Data & Learning Analyst

Data & Learning analyst

Location: Ramallah or Gaza Strip

Position Status: Full-time, Regular employment

Duration: One year with possibility of extension

Department: Programs - Positive Youth Engagement Program/ USAID 

Closing Date:  17th- May - 2022 Midnight

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. In Palestine, Mercy Corps has been working hand-in-hand with local communities and partners since the 1980s and has staff in three offices based in East Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza. Mercy Corps work aims to increase the capacity of Palestinian’s civil society to promote inclusive social and economic development, long-term recovery, and respond to humanitarian need.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps and International Youth Foundation (IYF) are implementing the 5-year USAID-funded Positive Youth Engagement (PYE) activity, a multi-sectoral youth project designed to address the challenges of Palestinian youth in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Through a selected group of national partner organizations and community-based organizations (CBOs), PYE will support marginalized youth aged 10-19 at risk of social marginalization by improving education, health, employment, community engagement and other needs as identified through diverse, community-supported assessments. By increasing opportunities for Palestinian youth to realize their potential and to effectively contribute to social and economic development, vulnerable youth will be able to transform into productive, contributing citizens who are connected to, and engaged in their communities.

To set youth on positive and peaceful pathways to become productive, contributing citizens, PYE will deliver a three pronged, mutually reinforcing program segmented by gender and age across the targeted communities:

1. Core programming that supports, protects, prepares, and engages adolescents in safe spaces located within a strong network of CBOs;
2. Tailored packages of activities, resources, and referrals that will set youth on individually selected pathways building on the core curriculum to increase opportunities for youth to effectively contribute to social and economic development; and
3. Opportunities for sustained community engagement and leadership through youth-led pathways and councils, community and social media campaigns, and mentorship of subsequent cohorts as part of sustainable community youth networks

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Positive Youth Engagement Project has a complicated design of data design and has a huge data that will be gathered through the program implementation and we need to make sure that our program meets the youth’s needs along with the available resources and expected outcomes. Through Mercy Corps, Positive Youth Engagement Project will hire a Data and Learning Analyst.

The Data and Learning Analyst will provide analytical support to the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) advisor to 1) support the organization of qualitative and quantitative data collection with the PYE team, partnering organizations, and target youth ages (10-19) to understand youth priorities to advance life and economic opportunities; 2) responsible for helping PYE program team to continuously learn and improve the programs and ensure we exceed our success metrics. This means going beyond what the data says on the surface to really look at the impact of our activities on the youth who are engaged. We are looking for someone who is willing to challenge the status quo to help us ensure we are making a positive impact.; 3) conduct analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected by the project and will be expected to develop timely and concise analytical reports in English from this analysis; 4) He / She will also have a strong role in quality assurance, including by reviewing analysis conducted by other members of the team to meet the MC standards.; 5) collect qualitative and quantitative data on the program activities and provide the M&E team regular feedback; and 6) contribute to the documentation of related activities, and development of technical reports (e.g. weekly, quarterly, annual).

The Data and Learning Analyst will base either in Gaza or Ramallah and will be required to travel to all of the program locations.

