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Description
About 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.
About Mercy Corps Ethiopia
Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. Our vision is to enhance the resilience of climate and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. Our strategy focuses on the four outcome areas of: 1) Economically marginalized populations have improved and diversified livelihoods, income, and assets; 2) Pastoralists, farmers, and households have access to sustainably produced, safe, nutritious food; 3) Social cohesion and inclusive governance processes are built in crisis-affected communities; and 4) People have equitable, sustained access to clean water and sanitation for domestic and productive use. Currently we operate in the regional states of Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Sidama, Southern Ethiopia, Tigray and Addis Ababa city administration working with a diverse base of donors that includes the U.S. Department of State, the European Union (EU), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the United Nations (UN), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA), and a range of other institutional and private foundations.
Position Title: MRELA Advisor
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with regular travel
Open Position: 1
Risk Level: Level 3
The Program / Department / Team
Border Security Programme – Ethiopia
The Border Security Programme (BSP) is an FCDO-funded regional programme designed to disrupt organised immigration crime (OIC) and contribute to safer borders and safer communities. The programme works through four mutually reinforcing outcome areas: evidence and analysis; stronger law-enforcement capability; community engagement, reporting and early warning; and witness support and protection.
In Ethiopia, BSP is implemented as a dedicated country component aligned with the regional programme, Ethiopian law and institutions, Government of Ethiopia priorities, and the realities of selected border and migration corridors. Mercy Corps works with relevant government institutions at federal, regional and local levels, consortium partners, Ethiopian civil-society and specialist partners, communities and other stakeholders to strengthen existing systems and locally grounded responses rather than establish parallel structures. Programme implementation is evidence-led, conflict-sensitive, rights-respecting and adaptive to changing border, migration and operational dynamics.
The Position
The MRELA Advisor serves as the country-level technical focal point for Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation, Learning and Adaptation for BSP-Ethiopia, providing specialist leadership and day-to-day oversight of the programme’s monitoring, reporting, evaluation, learning, accountability and adaptation systems. The Advisor reports directly to the Ethiopia Country Lead – BSP and has a technical reporting line to the Mercy Corps Ethiopia Country MEL Manager, while coordinating closely with the Regional BSP MRELA Manager to maintain regional coherence and shared learning.
The Advisor ensures that credible quantitative and qualitative evidence is generated, interpreted and used to manage programme performance, test the Theory of Change, assess progress against the Progress Marker Framework, strengthen donor accountability and support timely adaptation. The role leads data-quality and responsible-data processes, coordinates assessments and evaluations, strengthens partner MRELA capacity, supports evidence-based reporting and facilitates structured learning and reflection across BSP programme locations in Ethiopia.
Essential Responsibilities
MRELA TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AND PROGRAMME QUALITY
- Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of the BSP-Ethiopia MRELA system, ensuring alignment with the regional BSP framework, Mercy Corps Ethiopia MEL standards and FCDO requirements.
- Lead application and refinement of the Theory of Change, results framework, Progress Marker Framework, indicators, evidence requirements and learning questions.
- Ensure MRELA is integrated into programme planning, implementation, management review and decision-making, providing concise analysis on performance, evidence gaps, risks and opportunities for adaptation.
- Ensure MRELA approaches integrate safeguarding, protection, gender equality and social inclusion, conflict sensitivity, accountability, responsible data and Do No Harm, coordinating with the Country MEL Manager and Regional BSP MRELA Manager as required.
PERFORMANCE MONITORING, PROGRESS MARKERS AND CONTEXT ANALYSIS
- Lead routine monitoring of programme outputs and outcomes, maintaining accurate performance-tracking systems and credible evidence of delivery, quality, reach and behavioural or institutional change.
- Coordinate assessment of the BSP Progress Marker Framework, including Expect to See, Like to See and Love to See markers, and support teams to interpret the pace, depth and sustainability of change.
- Bring together quantitative and qualitative evidence from appropriate programme, partner and stakeholder sources to build a credible picture of progress.
- Integrate context analysis into performance monitoring and apply BSP’s contribution rather than attribution approach when interpreting change.
- Conduct or coordinate monitoring visits to verify progress and implementation quality, identify evidence gaps, unintended outcomes and emerging risks, and bring priority issues into management and reflection processes.
DATA QUALITY, MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSIBLE DATA
- Establish and maintain data-quality assurance processes, including verification, consistency checks, corrective actions and quality assurance of programme and partner data.
- Maintain secure, organised and traceable MRELA records that meet donor, audit and management requirements.
- Ensure data collection, storage, access, analysis and sharing comply with Mercy Corps responsible-data, data-protection, safeguarding and information-security requirements, with heightened safeguards for sensitive information.
- Provide technical oversight of approved data-collection, performance-management and visualisation systems and agree appropriate information-sharing arrangements with partners.
EVALUATIONS, ASSESSMENTS AND RESEARCH
- Lead or coordinate assessments, evaluations, learning reviews and operational research required for BSP-Ethiopia.
