Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning Specialist

ROLE PURPOSE:

 The MEAL Specialist plays a strategic leadership role in assuring accountability to stakeholders and strengthening quality in the delivery, learning, and reporting of established multisectoral consortium focusing on food security, livelihoods, nutrition and community support projects. The consortium is led by Save the Children with three other NGOs. 

The MEAL Specialist will be responsible for creating, establishing, and maintaining a consortium level MEAL framework as well as project related MEAL system. He/she will ensure that the consortium partners’ MEAL team fulfil the MEAL processes and systems agreed and set in place. S/he will lead on developing approaches to ensure beneficiaries are engaged throughout the project management cycle and are able to hold Save the Children and other consortium members to account. The role will require establishing and maintaining systems and processes related to monitoring and accountability as well as supporting on developing and implementing an evaluation and learning framework for the consortium. The MEAL Specialist will ensure continuous learning and evidence-based adaptive programming and will lead the research elements of the consortium enabling continuous improvement of programming for and with children. He/she will be expected to strengthen the capacity of partner’s MEAL and program staff. 

The MEAL Specialist will report to the Chief of Party of the consortium and will have a dotted line technical support from the Save the Children’s MEAL Manager. 

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Chief of Party

Staff reporting to this post: none

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Design and roll out consortium MEAL systems and tools 

• Create, establish, and maintain a consortium-wide programme MEAL framework that enables quantitative and qualitative data to be captured, stored, presented and analysed.
• Ensure MEAL systems, activities, processes, and performance are effectively handled to inform timely decision making.
• Take full responsibility for the consolidation of IPTT (Indicator Performance Tracking Table) for the consortium and analyse monthly partner’s performance. 
• Assist Technical Advisers (TAs) in establishing quality benchmarks, developing checklist and tools to monitor benchmarks and consortium’s activities as agreed in MEAL framework.
• Ensure that consortium MEAL plans, outcome monitoring, routine monitoring and verification include quality monitoring, accountability and learning activities and components.
• Oversees MEAL budget expenditures under assigned consortium’s projects.
• Create, establish, and maintain an accountability and feedback mechanisms that ensures beneficiary participation and two-ways dialogue.
• Create, establish, and maintain consortium level monitoring tools and databases that are mainstreamed to existing systems and:
• Align with programme design and allow for evidence-based adaptation. 
• Capture relevant data for measuring the delivery of the programme and contributing to learning.
• Lead on program evaluation to provide more in depth, objective assessments of the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of programmes. 
• Together with SCI IM Specialist, lead the development and digitalization of information management tools to ensure the systems are fit for purpose of monitoring and data analysis.
• Feed into monthly, quarterly and yearly reports including donor reports. 

Learning and Research 

• Together with the CoP and TAs, create and lead a learning and research agenda, identify research gaps and initiate research to inform programming.
• Ensure the usage of evidence-based quantitative and qualitative analysis in line with the reporting requirements and advocacy needs 
• Develop consortium learning systems to properly capture lessons learned, timely disseminate information, and make sure actions are followed by consortium partners. 
• Ensure that lessons learned events and workshops for the consortium are organized regularly and at the end of the programs.
• Together with the Chief of Party, support the delivery and adaptation of the consortium’s programs by reviewing and interpreting of data for learning and adaptation ensuring the programme is refined and remains relevant in a changing context.

Coordination, communication, and capacity building 

• Chair the MEAL working groups and facilitate bi-monthly meetings to review the progress and performance of programme activities and attend internal and external meetings as needed.
• Lead MEAL activities across the consortiums ensuring the coordination, harmonization and following implementation of MEAL activities among the consortium members.
• Provide guidance and ensure partners’ programme teams are using tested and standardized data collection tools and are supported on data quality control, storage, and analysis.
• Liaise with the consortium actors to ensure technical inputs and relevant data is shared. 
• Collaborate with consortium partners’ MEAL field staff and provide needed capacity building to oversee the execution of MEAL implementation plan at field level.
• Participate in internal and external meetings as needed.
• Liaise with other units and departments within save the children country office to ensure proper coordination is maintained as needed.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• 5-8 years’ experience of creating, establishing and maintaining a MEAL framework for a multi-sector programme in a humanitarian and development context
• 5 years’ experience of building community participation and accountability
• 5 years’ experience of information and data management
• 5 years’ experience monitoring and evaluation skills, including planning/participating in evaluations
• Ability to work both in an advisory and a hands on implementation capacity
• 5 years’ experience in supervision, training and coach staff
• Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports
• Excellent communication skills
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children. In particular, a good understanding of the Save the Children mandate and child focus and an ability to ensure this continues to underpin our support
• Fluency in English and Arabic

Equal Opportunities 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety:

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.