Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager

About the role: This is a 12-month role with unaccompanied terms based in Bangui with a salary of Grade 3 €39,911 – €44,346 per annum plus benefits.

You will report to the Programmes Director, within the Programme Quality and Coordination Team in Bangui. You will have a technical line management with the M&E Officers, Complaints Response Mechanism Assistants and work closely with the Grants and Partnership Officer, Roving Area Coordinator and Gender, Protection and Safeguarding advisor function, and Programme Managers and Area Coordinators.

Your purpose: You will ensure high-quality programme monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning across the CAR country programme by developing and building on existing M&E systems (DDG) to track and report on programme progress and by providing training and capacity building to M&E and programme staff at all levels. You will also provide high-quality technical support during project design and implementation. You will be the focal person for all Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) activities, processes and tools, and contribute to learning reviews and improvement monitoring.

You will be responsible for:

Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Support the Programmes Director and the programme team in developing robust logframes with SMART indicators, in line with Concern’s Programme Quality Guide.
• Design, implement and oversee an M&E system that provides appropriate measures of programme progress against agreed objectives.
• Oversee the design and lead on the implementation of baseline, midline, and endline surveys for Concern’s programmes (development and emergency) in CAR.
• Support the implementation of technical surveys by working with the relevant programme teams to ensure that data collection techniques are robust, that staff and agents 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.
• Take the lead on internal evaluations and be the focal point for external evaluations. Together with Desk Officer in Dublin, organise selection process of consultants for evaluations and prepare ToRs.
• Strengthen the quality of emergency assessment tools to ensure rapid deployment is supported with a focus on data collection quality.

Accountability:

• Design and oversee implementation of a robust CRM system.
• Ensure complaints are reviewed and dealt with on a rolling basis.
• Share each quarter an overview of case load of complaints received and filed by Concern Worldwide.
• Support adherence to the Concern Programme Cycle Management Systems (PCMS) approach in all programme development processes as relevant to each sector.
• Liaise with HQ M&E department and HQ focal point monthly to share challenges in implementing Concern PQ Guide and PCMS and advocate for context-based solutions when necessary.
• Regularly travel to the field and monitor programme activities to ensure they are carried out in line with the organisation’s internal systems and procedures and that adherence to the Core Humanitarian Standard’s (CHS) commitments on accountability are met.
• Liaise and organise community accountability meetings each 6 months per project.

Learning:

• Build on existing knowledge management system to capture lessons learned and disseminate these within Concern CAR and more widely as appropriate and especially at project design stage
• Prepare for and oversee any research activity conducted by the country programme, both directly and through consultants and ensure research outcomes are documented.
• Ensure dissemination of learning from technical advisor/consultant visits. Together with the Project Managers, follow up on agreed action plans during monthly calls with technical advisors.
• Contribute to programme reviews at project and zone levels, ensuring that learning is captured and monitored.
• Support programme teams in preparing and conducting needs assessments and contextual analysis as required.
• Contribute annually to the annual country programme progress report and feedback on project participants outreach figures and bottom up accountability

Human Resource Management:

• Ensure job purposes and objectives of M&E staff are clearly defined and understood.
• Assist with the recruitment, induction and performance development reviews of M&E staff.
• Train and support the M&E and programme staff in strengthening M&E activities as required.

Other:

• Update existing annual MEAL-related reports calendar for all projects
• Liaise with Programme Managers and the Finance Manager in preparing donor budgets to ensure that all MEAL initiatives are accurately costed and included in budgets.
• Support the implementation and the update of Concern’s CAR country strategic plan.
• Actively participate in collective exercises such as preparation of updates for Effective Emergency Response (PEER) planning, Security Management Planning (SMP) and other Concern initiatives.
• Ensure the highest standards of accountability through ensuring good communication and information sharing within and outside the programme and enabling staff, beneficiary and other stakeholder participation at all stages of the project cycle.
• Represent Concern Worldwide as the focal point person at the accountability (AAP) working group
• Adhere fully to the commitments and rules of Concern’s Code of Conduct (CoC) and its affiliated safeguarding policies, including the respect of confidentiality and duty to report.
• Report to the appropriate manager any violations of Concern’s CoC and Safeguarding Policies, as well as Anti-Fraud and Whistleblowing Policies; this is a mandatory duty of all staff.
• Undertake other related duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Country Director or the line manager.

Your skills and experience will include:

Essential:

• Relevant graduate degree (economics, statistics, development or equivalent).
• Minimum of three years experience designing and implementing MEAL activities in the development/ humanitarian sector.
• Hands-on attitude
• Strong understanding of targeting criteria and ability to break down key data collection steps
• Experience of setting up and implementing multi-sectorial M&E systems.
• Demonstrated experience in all stages of the PCMS (Programme Cycle Management Systems): assessments, programme development including the logical framework approach, monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong writing skills, including report writing.
• Experience in staff capacity development.
• Ability to work independently and under own initiative.
• Experience of working in an insecure environment.
• Fluent French.
• Flexibility and the ability to work with a multicultural team.
• Demonstrable interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent organisation, planning and management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, often to strict deadlines.
• Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, plus SPSS and use of GIS).

Desirable:

• Post graduate degree in relevant discipline
• Overseas experience
• Fluency in English
• Practical experience of the implementation of mainstreaming activities, especially in the key dimensions of equality (gender, inclusion, age), conflict sensitivity and climate change.
• Experience in preparing budgets and reports for international donors.
• Cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity.