Senior MEAL Manager (Internal)

BACKGROUND:The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC responds to people’s acute and longer-term needs with integrated programs that improve health and safety, prioritize children’s education, foster economic wellbeing, and empower communities to regain control over their lives. Our work gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, conflict sensitivity, coordination, and impact.

The IRC Yemen began its programs in October 2012. Since establishing its presence in the South of Yemen, in the Red Sea Coastal city of Aden, the organization has grown from just an implementing small project to handling large scale emergency and relief operations. Following the war which broke out in Yemen in March of 2015 and the humanitarian disaster, which was crafted by the same, IRC launched one an emergency response program in the southern governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwah and Al Dhale, and expanded later in Sana’a and Hodeidah in the North.Currently IRC Yemen is operating in eight governorates in the south and north of Yemen through direct programming and through local partnerships, in Health, WASH, Nutrition, Economic Recovery Development, Education, Child Protection, Gender and Women Protection and Empowerment.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) have been working in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for more than forty years. Today, the IRC has more than 2,200 staff working across the region, including in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen to support those affected by some of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Under the direct supervision of the MEAL Coordinator, the Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Manager will lead the design and delivery of monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning activities in Yemen. They will be responsible for the day-to-day support and implementation of the MEAL framework for IRC. The Senior MEAL Manager will ensure standardization and overall coherence of monitoring and reporting tools within the country program. The candidate is expected to provide technical support in data gathering, aggregation, tool development, support electronic data platforms, databases, and select technologies to collect and organize data in a usable format. The Senior MEAL Manager will work closely with the Senior Data Management CRA Officer for client responsiveness and the IM Manager.

JOB SUMMARY:

The MEAL Manager will lead the design and delivery of monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning activities. They will be responsible for the day-to-day support and implementation of the MEAL framework for IRC. The Senior MEAL Manager will ensure standardization and overall coherence of monitoring and reporting tools within the country program. The candidate is expected to provide technical support in data gathering, aggregation, tool development, support electronic data platforms, databases, and select technologies to collect and organize data in a usable format.

WORKING RELATIONS:

The position reports to the MEAL Coordinator and directly supervises the MEAL officers. The candidate will work closely with the Senior Data Management CRA Officer for client responsiveness and the IM Manager, Protection sector Data Managers/Officers, and the Partners MEAL focal persons.

Indirect Reporting: This position works closely with programs in terms of collecting monitoring data, data analysis and sharing main findings back with programs to enhance the quality of programs.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Monitoring and evaluation

• Ensure the development of a robust monitoring plan, monitoring and evaluation framework, and indicators for all the projects in close collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator and Partner MEAL focal persons.
• Lead in the design and standardization of data collection tools and data collection methodologies.
• Provide leadership and guidance in the evaluations and surveys process, ensuring the full participation of all Partners from planning through data collection to reporting and drawing of conclusions, recommendations, and lessons learned with support from the MEAL Coordinator.
• Advocate for and support the expansion of standard mobile data technology and online dashboards to enhance the timeliness and quality of data collection, analysis, and visualization.
• Produce quality reports and update dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share during learning meetings and Partner review meetings.
• Present findings during data review and learning meetings as required and foster utilization.
• Provide data and information to MEAL Coordinator as well as the Management about performance and regularly update the indicator tracking table to monitor progress.
• Offer relevant, timely, and quality MEAL support to Partner MEAL focal persons.
• Support data quality audits and lead data review meetings and document findings, of program data to identify and resolve systemic problems affecting data quality.

·Build the capacity of MEAL staff include Partner MEAL staff through organizing relevant MEAL training.

Accountability

• Provide technical leadership to external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms.
• Support the design, development, and management of the feedback database and other data tools; and understand, document, and ensure data quality, accuracy, consistency, and comparability.
• Set up and handle the feedback registry and other tools developed to ensure that they are fully functional, secure, and used by the Country program.
• Support all Partners to strengthen their existing feedback mechanisms.
• Conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative data analysis for feedback received through the different channels and present the findings in clear formats to highlight feedback trends to the management team.
• Work closely with the Senior Data Management CRA Officer in preparing reports and presentations to share with the Management Team.

·Assess the utility and efficiency of the established data management platforms and propose recommendations for improvements.

Learning

• Organize learning sessions and generate lessons learned notes from evaluations, surveys and assessments conducted, and share the lessons with the Management.
• Use learning, evidence, and data from the different projects to inform future project proposal design and strategic decision-making.

·Develop standard learning tools and ensure that outcome monitoring learning is systematically captured on a quarterly basis.