M&E Database Specialist

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. Since then, we have expanded in size to reach more than 130 million people in more than 100 countries on five continents. For over 75 years, the mission of CRS has been to assist impoverished and disadvantaged people overseas, working in the spirit of Catholic social teaching to promote the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. Our operations serve people based solely on need, regardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity. CRS has worked in Kenya since 1965. The Kenya programme currently has offices in, Marsabit, Isiolo, Kisumu, Mombasa, and Kilifi in Kenya. Our mission is rooted in the Catholic faith, while operations serve people based solely on need, regardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity.

Our programme areas focus on youth, child development and care reform, peace building, emergency response, agriculture and livelihoods, water, health and orphans and vulnerable children. We have focus on cross cutting thematic areas including environmental management and climate change, private sector, local capacity building and gender. This work is implemented in partnership with county and national governments as well as civil society, including faith-based and secular organizations. CRS Kenya's work is almost exclusively with and through local partners and Government agencies.

JOB SUMMARY

The M&E Database Specialist oversees the ICT4D functions of the Nawiri activity. The incumbent is primarily responsible for ensuring the Nawiri database is functioning properly, and dashboard is up to date. They work closely with the M&E and A&L team to ensure that both Nawiri custom and USAID BHA indicators are calculated accurately according to the performance indicator reference sheets (PIRS), correctly tabulated and visualized on the Nawiri dashboard, support FCRM utilizing Commcare, YouTrack and PowerBi. The position supervises the Senior Project Officer - GIS/Visualization and works closely with the M&E Manager and field-based M&E and project implementing teams to troubleshoot ICT4D related issues and provide solutions. This includes ensuring Nawiri has adequate ICT4D infrastructure, and that software is up to date and licenses paid up, in line with CRS data processing and protection guidance.Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Analysis and problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgment.Ability to identify and resolve performance issues in databases. Skills in query optimization, index optimization, database tuning, and monitoring database performance metricsAbility to design efficient and scalable database schemas based on requirements.Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely, influence and get buy-in from staff and local partners.Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented.Attention to details, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities.Presentation, facilitation, training, and mentoring skills.Strong active listening and communication skills using both formal and informal approaches.High integrity with ability to manage sensitive information professionally while maintaining confidentiality.Demonstrated commitment to respect, equity, diversity, and inclusion.Required Languages: Excellent verbal and written communication in English, with ability to write reports.Travel: Position is based in Nairobi. Must be willing and able to travel to the field up to 40%. Supervisory Responsibilities: Senior Project Officer - GIS/Visualization.Key Working Relationships Internal: Strategic Learning Lead, County-based M&E staff, Project staff, CRS Information and Communications Technology (ICT)/GKIM staff.External: Implementing partner M&E officers and consortium partner staff, and peer agencies' staff. USAID and Mercy Corps led Nawiri ICT4D staff.QUALIFICATIONSBasic QualificationsMaster's degree in economics, statistics, IT (Computer Science, Computer Networking, Programming, and Information Systems), or another quantitative field is required. Formal/certification in relational databases and/or advanced visualization platforms is an added advantage. Additional experience may substitute for some educational qualifications.Minimum of 4 years of work experience in project support, ideally in the field of database management, data analysis, visualization, GIS, and reporting for an NGO.Knowledge of database design principles, including normalization, denormalization, indexing strategies, and schema design. Proficiency in various database management systems such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, SQL databases, MongoDB, Azure cloud platform, etc. Understanding the features, capabilities, and best practices of these systems is crucial.Understanding of database security principles and best practices including access controls, encryption, authentication mechanisms, and data masking to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability.Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, PowerShell, or Bash to automate database tasks, manage deployments, and streamline administrative tasks.Proficient in data visualization software such as PowerBI, ArcView GIS, Tableau, Zoho Analytics, and Visme. Knowledge of USAID indicators tabulation and calculation.Demonstrated experience in facilitating groups, meetings, and events (both online and in-person), resulting in collaborative decision-making with agreed-upon action items/priorities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Manage and ensure the Nawiri database design, implementation and maintenance meet the CRS requirements, including developing and optimizing SQL queries, stored procedures, and other database objects to ensure efficient data retrieval and manipulation.Ensure Nawiri databases are up to date for FCRMs, Nawiri indicators and specialized surveys such as the recurrent resilience analysis (RRA), Participant based Annual Survey (PaBS), Annual Report, Nawiri Scorecard, and post distribution monitoring (PDMs) amongst others.Perform routine database maintenance tasks such as database monitoring and backup, updates, and security configurations according to CRS protocols and requirements. Ensure the indicator performance tracking tables (IPTT)/dashboard accurately represent USAID/BHA requirements including indicator calculations and disaggregation.Implement and enforce security measures to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, such as user authentication, access controls, and encryption.Work with Nawiri field M&E and implementing teams to ensure data integrity, ensuring data from various sources coming to the database is consistent, accurate, and of integrity.Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and/or gaps to inform adjustments to implementation plans, whilst collaborating with the technical teams in addressing identified gaps and inconsistencies.Ensure learning consistently accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle through collaboration with other ICT4D professionals, documenting database schemas, configurations, and procedures to ensure that other team members can understand and maintain the system effectively. Participate in tool design, scripting, and pre-testing on CommCare when required.Build capacity of Nawiri consortium staff in ICT-related areas to ensure efficient and consistent adoption and use of ICT4D solutions (i.e. CommCare, YouTrack, Power BI and ArcGIS)

REQUIRED SKILLS

Decision making, Python, Relational databases (SQL), Collaboration, Database query languages (SQL, others)

REQUIRED EDUCATION

Post-graduate education