Senior Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (RMEAL) Manager - PlayMat

Job Description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 28 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

Job Overview: IRC is seeking a Senior RMEAL Manager - PlayMatters for a five-year project, “PlayMatters”, funded by the LEGO Foundation. The Play Matters - Sparking Lifelong Learning through Play aims to improve holistic learning and wellbeing outcomes for 800,000 school going children (aged 3-12+) in in refugee settlements and host communities in East Africa (Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania). This project aims to build children’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and creative skills by influencing and changing behaviors of adults (parents, caregivers, teachers, community members and policy makers) surrounding children to incorporate Learning through Play methodologies into regular interactions with children at school, home and in the community. The project is implemented in a consortium partnership with War Child Holland, Plan International, Behavioral Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action. More information on PlayMatters can be found here: https://www.playmatters.org

The Senior RMEAL Manager will provide technical leadership, oversight, and partnership support to strengthen the Uganda PlayMatters RMEAL efforts, approaches, and systems to foster learning and accountability for project clients, ensure measurement of project results, strengthen RMEAL capacities in the project and facilitate effective coordination and collaboration on RMEAL functions within the Uganda PlayMatters consortium partners, counterparts, and other relevant project stakeholders. The Senior RMEAL Manager will also support PlayMatters program quality through the development, coordination, and implementation of enhanced research, monitoring, accountability, and evaluation, and learning strategies, with an emphasis on streamlining processes and tools for efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability throughout the project cycle. The Senior RMEAL Manager will support IRC global and measurement initiative under the PlayMatters project.

Duties and Responsibilities: Research & Evidence Generation: •Coordinate and participate in the design, method, commission and conduct of project research, assessments, surveys, and evaluations. •The Senior RMEAL Manager will be responsible for all the thematic research, baseline, evaluations, and knowledge management for PlayMatters. •The RMEL Manager will ensure that research under PlayMatters is generating learning and credible evidence leading to improvement, expansion, and sustainability of the project. •Champion design, access, and use of data by leaders and partners for shared learning and evidence-based decision-making. •Produce quality reports and updating dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in project cycle management meetings and team meetings.

Technical Oversight: •Lead and ensure quality implementation of the PlayMatters RMEAL system across the project consortium partners in line with the PMC country strategy and plans. The Manager will also ensure that The PlayMatters RMEAL system is in harmony and/or feeds into the specific consortium partner RMEAL systems/needs. •Technically lead the process of reviewing all existing project data collection tools as well as the development of new tools to ensure timely and quality data collection, storage, and reporting on the key project performance indicators/deliverables. (Ensure quality data collection, data analysis, development of dashboards and updating the data visualization under the project to facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation). •Lead and ensure that regular data quality audits are conducted across the consortium partners and results are disseminated to aid quality improvement. •Lead and ensure that the use of technology is integrated in the RMEAL system such as the use of digital platforms and software in data collection, storage, analysis, and visualization. •Engage in the design, method, and conduct of surveys such as baseline and end line, and the commission of evaluations in coordination. •Lead the design and implementation of regular project learning events informed by the routine monitoring data, document and share lessons learned and facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation. •Oversee the development of research design, research protocol and approval by the relevant government authorities (Uganda National Council for Science and Technology). •Manage and respond timely to all technical aspects, needs and actions of RMEAL regarding the PlayMatters Project. •Support dialogue, technical exchange, and coordination with other consortium workstreams, partner organizations and sectors for integration of RMEAL and other project activities. •Technically lead and ensure timely analysis of project data, reporting, dissemination, and visualization of project outputs using dashboards (generated using PowerBi). •Coordinate the compilation of annual and quarterly project reports supported with data and evidence. •Ensure effective implementation of the accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms. •Lead/and or contribute directly or indirectly to recruitment, on boarding, training, professional learning, supportive supervision, and mentorship of project RMEAL staff, partners, and consultants •Represent PlayMatters at internal and external RMEAL technical meetings, forums, networks, and other events •Collaborate with RMEAL teams and other relevant stakeholders within and outside Uganda PlayMatters consortium to support harmonization, capacity sharing and project measurement and results.

Partner Collaboration and Coordination: •Coordinate closely with the partners implementing PlayMatters - Plan International, War Child Holland and IPA. •Coordinate the Partnership Project Opening, Review, Monitoring and Closing Meetings, together with PlayMatters Senior Coordinator and Regional team, and ensure partner participation in all project cycle meetings. •Coordinate and participate in the timely and effective partner program, finance, and compliance review and reflection (monitoring), and work with the partner teams to address any project performance issues.

Qualifications

• A University degree in a relevant field (such as: statistics & data management, social science, , development economics, or a related subject area) • A Minimum of 5 years working experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning in a similar or related functions. • Work experience in humanitarian and/or development context and with an International NGO and experience working with education programs highly desirable. • Technical skills in setting up quality RMEAL processes and creating logical frameworks and data analysis that leads to learning and action. • Proficiency and experience with mobile data collection such as Kobo, Commcare, ODK Collect is vital as well as proficiency with Microsoft Excel, SPSS, STATA or other similar software. Knowledge of Tableau, PowerBi, or GIS software tools is highly desirable. • Demonstrated analytical, systematic-thinking, and problem-solving skills. • Proven ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods together with presentation and reporting skills are a strong asset. • Confirmed ability to lead, mentor and empower professional teams. • Self-motivated with good organization, planning skills, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking. • A strong understanding of accountability and proven ability to build Client Feedback Systems. • Willingness to travel to various field-level offices at least 50% of the time

Working Environment: The Senior RMEAL Manager (PlayMatters) will be based in the IRC Uganda office and will be provided with regular administrative and logistics support to perform his/her responsibilities.

Professional Code of Conduct: 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, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.