Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor

Action Against Hunger UK

Salary: £38,412-£41,383 per annum

Reports to: Head of MEAL Services

Job Location: London, UK. Office based, but with the option to work up to 40% at home

Duration: Permanent

Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week

For 40 years, across nearly 50 countries, Action Against Hunger has led the global fight against hunger. We save the lives of children and their families. We are there for them before and after disaster strikes. We enable people to provide for themselves, see their children grow up strong, and build prosperous communities. We constantly search for more effective solutions, while sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world. We push for long-term change. We will never give up. Until the world is free from hunger.

We are looking for a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor to join our talented team, passionate about working towards Action Against Hunger’s vision of a world free from hunger. This post sits within the MEAL Services team, a pool of MEAL and knowledge and information management specialists working across a wide variety of projects, actively seeking to generate new business opportunities to improve practice in the sector.

In this particular role, you will work and lead on projects around monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning services across the Action Against Hunger network as well as for a number of external organisations as part of our growing consultancy model. You will play an integral part in the MEAL and knowledge and information management of humanitarian response projects and nutrition projects.

You will apply keen and strong analytical skills, vast technical experience, bring fresh perspectives and new ideas in a flexible and adaptive working environment. You will provide leadership and vision for strengthening MEAL across the Action Against Hunger network, and you will have the opportunity to propose new ways to ensure utilisation of data and evidence.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Support knowledge and information management that leads to better evidence

  • To design and implement efficient and effective knowledge and information management strategies for internal and external contractual needs, improving accessibility of information for decision-makers and other key users in relation to key learning and evidence questions
  • To support external humanitarian and nutrition project leads to understand and implement MEAL and knowledge and information management requirements and provide guidance and/or support calls to new project leads
  • To help ensure compliance with sector-wide humanitarian standards in assessment, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (e.g. CHS, Sphere etc)

2. Implement evidence collection and analysis activities that lead to better action

  • To design methodologies to collect, collate and analyse data from humanitarian and nutrition outcomes across different interventions/assessments while adapting the presentation of findings to different audiences
  • To research and write case studies, reports and learning summaries from evidence collected through a variety of knowledge and information management, and MEAL systems
  • To design, manage and improve key databases, tracking Key Performance Indicators and outcome indicators for both internal and external projects in order to produce data visualisations and reports to demonstrate outreach and impact
  • To analyse assessment and MEAL data from a variety of sources and raise issues of compliance when required
  • Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital data gathering (such as ODK or Kobo) in disaster preparedness, disaster response, complex emergencies and early recovery

3. Business development and project delivery

  • Actively engage in the identification and leadership of new business opportunities above the average value of the total portfolio
  • Represent Action Against Hunger UK internally and externally on the negotiation, design and set up of new projects
  • Oversee the coordination and effective management of financial and human resources to deliver on project commitments in line with the team’s overall business plan
  • Ensure effective delivery of project outputs in line with agreed parameters and quality expectations
  • Maintain the key relationship with external stakeholders for whom you are delivering projects throughout the life of the project, including renegotiating delivery expectations when required
  • Maintain ongoing relationships with external agencies and parts of the Action Against Hunger network for whom we deliver multiple projects to ensure we are developing strategic relationships that can be built and developed over time

4. Lead on the specific initiatives within the Operations Departments that contribute to the overall development of the team and its strategic positioning

  • To secure funding for and lead engagement in groups and events to achieve a selected global objective of AAH UK MEAL strategy. This leadership aims at influencing best practice, informing sectorial debates on relevant topics in MEAL and knowledge and information management while increasing visibility of relevant Action Against Hunger MEAL services
  • To work with peers to constantly review and improve existing approaches and systems, bringing creativity and innovation to our approaches to evidence-based humanitarian action, and being confident in making recommendations to key stakeholders (internal and external) and taking them forward.
  • To suggest and implement recommendations through the technical services delivered to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian and nutrition interventions. Being proactive in generating new ideas, concepts and initiatives, and championing them with key stakeholders in order to get them up and running.
  • To build stronger relationships with internal and external humanitarian stakeholders, being an active part of shaping Action Against Hunger’s approach to humanitarian intelligence and the structures and ways of working that we put in place in order to be able to do this

5. Manage and ensure the professional development of officers, senior officers and advisors

  • To ensure regular support to senior officers, officers and advisors through regular catch ups, performance appraisals, technical backstopping and mental health checks
  • To enable an alignment between the portfolio of project objectives and the professional trajectory of each individual directly managed
  • To mentor in specific technical areas the individual directly managed in line with own professional objectives and departmental priorities
  • To secure/facilitate specific skills development investments to accompany the personal and professional development of each individual directly managed

DIMENSIONS

  • Line management responsibilities
  • Budget management responsibilities
  • The postholder will be expected to adhere to the terms of the Action Against Hunger International Code of Conduct and associated policies, as a condition of their employment.
  • All employees have particular responsibility for understanding and following protocols in relation to safeguarding (children and vulnerable adults), and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). Those in management positions are also responsible for ensuring that staff, volunteers, consultants and other key stakeholders are made aware of and supported in implementing these measures.

4 DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENT

The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

The job involves working within broad practice or guidelines.

The work involves using discretion and initiative over a broad area of activity, with little access to more senior officers. The job is subject to managerial direction. The work may involve responding independently to unexpected problems and situations and has some access to a supervisor as and when required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications / education required

Essential

  • Educated to degree level, or Qualified By Experience Desirable
  • oreign language skills (Spanish or French in particular)

Experience required

Essential

  • Demonstrable experience in developing methodologies and leading the implementation of assessments
  • Demonstrable experience in designing and rolling out strategy development and implementation
  • Excellent relationship-building and interpersonal skills, and the ability to develop effective and collaborative relationships with colleagues
  • Experience of using evaluation and research findings
  • Experience of working within a humanitarian, nutrition, international development or similar organisation
  • Research and analytical skills and application of those in knowledge and information management within humanitarian organisations
  • Experience with project management and budget monitoring
  • Excellent English written and oral communication levels and the ability to write clearly and succinctly for a range of audiences
  • Ability to pick up new skills, learn quickly and apply learning as a practitioner
  • Strong track record of initiative, transparency and accountability
  • A demonstrable personal and professional commitment to uphold the principles and practices in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion
  • Good understanding of data management and GDPR

Desirable

  • Experience working with video and/or audio editing equipment
  • Experience of working as part of a coalition or network
  • Communications, marketing, or fundraising experience
  • Experience of working in a team environment and providing team support in a collaborative way
  • Spanish and/or French language

Competencies required

  • Excellent verbal, analytical and written communication skills
  • Enthusiastic and keen to learn and improve systems
  • Responds to setbacks with renewed efforts
  • Problem solving skills and a positive approach
  • Has good time management skills and ability to prioritise tasks
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise workload and ensure work is completed on time
  • Excellent relationship building skills across all organisational levels
  • Displays a positive attitude about the work to be done, supports co-workers, management, and employer policies
  • Committed to Action Against Hunger’s goals, values, mission and Charter of Principles

How to apply

Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor | Action Against Hunger UK | | CharityJob.co.uk


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