MONITORING, EVALUATION, RESEARCH AND LEARNING (MERL) OFFICER for NTBPlease submit your application through our website at  http://thepalladiumgroup.com/jobs/Monitoring-Evaluation-Research-and-Learning-Officer-for-NTB-VN3076 or e-mail to [email protected]Company OverviewPalladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.

For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people’s lives.

Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.Project Overview and RoleOver the past decade, Indonesia has substantially increased its spending on education and now many more millions of children are in school. There is a significant void in knowledge about what teachers in Indonesia are teaching in the classroom, what the primary constraints they face are, and how teaching quality can be more efficiently and effectively improved. The Government of Australia (GOA), through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), is seeking to assist the Government of Indonesia (GOI) to fill this void by establishing Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children (INOVASI).

INOVASI is an ambitious four-year (with the possibility of an extension for another four), AUD 49million program. It will collaborate closely with the GOI at the district, provincial and national level to develop and implement action-oriented research and pilots to answer the broad question: What works to improve student learning outcomes in Indonesia? It will focus on three sub-topics of investigation: the quality of teaching in the classroom, the quality of support for teachers, and learning for all. 

MERL unit is responsible to manage the monitoring, evaluation, research and learning tasks and responsibilities for INOVASI at national and sub national level, according to agreed framework between INOVASI and DFAT. The functions of the unit are to provide support to project team to develop interventions, measure and document changes, collect evidence, provide support to enable learning cycles to take place at all levels and to produce report. The MERL products are intended for internal learning, dissemination and advocacy purposes. 

INOVASI is managed by Palladium on behalf of DFAT, and formally started on 18 January 2016.

Purpose of the Position:  The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Officer will be responsible for the implementation of the MERL plans at the provincial and district levels and providing lessons learned for the continued updating and improvement of the plan. ResponsibilitiesDuties: Reporting to the Provincial Coordinator and under the technical direction of INOVASI’s Monitoring,  Evaluation and Learning Specialist, the MERL Officer will:

1. Support the development and design of MERL approach, indicators and methodology at field level to ensure effective MERL systems are in place at the subnational level
2. Ensure Monitoring and Evaluation of INOVASI activities, pilots and interventions at district level
3. Support Research and Learning activities as required at provincial and district level
4. Contribute to the development of INOVASI annual targets at schools, districts and provincial levels;
5. Collect, store and analyse provincial M&E data as part of implementation tracking;
6. Ensure provincial M&E data is regularly uploaded into the Program Data Management System;
7. Coordinate closely and work with the District Education Officers to ensure the participation of primary stakeholder groups in MERL activities, including those carried out by third parties in accordance with the MERL plan;
8. Participate as required in data collection activities facilitated by INOVASI including those carried out by third parties at the provincial, district and school level, including, but not limited to, the district diagnostic activities and the school and community baseline;
9. Undertake regular field trips to schools and districts, notify and report to the MERL team and Provincial Manager of any new findings;
10. Act as rapid response to collect quick performance related data as required;
11. Provide regular feedback based on field implementation and assist in the updating and improvement of the MERL plans;
12. Support information dissemination and sharing activities as they relate to the MERL mandate in the Province/District/Sub District/School;
13. Contribute to the INOVASI quarterly and semester reports by providing districts and provincial data
14. Facilitate development of success stories, good/best practices and lesson learned 
15. Provide training on basic monitoring and evaluation practices for provincial and district teams and stakeholders as needed
16. Provide technical and administrative support to the MERL team in Jakarta when needed
17. Participate in MERL meetings when required 
18. Facilitate and act as a resource person and join in any external supervision and evaluation missions as required by the MEL Specialist or Provincial Coordinator;
19. Contribute to the development of any other Program activities and deliverables as required by the MEL Specialist or Provincial Coordinator
20. Other duties as may reasonably be required by either the MEL Specialist or the Provincial Coordinator consistent with the incumbent’s qualifications and experience.

RequirementsQualifications and Experience: The Monitoring,  Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Officer will possess the following qualifications and experience:
I.     Bachelor Degree in related field required;
II.    Good understanding of the education sector in Indonesia;
III.   Minimum 4 years’ experience with performance monitoring at the field level;
IV.   Good written and oral communication skills (English preferred but not essential);
V.    Strong computer skills;
VI.   Ability to multi-task;
VII.  Able to meet deadlines;
VIII. Ability to work both independently and in a team.Thank you