Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

BACKGROUND

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading humanitarian relief and development organisations. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people survive, recover and rebuild their lives. The IRC delivers emergency aid, protects children, provides health care, prevents and responds to violence against women and girls, safeguards human rights and helps to kick-start economic recovery. Working in more than 40 countries, the IRC has restored hope and opportunity to many millions of people.

 The IRC is committed to a culture of bold leadership, innovation in all aspects of our work, creative partnerships and, most crucially, accountability to those we serve. The IRC is a tireless advocate for the most vulnerable.

 The IRC’s global headquarters are in New York. Our European headquarters were established in London in 1997 to support the organisation’s global activities and particularly to diversify its donor base and be able to better advocate with European policy-makers on behalf of the people we serve. Since 1997, IRC-UK has grown rapidly with income rising from £30,000 to £56 million in 2012. The IRC also has offices in Belgium and Geneva.

 IRC-UK

IRC-UK comprises approximately 50 staff across five departments: Policy and Advocacy; External Relations; International Programmes (donor funding); Finance and Administration and International Programmes Technical Units (Women’s Protection & Empowerment, Children & Youth Protection & Development, Governance & Rights, Economic Recovery & Development, Emergency Preparedness & Response, and Research, Evaluation & Learning).

 PROGRAMME SCOPE

IRC was one of the first humanitarian organizations to launch specific programmes for survivors of sexual violence, implementing gender-based violence (GBV) programmes in refugee settings and other conflict-affected communities from 1996. Over the past 16 years, IRC has pioneered and implemented programmes that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in refugee settings and in other conflict-affected contexts, making the IRC a global leader in this field. IRC presently implements women’s protection and empowerment (WPE) programmes to support social and political environments that foster women’s freedom from violence, discrimination, and exclusion, allowing them to be active participants in rebuilding their countries. Today, IRC manages WPE programmes in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Haiti, with funding from governments, the UN, foundations, and private donors.

 IRC is seeking a Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (RM&E) Manager to work on a three-year project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) entitled COMPASS (Creating Opportunities through Mentorship, Parental Involvement and Safe Spaces) to improve prevention and response to violence against adolescent girls in humanitarian settings.Based either in IRC’s UK office in London, or IRC HQ in New York, the Manager will be responsible for overseeing the design and implementation of research, monitoring and evaluation of the programme in accordance with DFID regulations, IRC policies, and international standards for programming and research. The Manager will oversee the research programme including both quantitative and qualitative approaches proposed and provide technical and field support for implementation of research, monitoring, and evaluation activities, data analysis, and application of findings in coordination with technical teams. The Manager will also work with the Programme Coordinator to ensure regular updates, communication and joint planning and implementation is taking place with researchers, internal stakeholders, and DFID staff.

 COMPASS commenced in April 2014 and is currently in inception phase. The programme includes strategies such as: safe space programming including life skills training and asset building; mentoring activities with the support of older adolescent girls; and engagement with service providers and caregivers to better prioritise and meet the needs of adolescent girls. The programme also includes a research component focused on understanding the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of safe space programming for adolescent girls in humanitarian settings. In DRC, our research will examine the additional impact of a caregiver discussion series in different communities; in Ethiopia the research will compare impact for girls who partake in safe space activities in the first year of the project with those who don’t (but will partake the following year); and in Pakistan, the research will concentrate on the feasibility and acceptability of the programme in this very difficult operating context.

 This position will report to the Programme Coordinator within the IRC’s Women’s Protection and Empowerment Technical Team, and will interact frequently with key members of this team, the researchers, and the Child, Youth, Protection, and Development Technical Unit, as well as receive additional support through the Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Technical Unit.

 MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Research, Monitoring and Evaluation

• Lead the finalisation of the M&E framework for the programme, in collaboration with researchers, Technical Units and country programmes during the inception phase;
• Lead process for obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and in-country ethical review, with support from the country programmes and researchers;
• Design and provide trainings on research and M&E to country staff, with support from researchers and the REL Technical Unit;
• Support finalization of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools with support from researchers, country programmes and the REL Technical Unit;
• Implement protocols for data entry and security, including mechanisms for quality control;
• Conduct regular data verification exercises to ensure overall quality and accuracy;
• Lead compilation, analysis and consolidation of cross-country data in coordination with the Programme Coordinator, Technical Units, and researchers to produce overall learning that will inform course corrections where necessary;
• Support country programmes in developing data collection tools, tracking log frame indicators, undertaking monitoring, evaluation, and learning, analyzing their data and information, and consolidating information for reporting and tracking progress;
• Support country programmes in analyzing their data and information to inform programme adjustments and/or adaptations;

 Partnership Management and Coordination

• Manage and develop relationship with research partner, Columbia University ensuring that decisions and actions are followed by all stakeholders in a timely and appropriate manner
• Serve as primary contact and liaison for the researchers, with support from Technical Units and country programmes;
• Establish an appropriate research management structure, including respective roles and responsibilties together with researchers, Technical Units and country programmes;
• Implement clear and consistent communication and decision making protocols with researchers, Technical Units and country programmes to streamline communication, including organizing and facilitating regular calls to reach consensus among all parties involved;
• Facilitate discussions between researchers, country programmes and Technical Units focused on research design, methodology, and data analysis to reach consensus among all parties involved;
• Organise regular partnership reviews with researchers, country programmes and Technical Units, and facilitate problem solving where necessary.

 Dissemination and Communication

• Conduct global mapping and consolidate results from country programme mapping to feed into dissemination and communications plan;
• Lead on establishing clear processes for the authorship of papers and other dissemination products;
• Identify opportunities to disseminate research findings to practitioner, research and policy stakeholders in consultation with the Programme Coordinator, Technical Units, researchers, DFID, and other internal and external stakeholders;
• Coordinate dissemination to Dfid staff, practitioners, policy makers and public audiences in Europe, the US, and through other global fora;
• Develop research and learning products for internal and external dissemination (e.g. research reports, briefs, presentations, etc);
• Lead efforts to monitor uptake and outcome of dissemination and communications including use of learning by academics and practitioners;

 Person specification

Essential

• Masters degree in international development, gender, social work, public health, or other related field;
• 3-5 years of experience with demonstrated results conducting research or monitoring and evaluation, including qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis;
• A minimum of 2 years experience working or conducting research in a developing or humanitarian context, preferably focused on gender-based violence or adolescent girl issues;
• Experience with coordinating research dissemination, including writing evaluation reports and briefs, organizing dissemination events, and presenting findings;
• Proven ability to work with diverse and large teams and to foster a positive working environment with local and international stakeholders;
• Experience working with researchers or academic institutions;
• Ability to manage a complex and varied work load, work under pressure, and manage significant travel to insecure environments;
• Knowledge of data analysis software programs (e.g. STATA, SPSS, Atlas-ti) and able to produce analysis and graphic representation of results;
• Strong English communication skills, both oral and written;
• Excellent IT skills (i.e. Word, Outlook, Excel).

 Desirable

• Experience coordinating multi-country research or monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience working with DFID and/or other international donors;
• French language skills.

 To apply

To apply, please submit your application by using the link below: http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH02/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=11094

 Please note that we will be short listing on a continuous basis.

 Applicants must have the right to work in the UK to be based in the London office.

So as to minimise administrative costs, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

 IRC-UK strives to be an equal opportunities employer. IRC-UK is committed to equality of opportunity and to non-discrimination for all job applicants and employees, and we seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, nationality, ethnic/national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.