Ukraine : MEAL Manager – Kyiv

Fixed Term | 12 months | June 2023

ACTED

For the past 30 years, international NGO Acted has been going the last mile to save lives. Currently, Acted supports 20 million people across 43 countries to meet their needs in hard-to-reach areas – and pursues a triple mandate as a humanitarian, environmental and development aid actor. Acted relies on an in-depth knowledge of local territories and contexts to develop and implement relevant long-term actions, with a wide range of local and international partners, building together a “3ZERO” world: Zero Exclusion, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty

ACTED Ukraine

ACTED started its operations in Eastern Ukraine in 2015 to provide support to vulnerable people affected by the conflict that began in 2014. In 2022, as refugees are fleeing clashes across Ukraine triggered by military operations, ACTED is now extending its activities to deliver critical assistance to displaced persons in the main hosting regions and to support self-help and local organizations groups that have spontaneously formed. As the number of civilian casualties continues to grow and damage to critical infrastructure increases, ACTED is scaling-up its humanitarian assistance to help ensure those in transit, internally displaced or remaining in hotspots receive the basic support they need, including cash assistance, water, food and hot meals, blankets, hygiene supplies and access to mobile heating points. Finally, ACTED is also taking part in the ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees in the neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldavia where 3 humanitarian response teams have been deployed.

You will be in charge of

The Country Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Manager is responsible for designing and developing appropriate and viable monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning systems that are in line with the ACTED’s global MEAL procedures and to ensure that ACTED’s projects and programs perform as planned.

Main duties:

Coordination of MEAL activities

• Develop and regularly update the country MEAL strategy;
• Develop and regularly update an MEAL work plan that includes all ongoing projects and planned MEAL activities;
• Develop and oversee the implementation of appropriate data collection and analysis tools, methodologies (survey questionnaires, focus groups, key informant interviews, etc.) and data/information dissemination/use plans;

Management of the MEAL department and team

• Ensure that the department staff understands and is able to carry out its role and responsibilities;
• Ensure a positive work environment and good team dynamics;
• Implement regular staff evaluations and monitor career development.

Capacity Building and Training

• Identify training needs for the MEAL team, discuss plans with coordination and HR for internal and external training, and implement in accordance with MEAL strategy and operational priorities;
• Coach, train, and mentor MEALs with the goal of building technical capacity, sharing knowledge within the MEAL team, and providing career development guidance.

Process Development

• Identify and design innovative practices to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of MEAL procedures and project management and integrate them into the MEAL country strategy;
• Implement MEAL policies and procedures as described in ACTED’s MEAL procedure and ensure that the tools are used and applicable to the intervention context;

Capitalization

• Contribute to the proactive dissemination and use of knowledge gained through MEAL activities among Project Managers, Technical Coordinators and Project Managers and Development Officers;
• Organize and facilitate training sessions to capture best practices and lessons learned at project close-out or as needed;
• Document and share lessons learned and best practices and ensure that the knowledge gained contributes to project improvement and influences the strategic development of future projects and activities.

Implement the beneficiary Complaint Response Mechanism

• Establish, evaluate and monitor the functioning of the beneficiary Complaint Response Mechanism (CRM) in line with ACTED’s standard CRM procedures;
• Ensure that beneficiary complaints/returns are properly captured, analyzed, addressed and processed in a timely manner and used by the Program and Coordination teams;
• Oversee proper management of the CRM central database;
• Work to ensure that ACTED staff, partners and contractors understand and are skilled in the procedures of the CRM.

Other

• Provide supervisors and other team members with regular and timely updates on project progress and issues;
• Represent ACTED at high-level national forums, such as MEAL technical working groups;
• Participate when possible in conferences and workshops related to MEAL and keep abreast of best practices and new knowledge in the MEAL sector.
• Perform any other related activities as assigned by the direct manager.

Expected skills and qualifications

• University Degree in Political Sciences, Public Administration, International Affairs, Economics or a related field (anthropology, sociology, statistics);
• At least 2-5 years of professional experience in humanitarian and/or development organisations;
• Experience with participatory appraisals and project cycle management encouraged;
• Good organizational and communication skills with international and national staff and rural communities;
• Ability to coordinate and manage a team;
• Teamwork and team building skills, capacity building skills;
• Flexibility and adaptability are essential, as well as the ability to plan, take initiative and work independently and under pressure;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills in English;
• Knowledge of the region is an asset;
• Familiarity with basic Office software programs (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and Kobo Toolbox.

Conditions

• Salary between 3100 and 3300€ monthly (before income tax), depending on the level of education, security level, etc as well as a monthly living allowance of $300
• Accommodation and food provided in ACTED guesthouse
• Pension, health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance (& unemployment insurance for EU citizens)
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: up to 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract
• R&R every 3 months, flight tickets covered up to $500 and allowance of $200
• Annual leave of 25 to 43 days per year
• One week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ, including a 4-days in situ security training
• Tax advice (free 30-minute call with a tax consultant)
• Psychological assistance