and standardize data pipelines and automation workflows to reduce manual processing, improve data quality, and accelerate reporting cycles.
Develop data dashboards and visualization products tailored to diverse audiences — donors, senior management, government counterparts, and field teams.
Ensure all MEL Tech systems comply with Mercy Corps Responsible Data standards and protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in accordance with data protection policies. Where new technologies are needed that are not covered within the Mercy Corps MEL Tech Suite, ensure that the decisions around what to use and how to integrate them into existing pipelines are followed as per Mercy Corps relevant policies.
Directly support data quality assurance/assessment processes and ensure traceability of quality data within each MEL Technology.
Collaborate with Program MEL Leads and MEL Directors to integrate technology solutions into Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (AMEL) plans.
Support design and implementation of MEL surveys, assessments, and evaluations using digital tools; build in system-level data quality controls.
Facilitate interpretation of program data and promote a culture of evidence-based adaptive management; translate analytical outputs into accessible decision-support products.
Establish clear data reporting workflows from field collection through donor and internal reporting, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring timely, high-quality data availability.
Support implementation of MEL Policy standards across programs and help address gaps in M&E systems that affect program delivery.
As and where required, conduct a comprehensive MEL systems diagnostic to identify issues and suggest solutions, using Mercy Corps MEL diagnostic tools and DQA resources.
Contextualize and oversee implementation of MEL tech suite trainings, ensuring that all staff are proficient in utilizing the Mercy Corps required technology platforms, have the necessary skills to conduct successful digital data collection tools, data management platforms, and data analysis.
Document SOPs, system architecture, and user guides for all deployed solutions to ensure continuity and institutional knowledge retention.
Promote a data-literate culture by coaching staff on interpreting and acting on data for program improvement.
Collaborate with senior management, IT, and operations teams to align MEL tech investments with organizational systems and country-level infrastructure realities.
Liaise with donors and partners on MEL data requirements and technology deliverables, as relevant to the assignment.
Represent Mercy Corps in inter-agency MEL technology and data standards forums as appropriate.
Contribute to MEL team structuring, resourcing, and budgeting for technology components when operating in a MEL Director capacity.
Works to ensure Mercy Corps’ Safeguarding Standards are integrated and upheld in all areas of HR work.
Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.