Senior MEAL Manager

About SEED Foundation: SEED Foundation is a locally-registered NGO in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. SEED’s mission is to protect, empower, and support the recovery of survivors of violence and others at risk. SEED is committed to delivering quality and holistic approaches, combining international expertise and local know-how to achieve results for the people of Iraq and Kurdistan. SEED’s programming focuses on four key objectives: 1) the delivery of transformational, comprehensive MHPSS services including case management, mental health, and legal services, as well as psychosocial support activities; 2) strengthening the capacity of service providers through education, training, and capacity-building programs; and 3) promoting policy and social change to strengthen the rights of, and protections for, vulnerable groups and individuals through public awareness, technical assistance, and advocacy.

Role of the Senior MEAL Manager: The SMM is the lead for all MEAL activities and the MEAL unit which oversees the collection, dissemination, and use of robust monitoring and evaluation data and analysis to help achieve the mission and vision of SEED Foundation to deliver more impactful, cost-effective, and equitable programs to create sustainable changes in the lives of survivors of conflict, violence and trafficking. The SMM will provide technical expertise and leadership to the MEAL unit and SEED Management. The SMM will be responsible for reviewing and strengthening SEED’s MEAL strategies, policies, guidelines, and tools, and their implementation. The SMM will initiate a capacity development plan for all SEED staff, ensuring all staff receive regular high quality training and technical assistance as needed. The Senior MEAL Manager will strategize specifically on the Accountability and Learning aspects, ensuring the progress and effectiveness of all programs and projects are measured accurately against indicators on outcome and impact level, analyzed adequately and result in strategic recommendations for program development and high level decision making. The SMM will report to the President and work with Program Directors and Program Managers across SEED.

Specific Tasks:

Technical Leadership and Capacity Building (55%)

• Provide technical leadership on all MEAL and strategic aspects of SEED’s programs and projects.
• Work closely with Program Directors, Program Managers, other members of the Technical Department and senior management to understand needs for support and guidance and provide accordingly.
• Review and strengthen existing MEAL strategies, policies, guidance, and tools and develop and roll out new MEAL strategies, policies, guidance, and tools as required to ensure quality MEAL, and build capacity of staff accordingly through training.
• Develop a detailed work plan to ensure timely data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as baseline, midline and final evaluations across all programming.
• Lead recruitment and onboarding of MEAL staff.
• Monitor and coach MEAL staff to strengthen their capacity on MEAL, and support them to enhance their training and coaching sessions with SEED staff.
• Provide technical input on MEAL to project and program proposals.
• Ensure SEED is using the most robust MEAL mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact of programming, deploying both best practice approaches and innovative approaches in the sectors SEED works in, using as rigorous evaluation methods as possible.
• Lead process to establish standardized indicators across SEED’s portfolio of programming.
• Lead on the mapping and collection of relevant international MEAL resources and standards, contributing to SEED’s database and ensuring that all standardized formats and guidelines are followed.
• Support with recruitment of MEAL staff, and onboarding of all SEED staff with a key role in MEAL.
• Oversee the management of information management systems and quantitative reporting across programs, contributing to donor reporting, annual organizational reporting, and communications efforts.

Strengthening the Accountability & Learning Processes (20%)

• Build a culture of learning in SEED’s and share lessons learned to have continual improvement.
• Identify lessons learned and best practices from previous programs and work with program teams to maximize their incorporation into the design of new projects/programs.
• Identify gaps in accountability and learning and provide ongoing feedback to SEED´s Senior Management, the Technical Department and Program Managers for the improvement of current practices.
• Ensure all learning is shared accordingly with SEED colleagues, increasing understanding of what works.

Strengthen Framework of Accountability to Beneficiaries and Its Implementation (20%)

• Ensure SEED’s implementation of the SEED’s Framework of Accountability to Beneficiaries, identify any areas where the Framework could be strengthened, and lead any revisions. Provide technical advice and support to the Complaints Committee, ensuring the highest possible standards of ethical, moral and legal practices and ensuring full accountability.
• Review data from our complaints and feedback mechanisms, and provide recommendations on areas of improvement, ensuring evaluation data inform future project design.

Coordination and Organizational Representation (5%)

• Maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders.
• Provide training for external audiences, as requested.
• Provide content and input on communications materials including website, promotional materials, and social media, and ensure it complies with SEED’s storytelling policy.

Essential criteria:

• Master’s degree in Economics, Political or Social Sciences, Statistical Analysis, International Development, Psychology, or related field
• Five years+ experience within the international development / humanitarian sector
• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading specifically in MEAL of multi-sectoral programming in emergency, early recovery and development setting; Iraq or Middle East experience strongly preferred
• Experience designing and implementing MEAL systems
• Excellent technical understanding of contemporary MEAL methods and practices, with hands-on experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis; research experience desirable
• Proven experience in designing and delivering capacity-building activities, with remote capacity building and follow-up is an advantage.
• Strong belief in human rights and gender equality
• Good interpersonal skills including the ability to gain trust and build relationships
• Good diplomatic and persuasion skills
• Strong ability to work independently
• High standard of spoken and written English; Kurdish or Arabic desirable
• Good computer skills, experience with Google Drive
• Ability to work in a stressful setting and adapt quickly to changing environments
• Salary, benefits, and allowances dependent on skills and qualifications