NWS MEAL Manager

ABOUT Relief International.

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.

RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Europe. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

Reporting to: Deputy Hub Team Leader

Technical reports: WOS MEL Specialist

Position Summary.

Under the supervision of the deputy hub team leader, and technical support from WoS MEL specialist, the MEL Manager is responsible to organize all monitoring and information streams to support in developing and rolling out the overall RI Syria MEL strategy for collecting, aggregating, analyzing and using information and data to produce high quality and consistent reports. He or she will be responsible to develop, determine the suitable systematic MEL approaches and apply them to improve the quality of projects and activities at all levels in consultation and coordination with program staff. The incumbent will bring significant experience and fresh ideas to lead and improve RI MEL systems in place. S/He has good track record of technically leading MEL budgeting, recruitment, and in developing M&E plans plus logframe in line with donor requirements.

The MEL manager will assist in rolling out and adopting RI-MEL database, using LogAlto platform. The MEL manager will support this process through in-person trainings, remote support post-training, and be the subject matter expert for visualizations of the data in PowerBI. For this portion of their work, the MEL manager will report to the MEL Technical Director. The scope of this role involves the management of the MEL department across Turkey and NWS offices.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

• Develop data collection tools, methodologies, and systems for effective cross-cutting information collection from all RI programs
  • Design appropriate data collection tools, methodologies and sample to conduct assessments/evaluations
  • Support and work closely with MEL Specialist, Grants and program teams to harmonize and standardize MEL plan, indicators, and data collection methodologies and analysis.
  • Liaise with program staff to ensure close coordination and information sharing is maintained and information needs are being met;
  • Train RI staff and partners (when applicable) on program monitoring and data collection tools;

In coordination with WoS MEL specialist, identify budget needs for MEL/IM activities to

• • ensure gaps are addressed during the budget development phase and throughout implementation.
    – Coordinate and lead rapid assessments with prompt analysis and dissemination among stakeholders;
    – Oversee information being received through RI’s feedback and complaints mechanism from the field is being addressed by program teams, in coordination with the accountability focal point.
    – Lead in designing and coordinating high quality communication of MEL/IM findings for all donor reports and other communication materials, as needed.
    – Oversee implementation of external evaluations and third-party monitoring, ensuring that TPM/evaluation service providers receive appropriate support, and overseeing the quality of the work.

• Ensure data at the country level is accurate and useable for reporting and decision making

  • Review, verify and update collected data in central databases in coordination with the deputy hub team leader, WoS MEL specialist and M&E Officer;
  • Ensure the accuracy of collected data and the proper link between field data and databases;
  • Provide regular technical oversight on IM, and use of the appropriated tools for data quality assurance and accuracy;
  • Design and lead the internal periodic internal Data Quality Assessments (DQA) in line with data quality dimensions like Validity, Accuracy, Reliability, Precision, Integrity, and Timeliness of data.
  • Ensure RI data sharing principles/policy are adhered by all MEL staff members, and foster an environment of adhering to these principles and policy among the team members.
  • Provide program and management teams with regular reports on accomplishments, successes, lessons learned, and other information that is helpful in decision making.

• Setup, strengthen and enhance utilization of RI’s complaints and feedback mechanism:

• Follow with the accountability coordinator on the review of the complaints and feedback mechanism.

• Advise on the mainstreaming of the mechanism in all RI’s projects.

• Reviewing the received complaints and feedbacks to form lesson’s learned that can be used by the relevant department in their corrective measures.

• Provide guidance to ensure the engagement and participation of the targeted communities throughout the project’s lifecycle. Ensure the proper dissemination of lesson learnt emerged through FCRM.

• Cross functional coordination

  • Assist in identifying and implementing training needs for relevant focal points, internal local partner’s MEAL and program staff where appropriate;
  • Coordinate with other departments to ensure all potential data collection needs are addressed;
  • Liaise with RI and external service providers field teams to brief them on upcoming activities, methodologies, and research tools;
  • Represent RI at working group and cluster meetings as needed.

• Program development:

• Maintaining a good record of MEL data to have an active contribution in the proposals development process.

• Providing evidence based lessons learned that can be utilized by the programs development department in the projects’ design phase.

• Coordinating and extend needed support to the technical departments to develop the new projects’ logframes following the donors technical standards

Safeguarding

• Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve.

Consistent with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure all people who come into contact with Relief International are as safe as possible.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS REQUIREMENTS

This position will require a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

• Degree in social sciences or related field preferred.
• Minimum FIVE year experience in humanitarian field, specifically in participatory assessments, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Experience with surveys, customer service, mobile data collection, databased design and administration are assets.
• Good contextual knowledge of NWS local issues, community priorities, social and cultural constraints and realities.
• Fluency in English and Arabic. Turkish is an asset
• Strong writing skills required;
• Proficient use of MS Word and Excel
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, public speaking, and strategic planning skills required, including patience, diplomacy, willingness to listen and respect for colleagues;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, tasks efficiently;
• Excellent time management skills and resourcefulness with strong attention to detail;
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills;
• Must be capable of working both individually and as part of a team;
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, stressful environment;
• Must be flexible, willing to perform other duties and work irregular hours.

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

Relief International is committed to protecting our staff and the communities we work with from abuse and harm including sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

All staff are expected to abide by our Code of Conduct.

RI Has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behavior that violates its code of conduct, including sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse, as well as lack of integrity, corruption, and fraud. RI also adheres to strict safeguarding principles.