Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer

Job Description

BACKGROUND: The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian international NGOs, provides relief, rehabilitation and development support to vulnerable people and communities over 30 countries. We began work in Ethiopia in 2000 in response to severe drought in Ethiopia’s Somali region and are currently providing assistance to Ethiopians and refugees in six regions in Ethiopia, implementing emergency and development programs in health, water and sanitation, economic recovery and development (ERD), women’s protection and empowerment, education, child protection, and multi-sectoral emergency response.

Job purpose

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking dynamic, analytical, and highly motivated individual for the position of MEAL Officer in the IRC’s Gambella_field offices. The ideal candidate has worked for an NGO in the programs department (e.g. design, management, monitoring) and has concrete experience with monitoring and evaluation, and tracking systems and processes. The MEAL Officer contributes to overall program quality through the coordination, and implementation of enhanced monitoring and evaluation, accountability, and learning strategies; the emphasis is on streamlining processes and tools for efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability throughout the project cycle across the IRC’s various sectors and grants. This position is based in one of our field offices - Gambella but will require frequent travel to the sub-offices and intervention areas/refugee camps. The MEAL Officer will report to the Field Coordinator in the field offices and to the Senior MEAL Manager in Addis Ababa.

Responsibilities and tasks

Accountability and Monitoring Systems

- Develop and/or update M&E tools, databases, and monthly reporting formats in close collaboration with the MEAL focal points/sectoral managers. - Support the staff in mobile data collection; using Kobo Collect, COMM care, and the IRC apps to collect and analyze data. - Conduct data audits and analysis to ensure high-quality data, compile a report with relevant indicator data per grant, showing targets versus actuals and an action plan and send this to the Field Coordinator, MEAL Manager, and Technical Managers and Coordinators on a monthly basis. - Clients counting: a quarterly gender and age disaggregated overview per grant per sector should be provided. - Support staff on data management and storage to field staff, in collaboration with IT. - Contribute to the rollout of IRC global initiatives related to measurement and accountability and enable reporting against IRC global standards and requirements. - Set up feedback channels for all sectors or per location depending on the context and appropriate for conflict affected populations - Develop an implementation plan for the feedback mechanisms that can be used by CRA Assistant - Setting up and managing the Feedback Registry, data collection and monitoring tools for client responsiveness that can be used by the MEAL/CRA Assistant and the field team. - Conducting detailed data analysis for quantitative and qualitative data received through the different channels and presenting statistics in clear formats to highlight feedback trends to program and grants team at field meetings, project review meetings for analysis and decision making at the field office level. - Working closely with the Safe Programming Manager and Sector Managers in preparing weekly, monthly and quarterly CRA reports - Ensure efficiency of the established CRA data management platforms

Assessment, Learning, and Documentation

- Ensure relevant, timely, and quality support to the field office on assessments and evaluations, i.e. support in developing the survey tools, data analysis, and report writing. - Attend semi-annual meetings with other MEAL Officers, the senior M&E officer, the MEAL Managers, and the MEAL Coordinator on project monitoring and learning updates, achievements, challenges. - Provide documentation and dissemination of key findings stemming from monitoring, assessment, client feedback channels and other learning activities. - Track and ensure organized, comprehensive electronic filing of lessons and validated findings/analyses. - When appropriate/applicable, facilitate, and participate in information sharing opportunities among IRC offices/partners/donors.

Capacity Building

- Facilitate capacity building for other IRC staff (especially the MEAL focal points/sector managers on skills and knowledge related to M&E and accountability and learning, including related IRC global initiatives. Relevant topics may include but are not limited to, crafting monitoring tools, monitoring budgets, analyzing supervising data, conducting assessment/ evaluation, and implementing feedback mechanisms. - Conduct visits to sub-offices and intervention areas to provide training, technical assistance, and support, as well as to ensure that M&E and CRA tools and strategies are understood and being implemented effectively. - Provide training on how to collect, document, refer and respond on client feedback for the focal points who manager client feedback channels

Human resource Management and Supervision

- The position supervises MEAL/CRA Assistants in the field office

Qualifications

Education:

- Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, systems science, and/or other relevant fields with at least three years of relevant professional work experience.

Work Experience:

- Minimum of 3 years of proven experience with the first degree and 2 years of relevant experience for postgraduate degree holders preferably in an international NGO, in a similar role/with similar responsibilities. - Demonstrated understanding of direct monitoring and evaluation experience, specifically in the humanitarian and development context. - Validated experience developing tools and systems for, and building capacity of others in skills related to, program tracking and documentation. - Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methodologies, including logical models, conceptual frameworks, and assessment/evaluation. - Proven experience of implementing beneficiary complaint and feedback mechanisms. - High proficiency in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. - Preferred knowledge of mobile data collection tools such as Kobo Collect or COMM care. - Familiarity with information management systems and analysis software is a plus. - Effective, high-quality communication, writing, and interpersonal skills are crucial.

Requirements:

Personal specifications:

- Ability to work under pressure, long work hours, and high workload. - Ability to independently coordinate work and prioritize tasks. - Self-motivated, honest, highly responsible, and punctual. - Ability to work both independently and as part of a team. - Applicants, and especially women, having experience in a refugee setting are encouraged to apply

Time frame

The length of the posting is open, but based on availability of funding and grants, contingent upon satisfactory performance evaluation.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation and Combating Trafficking in Persons

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other encouraging benefits and allowances

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.