Monitoring & Evaluation and learning (MEAL) Manager

Position WoS Monitoring & Evaluation and learning (MEAL) Manager

Location Amman, Jordan (with travels to the hubs)

Duration 1 year (contingent to availability of fund)

Reports to WoS Deputy Country Director Program Quality

Relief International (RI) is a leading nonprofit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

Relief International includes the four members of the RI Alliance in the USA, UK, France, and Belgium. Under our alliance agreement, we operate under a single, shared management structure with one CEO and one Board of Directors.

About our Programs

RI is active in 16 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. Often, RI is the only organization aiding highly vulnerable communities.

• RI employs 7,000+ staff and auxiliary workers
• 97% of staff are in-country nationals
• We only have some 90 ex-pat staff out of 7,000+
• RI spent $125 million in 2019 on our programs.

RI invests in four broad program sectors: Economic Opportunity, Education, Health, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). We design our programs to incorporate The RI Way: local participation, integrated programming, the development of civic skills, and partnerships including with local NGOs, governments, and the private sector.

RI supports solutions that reinforce and improve upon existing in-country systems. Where such systems do not exist or are chronically underperforming, RI’s crisis response lays the foundation for long-term, sustainable change.

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Position Summary

The WoS MEAL Manager will bring significant experience and fresh ideas to lead and improve/contribute to the improvement of MEAL system implementation in all geographical areas covered by the RI in Syria, review and evaluations, M&E/MEAL budgeting, recruitment, and support to proposal writing and logframes developments/reviews, methodologies for calculating targets and reporting against targets. The incumbent will ensure that all RI and partners projects are supported to ensure quality, effectiveness and appropriateness of programs. The incumbent will conduct in-depts analysis of programme information, capture lesson learnt and communicate this information in various capacities to improve ongoing and future programming. Provide technical guidance to the RI M&E managers in the hubs and partners M&E focal point to maintain an effective monitoring system across all program sectors including but not limited to (Health, protection and livelihoods). The support to include the use of beneficiaries’ feedback data, field monitoring reports, information captured in the M&E databases/dashboards, etc. to ensure the quality of implementation. The incumbent will provide capacity building of relevant RI staff and partners on MEAL on various technical aspects with focus on accountability and participation, including the use of mobile and other technologies as needed. He/She will be responsible of ensuring that RI programs have evidence-based knowledge to inform the direction of the programs, starting from the assessment and regular monitoring of program documents, applying MEAL tools, reporting, analysis of data and information including trends related to the emergency response and donor requirements, etc. and highlighting positive and negative of the program activities on target communities. The incumbent will ensure that analysis information is made available to all RI staff and external stakeholder where appropriate. The incumbent will ensure cross-cutting program information management, M&E and that information collected is reflected upon and used to improve the ongoing programs/future programming. He/she will ensure information is incorporated in high quality reports. Finally, the MEAL manager will directly manage the information management coordinator based in Amman, to ensure proper analysis and information management of all programme data and research activities.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

System Design and Promoting MEAL

• In coordination with RI global MEAL technical director, hub-based M&E managers and focal points, lead on the development/improvement and oversee the roll-out of any new organizational MEAL system (emergency & development), ensuring accountability to donors and beneficiaries
• Promote all aspects of MEAL to support the creation of an organizational culture which prioritizes quality programming.
• Build strong relationships with the hubs and within WoS teams and provide support as required to ensure MEAL system is understood and supported at field and Syria Response office level.
• Work closely with the program teams to ensure that MEAL becomes an integral element of project implementation leading to enhanced quality, accountability, management and impact. This may include the establishment of an internal Technical Working Group.
• Test and implement flexible reporting structures and data collection mechanisms, provide feedback to the M&E managers/focal points on enhancements for the reporting structure.
• Review and modify hub-based database to manage cross-cutting sector data as needed.
• Review the function of the complaint and feedback mechanisms of program, and advice improvements as needed, and to ensure information and data received allow for appropriate decision making.
• Lead/support in Integrating mobile technology and other technological solutions where feasible.
• Support the hub-based M&E managers/focal points in leading rapid assessments with prompt analysis and dissemination among stakeholders;
• Adapt tools supported by RI to ensure accountability measures and reporting are integrated in programming.
• Support the hub-based M&E managers in leading program personnel in the design, implementation and drafting results of household and KAP surveys;
• Support in/lead the developing ToRs for third party monitoring activities, review the work of TPM and provide feedback as needed
• In collaboration with the Deputy Country Director – Programme Quality, lead analysis processes of programme data, to ensure in-depth understanding of gaps, trends in humanitarian needs, and discuss with technical team and hub management possible innovative approached based on solid evidence-based analysis

