MEAL Coordinator

IRC Poland: On 8 February 2022 three IRC staff arrived in Poland to initiate scoping of local and national actors in Warsaw, Lublin, and Rzeszow as well as across the Western, Central, and Eastern regions in Ukraine. When on 24 February Russian troops entered eastern Ukraine with the aim of toppling the government led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and conflict-affected individuals started fleeing to neighboring countries, the IRC established a presence in Poland to build partnerships with local state, civil society, and private sector actors to respond to needs of arriving refugees. As of April 26, over 5.3 million people have fled Ukraine seeking safety with nearly 50% (2.9 million) of those displaced fleeing to Poland. Reports indicate almost all arrivals in Poland are women and children, including those that are unaccompanied and separated, as well as older persons. IRC Poland’s goal is to ensure the survival of emergency-affected people in a way that enables their safety, dignity, and empowerment. Working in the program areas of economic recovery and development and safety, the IRC will accomplish this by working to see that 1) People affected by the war in Ukraine are able to meet their immediate and basic needs with safety and dignity and avoid harmful coping mechanisms and 2) People affected by the war in Ukraine are protected and supported to recover from the consequences of violence and displacement through equitable access to services and information.

SCOPE OF WORK: The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator will be the focal point for the start-up and maintenance of MEAL activities for the Poland Country Programme. This position is based in Warsaw, Poland. The MEAL Coordinator will report to the Deputy Director of Program, with close coordination across all programme sectors. This position is responsible for measurement, and accountability, including and not limited to client responsiveness and feedback mechanisms, safeguarding mechanisms, measurement tools and systems to support partnership and program activities and reporting as well as any evaluation and learning activities.

The MEAL Coordinator is responsible to ensure that a monitoring, evaluation and accountability and data management system is in place, sufficiently resourced and successfully implemented from collection to visualization. And that MEAL data is contributing to improved learning and program quality. The MEAL Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that MEAL principles are integrated in every step of the project cycle, as per IRC’s corporate guidelines and contributes to the implementation of the evolving emergency response strategy.

Responsibilities

·Lead all aspects of MEAL (including client feedback mechanisms) functions across multiple sectors and multiple geographical areas.

• Shape and implement MEAL systems and approaches that meet IRC standards and practices, that meet project and program needs, enable accountability to clients, partners, and donors, and foster program quality and learning.

·Provide guidance to Sector Coordinators on the MEAL components of the response and ensure updated MEAL plans are in place.

·Design, establish and maintain MEAL systems to support the response and collect inputs from sector coordinators for the relevant MEAL documents required including:

o Feedback mechanisms,

o Safeguarding mechanisms,

o M&E systems

·Compile necessary MEAL documentation and reporting.

·Support sector Coordinators and Partnership Coordinators in the development of M&E plan and regular data collection and reporting.

• Reinforce integration of cross-sectoral priorities in MEAL, including gender, protection, safeguarding, disaster risk reduction, Diversity-Equality-Inclusion and Do No Harm.
• Supervise the MEAL team across multiple sectors and geographical areas: Set clear performance objectives; manage staff work plans; establish regular performance reviews; champion a positive working environment for professional development; foster an inclusive and respectful team climate, where all staff are valued and respected and can contribute to their maximum potential.
• Support the recruitment of country MEAL staff and support their onboarding.

·Other duties as assigned by the supervisor to enable and develop IRC programs.

Other Duties

Consistently and proactively monitor/assess the safety and security of the team; promptly reporting concerns or incidents to the Deputy Director of Program, and when liaising with community leaders and other external parties as required to maintain/enhance the security environment for IRC programs.

Ensure effective communication, coordination and information sharing between the Sectoral leads, under the management of the DDP, to facilitate an effective and integrated emergency response.

Requirements:

• A University degree in a relevant subject area (statistics, monitoring & data management, social science, public health, economic development, or a related field) – a technical degree together with additional relevant work experience may substitute for education;
• A minimum 5 years of working experience within Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and learning-related functions;
• Leadership experience and proven technical skills in setting up quality MEAL system that leads to evidence-based decision-making for multi-sectorial and multi-donor funded programs;
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods together with strong presentation and reporting skills;
• Strong management and social skills and proven track record to work with diverse groups of people in a multicultural environment;
• Self-motivated with excellent organization, planning, and analytical skills – able to work without close supervision, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking;
• Proficiency and experience with mobile data collection such as Kobo, CommCare, ODK Collect are crucial as well as proficiency with Microsoft Excel; SPSS, SATA or other similar software;
• Knowledge of Tableau, PowerBi or GIS software are additional assets;
• A strong understanding of accountability and proven ability to build Client Feedback Systems is a distinct advantage;
• Willingness to travel to various regional and field-level offices
• Fluency in English (written and speaking) in addition to Polish.

Must have the right to work in Poland

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

Gender Equality: The 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 supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: At the IRC, our diverse clients, partners, and staff have the power, voice, and agency to shape programs and operations. We actively work to end all forms of systemic discrimination and foster an inclusive working environment where everyone feels respected, heard, valued, and supported. The IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability. The IRC encourages women to apply and work with us to reach the people most in need of humanitarian assistance, such as women, widows, and children. The IRC is committed to providing a decent and safe work environment that considers needs of women in the workplace, including through maternity leave and safety protocols.