Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer

Starting date: 1 March 2023 (pending funding decision)

Contract duration: 12 months full time position (3 month probationary period), with the possibility of extension

Based in: Damascus, Syria, with travel inside Syria when/where possible and applicable

BACKGROUND:

The Syria crisis has been described as the largest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. 6.8 million Syrians were displaced internally and over 5.5 million Syrians fled outside the country. In 2021, Syria was ranked among the ten most food insecure countries worldwide.[1] Currently, 12 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure across the country and an additional 1,9 million people are at risk of sliding into acute food insecurity. Caritas Austria, through its implementing partners, has provided humanitarian assistance in Syria and neighboring countries since 2011. Today, Caritas Austria continues to be actively involved inside Syria with a work focus on basic assistance, protection, education and livelihoods. In addition, Caritas Austria is currently developing an impactful early recovery programme in the agriculture and food security sector, which is expected to be funded by EU DEVCO and the third phase of a basic assistance and protection programme, funded by ECHO, which will, once confirmed, be implemented by two national NGOs in Syria.

PURPOSE & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The MEAL Officer will play a key role in data collection, information management, monitoring and evaluating Caritas Austria’s agriculture and food security and basic assistance/protection programmes inside Syria in close cooperation with implementing partners. All aspects of the position are governed by a strong commitment to humanitarian standards and Caritas Internationalis’ Partnership Principles.

The MEAL Officer will be part of Caritas Austria’s Middle East/ Asia team, based in Damascus, Syria and will report to the Programme Coordinator for agriculture and food security and Chief of Party for basic assistance and protection).

SPECIFIC TASKS:

• The MEAL Officer will assume responsibility for full-cycle monitoring and evaluation of CAUT programs, developing appropriate methodologies and tools to design evaluations
• Develop the overall framework for project M&E systems in accordance with CAUT and donor requirements and in collaboration with implementing partners’ MEAL staff, including requirements, reporting, baseline, and evaluation surveys
• Develop and monitor a project management plan to systematically document performance
• Implement, and assess monitoring frameworks
• Ensure the alignment of M&E activities with program goals
• Contribute to the development of annual work plans to identify project targets and ensure inclusion of M&E activities
• Maintain existing indicator tracking tools; develop additional databases and tracking tools as needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of project interventions
• Analyze data for accuracy, flag validation or quality issues, and contribute to system fixes
• Aggregate and analyze data from across project information platforms to contribute to management decision-making, programme revisions and reporting
• Provide technical leadership and support to project and partner staff in planning and implementing M&E systems and activities, data-based program decision-making, and results reporting; provide training as needed
• Conduct field visits in coordination with implementing and project partners for data validation and to monitor the quality and completeness of data sets; monitor program development and ensure timely compilation and reporting of data; capture and document lessons learned
• Generate monthly indicator reports for tracking progress against key indicators as needed
• Create and integrate graphics in reports and information products to help visualize data in a meaningful way
• Ensure quality and timely submission of reports
• Contribute to developing and reporting of project reviews, assessments, surveys, and other analytic or evaluation processes and products
• Cultivate and strengthen relationships with implementing partner organisations, donors and private sector partners

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Be a resident of Syria, with the ability to work inside Syria;
• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, demographics, economics, or social sciences
• Minimum of 2-3 years of experience working in the field of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)
• Proven success in designing, implementing, and operating MEAL systems from project initiation to phase out
• Experience in strategic planning and performance management, including indicator selection, target setting, reporting, database management, and developing MEAL and performance monitoring plans
• Knowledge of the major data collection, analysis and evaluation methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and impact)
• Experience in planning and managing surveys, developing and refining data collection tools, data quality assessments and oversight
• Flexibility and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment, set priorities, and meet deadlines; organizational and management skills
• Ability to synthesize complex information and communicate it effectively to diverse audiences; ability to design and implement efficient work flows and procedures
• Good command of Arabic and English and excellent numeracy skills with ability to produce excellent written and oral reports/ presentations to a range of audiences Strong attention to detail, organizational and time management skills
• Willingness and ability to travel inside Syria (up to 30%)
• IT proficiency (Windows Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and proficiency in online research.

[1]UN OCHA (2023) Humanitarian Needs Overview Syria 2023.