- Develop or quality-assure methodologies, sampling approaches, tools, ethical protocols, analysis plans and reporting frameworks, ensuring appropriate foundational evidence for phased implementation.
- Provide technical oversight to consultants, enumerators and temporary data-collection teams, ensuring quality, ethics, safeguarding and responsible-data standards.
- Review findings for methodological quality and practical relevance and support programme leadership to translate significant findings into management actions and adaptation.
REPORTING, ANALYSIS AND EVIDENCE PRODUCTS
- Lead validation and consolidation of BSP-Ethiopia performance data for donor, regional and internal reporting.
- Coordinate reporting inputs from programme teams and partners and contribute concise, evidence-based narrative and analysis to donor and internal reports.
- Produce practical dashboards, performance summaries and analytical products to support management decision-making.
- Maintain an organised evidence repository and support appropriate learning briefs, case studies and evidence products, ensuring confidentiality, accuracy and responsible use of information.
LEARNING, REFLECTION AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT
- Lead regular Ethiopia programme reflection and learning processes aligned with regional BSP mechanisms.
- Use monitoring, research, context analysis, community feedback and partner evidence to test Theory of Change assumptions and identify what is working, what is not and why.
- Support programme leadership to translate evidence into practical adaptations and maintain appropriate documentation of significant adaptation decisions.
- Document and share learning, emerging practice and unintended outcomes, contributing Ethiopia evidence to regional and cross-country learning.
PARTNER CAPACITY STRENGTHENING AND STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION
- Assess implementing-partner MRELA capacity and develop proportionate support plans.
- Provide training, coaching and technical assistance on monitoring, Progress Markers, data quality, responsible data, reporting and evidence use.
- Support partners to maintain practical MRELA systems that meet programme requirements without unnecessary parallel or overly complex processes.
- Coordinate with partner focal points, regional MRELA colleagues and relevant stakeholders to ensure consistent standards, resolve evidence issues and contribute Ethiopia learning to regional processes.
SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
- 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.
Supervisory Responsibility
MRELA & CARM Senior Officer; technical oversight of temporary data-collection teams and partner MRELA focal points as required.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Ethiopia Country Lead – BSP
Technical Reporting To: Mercy Corps Ethiopia Country MEL Manager
Technical Coordination With: Regional BSP MRELA Manager
Works Closely With: Mercy Corps Ethiopia Director of Programs; Regional BSP MRELA Manager; BSP programme and outcome leads; implementing partners and MRELA focal points; Finance and Subaward Specialist; Mercy Corps Ethiopia programme-quality and support teams; consortium partners; and relevant government and technical stakeholders.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
- Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, International Development, Public Policy, Research Methods or a related field; a Bachelor’s degree with substantial relevant experience may be considered.
- At least seven years of progressively responsible MRELA/MEL experience with an INGO, international development organisation or comparable multi-partner programme, including significant responsibility for designing and leading MRELA systems; experience with FCDO-funded programmes is strongly preferred.
- Strong knowledge and practical experience of theories of change, results frameworks, indicator design, Progress Markers or outcome monitoring, quantitative and qualitative methods, contribution analysis, adaptive management and learning.
- Demonstrated experience designing and managing evaluations, assessments and learning processes, including sampling, tool development, analysis, methodological quality assurance and responsible-data requirements.
- Strong analytical and data-management skills, including data-quality assurance and use of appropriate statistical, data-management or visualisation tools; experience with Power BI, CommCare, SPSS, Stata, R, Python or equivalent tools is an advantage.
- Demonstrated experience strengthening implementing-partner MRELA capacity and supporting practical monitoring and reporting systems; strong understanding of Ethiopia’s humanitarian, development and governance context, with relevant borderlands, migration, protection, governance or security-sector experience preferred.
- Excellent written and spoken English and Amharic, with strong analytical writing, facilitation and presentation skills and the ability to work effectively across country, programme and regional technical structures; additional Ethiopian languages relevant to programme locations are an advantage.
Success Factors
The successful MRELA Advisor will combine analytical rigour with practical programme judgement and a strong commitment to evidence use. They will distinguish activity completion from meaningful change, communicate evidence limitations as clearly as achievements, and translate complex quantitative, qualitative and contextual information into concise insights for decision-making. They will work effectively across programme, technical, government and partner audiences, facilitate constructive reflection on sensitive or underperforming areas, and maintain high standards of ethics, safeguarding, confidentiality and data quality.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with regular travel to BSP programme locations, partner offices and field sites, including remote and border areas where access, amenities or security conditions may vary. Team members are expected to comply with Mercy Corps safety, security, movement and access procedures and respect local laws, customs, policies and values at all times.
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
Team Engagement and Effectiveness
Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work. We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.
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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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. As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).
How To Apply
All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically.
Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.
“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”
DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 04 October 2026/ 4:00 PM