MEAL Specialist

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Project background:

The MADAD project is a joined effort of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded by EU MADAD to respond to the reduced livelihood and food security levels as a result of the Syrian crisis in Jordan and Lebanon. It tackles its negative impact on the host communities through the support of the agriculture sector in improving the agricultural productivity, and of the vulnerable farmers’ income. In addition, it aims at creating job opportunities for both host communities and displaced Syrians. The project promotes social protection mechanisms for the benefit of the host farming community and the displaced population.

The objectives of the project are:

• To create an adequate agriculture production support system in the form of a Farmer Registry and Sub-registry for vulnerable smallholders that support good agriculture practices and timely response to shocks.
• To rehabilitate the capacity of the agriculture extension systems to be able to respond to the increasing demand of support due to the Syrian crisis and the presence of large number of refugees.
• To support the vulnerable smallholders and the small family based agri-food enterprises to increase productivity and financial feasibility of their activities.
• To Support communal assets and management of natural resources with employment and training opportunities created for the most affected host communities and refugees.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and direct supervision of the Project Manager, the MEAL expert will develop and implement a high quality project planning, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning system for the MADAD project in Jordan. He/she will work in coordination with the MADAD team at regional level, in particular with the Monitoring and Evaluation officer in Lebanon supporting the MEAL plan in the two countries. The system will build on existing/previous M&E systems at RBA level and will ensure effective planning, timely and high quality reporting on project progress, capturing the results and likely impacts of project’s activities, documenting and sharing learning from project’s work and ensuring accountability. The MEAL expert will also strengthen the MEAL knowledge and skills of MADAD staff in Jordan at all levels.

Technical Focus

His/her focus is to develop, implement and manage the MEAL framework of the project, and to support the project teams to monitor the MEAL framework. S/he guarantees compliance with FAO and donors’ guidelines on MEAL aspects.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Design, implement and oversee a MEAL system that provides appropriate measures of MADAD project in Jordan progress against agreed objectives in line and coordination with the Lebanon M&E office.
• Oversee the design and lead on the implementation of baseline surveys in Jordan working with the relevant FAO project teams at HQ, RNE, Lebanon, and Jordan level, with the partners RBAs, the MoA and any other relevant stakeholder to ensure that data collection techniques are robust, that the teams involved have a good understanding of their roles, and that the data analysis is timely and meaningful.
• Support and provide guidance on the use of DDG (Digital Data Gathering) devices for all data collection activities in collaboration with the IT teams in FAO and with the partners in line and coordination with the Lebanon M&E office.
• Develop an accountability and knowledge management system to capture lessons learned and disseminate these within FAO Jordan and more widely as appropriate, in line and coordination with the Lebanon M&E office.
• Support Conflict Sensitivity team in Jordan in preparing and conducting needs assessments and contextual analysis as required.
• Support the MADAD project manager in revising the project logical framework with SMART indicators.
• She/he contributes to the process of documenting, improving and standardizing methods and practices in the field of MEAL
• Develop and test the farmers registry form
• Ensure job purposes and objectives of staff in relation to MEAL are clearly defined and understood.
• Assist with the induction and performance development reviews of staff in relation to M&E.
• Train and support the staff in MEAL issues and strengthening M&E activities as required.
• Perform other duties as required.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (economics, statistics, development or equivalent).
• Minimum of five years’ experience implementing MEAL activities in the development/ humanitarian sector.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English and at least limited knowledge one of the other FAO official languages, preferably Arabic.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Extent and relevance of experience in coordinating MEAL activities, preferably in large government or non-government organizations
• Demonstrated work experience in MEAL framework formulation.
• Experience in team management and training/capacity-building;
• Experience in the implementation of beneficiary complaint and feedback mechanisms preferential
• Full competence of tools for collection, data management and statistical analysis (including ODK and MS Excel)
• Familiarity with food security and agriculture indicators
• Previous working experience with UN and/or international organizations will be an asset.
• Knowledge and experience of FAO systems and databases and corporate applications is considered an asset.
• Analytical and judgment skills, and ability to apply procedures in administration and management;
• Experience of setting up and implementing multi-sectorial MEAL systems.
• Strong writing skills, including donor reports.
• Experience in staff capacity development and staff management.
• Ability to effectively use standard office software, such as MS Office (Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point plus SPSS and use of GIS).