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ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• The Data and Learning Analyst will be responsible for helping PYE to continuously learn and improve our programs and ensure we exceed our success metrics. This means going beyond what the data says on the surface to really look at the impact of our activities on the youth who are engaged.
• Working with program teams, ensure that data collection is efficient, effective, on time, and as per Mercy Corps M&E guidelines and USAID-donor requirements - Act as the safeguard to ensure reliability, quality, and timeliness, and develop a Data quality assessment process with partner organization/safe species and inhouse.
• Keep our data safe, secure, organized, and accessible by working with program teams and IT support, utilizing existing tools as well as staying on top of potential areas of improvement. Conduct spot checks on data to confirm the validity
• Ensure that information flows throughout PYE in a regular way that is useful for the audience, this includes managing the monthly dashboards as well as responding to other ad-hoc requests.
• Give program leads and senior management the tools, insights, and knowledge to make the right decisions on a regular basis. This includes analyzing relevant business metrics to determine the cost efficiency of activities.
• Work closely in collaboration with the different PYE programs to spot learning opportunities through running data analytics and deep dives regularly. Proactively identify opportunities for deep dives and follow up on whether action items have been addressed.
• Identify research opportunities that are impactful to the visibility of PYE as a leader within and contribute to youth
• Assist with the donor reporting process by compiling and reviewing reports and other communications.
• Prepare and deliver high-quality presentations (written and in-person) on the achievements, data, and learnings with program management, donors, and other external parties.
• Develop and improve our data science capabilities through the tools, visualizations, and systems we implement.
• Conduct qualitative research/data collection with program participants through focus groups and interviews.
• Analyze surveys, attendance, and other data to find areas for improvement in activities.
• Continually and proactively revisit the data collection tools and methodologies to ensure they will meet program, MC Global, and donor requirements.
• Work with program teams to find ways to automate repeated MEL tasks.
• Provide relevant training to the program team to ensure accurate and precise collection of data.
• Work with PYE Chief of Party and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) advisor to implement the learning agenda. Participate in the design and conduct lessons learned sessions to program pillars as appropriate and agreed with the supervisor.
• Continually and proactively advocate for the data-driven decision making in which are decisions are based on both qualitative and quantitative data
• Proactively challenge the status quo and find blind spots within the data ecosystem
• Revisit and iterate on the success metrics to make sure PYE impact is being captured according to PYE’s new strategy
• Transfer all PYE databases into a database solution to secure data and to provide a proper infrastructure for data to be collected and analyzed
• Study the possibility of designing a new program for PYE that teaches data analysis, and dashboard building in response to global market demand for these set of qualifications
• Develop procedures regarding data privacy and protection, and follow the MC data management policies.
• Support in Building the capacity of partner organizations, CBOs and youth lead research unit in the data management and contribute to the learning agenda activities
• Provide support to the CRM team to automate all PYE repetitive tasks

Other Duties

• Commit to and support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to beneficiaries and adhering to the code of ethics and policies of Mercy Corps and the norms in the local society. 
• Perform work beyond normal office hours when necessary. Compensatory time-off is to be agreed in advance with the MEL Advisor/HR. 
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not jeopardize its humanitarian mission. 
• Any other duties as assigned by MEL Advisor.

Security 

Ensure that all office or field tasks and activities are implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities.

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 – Mercy Corps expects 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 partners and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging partner communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Data Collection Support Team

Accountability

Reports Directly To: The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Advisor

Works Directly With Monitoring evaluation and learning advisor, other MEL team members, program leads, Finance and Compliance Department, Operations Department, Procurement Department, local partner NGOs, enumerators as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

1. University degree in business administration, computer science, statistics, information and communications technology, or similar
2. At least three years of proven experience in data collection and analysis
3. Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection
4. Excellent Excel, Access, and Google Sheets skills or KOBO/ODK
5. Experience with SQL, SPSS, PSPP, and database structure and CommCare is a plus
6. Also knowledge of qualitative software is an advantage
7. Excellent writing skills in English and Arabic
8. Proficiency in MS Office, Slack, Google products (Drive, Docs), and Salesforce. PYE does not use email internally. We use Slack.
9. Willingness to travel extensively throughout the West Bank and Gaza
10. Willingness to work outside of normal business hours as required, especially evenings and weekends when program activities dictate.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

1. Ability to work in a flat, fast-paced environment with others who are passionate about supporting Palestine’s Youth is at risk and
2. Comfort with uncertainty and change—PYE is a big program but flexible and growing rapidly to meet youth needs and priorities. Just like our program, we seek staff who are adaptable and pitch in on what needs to be done-- even if not a part of one’s regular job description.
3. Strong listening abilities to understand the needs of PYE’s youth and available community resources
4. Superb attention to detail and ability to produce error-free work
5. Positive attitude, passion for your work, and high energy levels
6. Proactive, get-stuff-done mentality that always prioritizes outcomes, not just inputs
7. Excellent written and oral communication skills;
8. Strong interpersonal, conflict resolution, and negotiation skills;
9. Excellent time and organizational management skills;
10. Excellent ability to work under pressure and carry out multiple tasks simultaneously.

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. 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.

Qualified persons with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply.

Interested candidates who meet the qualifications, are highly encouraged to apply.

Please fill this online Application  no later than Sunday, 17th July 2022 - Midnight

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.