Staff Mentorship, and Development

• Provide direct and technical support to the Information Management Coordinator based in Amman, ensuring quality planning and implementation of IM-related activities in all sectors of intervention
• Provide technical support and oversight to the M&E managers of the hubs, and the partnership M&E focal point in Amman (remotely and in person), creating cohesion between team members working in different geographic areas.
• Oversee the recruitment of appropriate MEAL staffing where needed.
• Work closely with the M&E managers, focal points to ensure that the MEAL system operates effectively with the support and resources required and that there are clear links and reporting lines between field and hub level and between MEAL and other program and grants departments.
• Support the MEAL team progress on specific projects, providing technical oversight on progress and problem-solving in case of challenges.
• Define expectations, provide leadership and technical support as needed so that M&E managers and focal points to ensure they (and the staff they supervise) are able to perform their roles as required.
• Support the hub-based M&E managers and focal points in managing the performance of their direct reports in the unit through reviewing performance management, coaching, mentoring, training and development.
• Devise and manage a MEAL training program (organizational level) with the goal of increasing capacity and awareness of MEAL for all staff. Assess training needs and engage MEAL team staff to roll-out the training program.
• Develop/support in developing work plans to mentor and coach staff to build their capacity
• Working closely with the M&E managers/focal points, build the capacity of all relevant team members (RI and partners) to develop and maintain an excellent M&E system, including the periodic reflection and analysis of program monitoring data, train on program monitoring tools (use and implementation), and the use and interpretation of data.
• Conduct field trips/Travel to the hubs (at least 25% of his/her time), for in person trainings, coaching, timely and in person feedback and guidance on gaps/technical support needed.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

Internal Reporting

• Responsible to ensure that the organization delivers on all internal M&E requirements in emergency and development programs in a timely manner and with high quality information, including reporting on RI program performance indicators, monthly and quarterly reports, total direct and indirect reach data.
• Identifies and introduces new elements (systems, tools, processes) required under the MEAL system.
• Review field monitoring and accountability reports from the hub-based M&E managers and focal points, ensuring that action plans are included and followed up and that SMT reviews reports regularly.

External Reporting and Representation

• Ensures external accountability to donors through the implementation of timely and quality MEAL activities leading to timely and accurate reporting.
• Ensure that high quality analysis reports to illustrate programs impact and assessment findings are produced, including evidence of good practice and replicable programs, and that they are communicated at appropriate events.
• In coordination with hub-based M&E managers/focal points, ensure that RI is represented at relevant inter-NGO and local authorities level meetings at all level (related to MEAL) to enhance inter-agencies best practices sharing and learning, including MEAL working groups and coordination bodies (i.e consortium lead WG)

Promoting Learning for Strategy Development and Decision Making

• Ensure that data brought together and findings from across thematic and operational hubs to form a coherent basis for analysis of impact which promotes learning and strategy development for the whole organization.
• Lead on monitoring and improving the integration of thematic programs to enhance delivery of outstanding results for target beneficiaries/communities
• Communicate top level learning / analysis reports and monitoring data to ensure that management is able to make informed decisions on a timely basis to scale up and face operational challenges.

Program Design and MEAL Resources

• Ensure that MEAL is an integral part of the program design stage and features in all proposal development.
• Ensure that MEAL resources are included in proposal development and work creatively to secure funding from diverse sources, to ensure that MEAL is integrated in emergency and development programs in a sustainable way.
• In coordination with M&E managers/focal point and budget holders, effectively manages the MEAL budget.

Other tasks and responsibilities as requested by the supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment:

• Masters level or higher degree in social science, statistics, international development. Experience or background in epidemiology, public health, health information management, biostatistics or a related discipline, protection and livelihoods is preferred;

• At least five years of applied experience with a humanitarian organization designing, implementing and overseeing monitoring and evaluation tasks;

• Demonstrated experience managing teams and building staff capacity within complex programming;

• Demonstrated experience designing logical frameworks and results based frameworks and associated performance monitoring and evaluation plans;

• Experience with M&E approaches for key donors such as USAID, OFDA, ECHO, DFID and BPRM;
• Extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection including survey design, implementation and analysis; experience with various survey and rapid assessment approaches;
• Experience in database design and other tools for information management;
• Competent in MS Excel, word processing, Power Point and experience using statistical software EPI-Info, SPSS and STATA are a plus.

Language Skills:

Fluency in English (spoken/written), Arabic language is a plus

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Relief International is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Relief International (RI) is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to RI’s Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability