The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s (AKAH) goal is that people live in safe, sustainable, and resilient habitats with the opportunity to thrive, whether in a remote mountain village, a town, or a densely populated urban center. It works with communities to help them prepare for and respond to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. AKAH also works to expand access to services and opportunities for people to improve their lives. AKAH helps communities prepare for the worst; provides immediate relief after disaster strikes; and helps build back better -- and greener -- while planning for a better future.  AKAH currently operates in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Pakistan, and India, with plans to expand further in Central Asia as well as East Africa.

The MERL Officer is responsible for overall management and leading the key project MERL responsibilities including all assessment, evaluations, surveys and studies. The MERL  officer will oversee the project performance in regular basis with closed coordination of the national MERL team, regional MERL officers, project focal point and the regional management team. The MERL  officer is also responsible to (i) conduct the Project Rapid Assessment (PPA), (ii) Design studies based on the organization goal and objectives (iii) undertake the critical analysis of the collected data across the organization. The MERL regional officer will further ensure that project’s achievements and lessons learned are captured and used for project improvement.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Under the direct leadership of the MERLI Department head, the MERLI officer will be responsible to:

• Responsible for developing and introducing the AKAH MERLI evaluation and assessment plan with close coordination of all MERLI teams, department heads, and regional management team
• Manage, lead, and supervise the survey team at the national and regional level
• Provide regular support to all regional M&E staff for on-time management of output and outcome level information for all studies, surveys, case studies
• Develop and maintain project accountability systems towards beneficiaries, partners and donors through establishment of responsive M&E system
• Ensure an appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system is in place and is functioning satisfactory
• Undertake project rapid assessment in regions to measure the proposed changes and project outcomes in all AKAH, Afghanistan targeted provinces
• Able to undertake qualitative surveys, study, assessment and facilitate at the field level work with support from MERLI team
• Able to apply the Data Quality Assurance (DQA) for all types of studies and assessments
• Make sure to have closed coordination with M&E staff of AKDN sister agencies for smooth implementation of the AKAH, Afghanistan MERLI annual plan
• Design and undertake project assessments including case studies, success stories and field level result based monitoring
• Ensure that all monitoring, evaluation, case studies and success stories are properly documented at the regional and national level
• Support regional M&E team to prepare case studies, success stories and lessons learnt in regular basis
• Responsible to conduct studies including research, baselines, midline and endline for all projects with closed coordination of national MERLI team
• Able to conduct dissemination workshops to share the evaluation and assessment findings in wider platform at the organizational level.
• Responsible to undertake translation from Persian to English or from English to Persian
• Provide regular feedback to implementation staff based on the collected data and apply critical data analysis of the routing project data

Education:  Bachelor’s degree in LLB, Social Sciences, Economics, Journalism. Master’s degree is preferred.

Experience: At least 3 - 5 years of M&E work experience with international NGOs

Knowledge and skills: 

• Fluency in reading, writing, and speaking in the local language and in English.
• Flexible, positive attitude committed, and the ability to deliver with tight deadlines.
• A team player with skills in providing effective feedback to colleagues and management.
• Ability to travel inside the country as and when required.

Other Skills:

• Monitoring and evaluation techniques and processes
• Data collection and management
• Good level of proficiency in Excel and quantitative analysis
• Time management and ability to prioritise multiple tasks
• Self-motivated person able to work without close supervision
• Able to work effectively in a diverse team environment
• Travelling to far flung areas independently for M&E

 Required Core Competency

• Ability to travel to AKAH operation areas.

Interested applicants meeting the above requirements should submit a cover letter along with your Curriculum Vitae (CV) to:

hr.akaha@akdn.org 

Important Notes:

• Please quote the  Subject title with vacancy number MERL Officer KBL/9/24/170  as the subject of the e-mail when applying.
• No supporting documents (e.g. diplomas, identification card(s) etc.) are required at this stage.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for further assessment.
• Salary: According to Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH)-Salary Scale. 

Female candidates are encouraged to apply. Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Afghanistan recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to equal opportunity, safeguarding children from abuse, and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Your details and information shared in this advertisement shall remain confidential.