MEAL Manager - Save the Children "Ramallah"
The Opportunity – MEAL Manager
Post location: oPt Country Office, Ramallah with travel to across the West Bank and Gaza
Contract Duration and Level of Effort: 2 years (Renewable)
ROLE PURPOSE
The MEAL Manager is a key position within the Country Office. S/he oversees the design and implementation of a quality, comprehensive and integrated MEAL System that meets SCI standards, MEAL staff management, mentorship, and development; strategic and annual planning, internal reporting, as well as programme development and MEAL resources.
S/he ensures that a high quality MEAL system is established, functional and integrated into all aspects of Save the Children’s (SC’s) programming in Palestine, with the focus on building quality evidence base for SCI’s interventions. This includes management and oversight of the Save the Children engagement in child protection monitoring and reporting in conflict settings. S/he facilitates ongoing capacity strengthening of MEAL staff and provides technical oversight of field MEAL staff. The incumbent is also a lead player in the program design process, taking the development of logframes, drafting learning agendas and conceptualising the MEAL frameworks to d emonstrate impact. The post holder will be expected to mentor and/or capacity building existing country programme staff. The post holder leads in tracking and reporting organisational key performance indicators, our Country Strategic Plan or the annual reports. S/he promotes a culture of learning and accountability.
In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Director of Programme Development, Quality & Advocacy.
Managing/Supervising: Managed two staff, a Research and Learning Specialist and a PRIME MEAL Officer. Supervises field MEAL staff.
Key Working Relationships: Technical Advisors (TAs), Operations, Awards, HR, Finance and Field Teams.
Role Dimensions: oPt CO is a high complex country, with multi-member interest, and an annual budget of around $12-15 m, and approximately with 70 staff member.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive MEAL System that meets SCI and donor standards
- Lead and strengthen the Country Office MEAL framework, systems and structure, in line with Save the Children and donor procedures, ensuring accountability to donors and, most critically, beneficiaries. Ensure that systems captures indicators and monitoring of child participation, gender equality, inclusion, integration, and other programme quality indicators, as relevant and required.
- Oversee and guide the team in rolling out of the MEAL framework, including management information system, aligned with the SCI Programme Quality Framework. This includes supporting the field teams to ensure that MEAL system is understood and integrated in programme implementation, leading to enhanced quality, accountability, management and impact, including feeding into new programme design
- Lead routine collection, analysis and use of evidence, including disaggregation for gender, disability and the most marginalised and deprived, to document impact, innovate and learn what work for children, and inform management, policy and programme solutions. This includes needs and baseline assessments, feasibility studies, evaluations and research
- Coordinate and oversee strategic and operational evaluations, including real time review, evaluations of humanitarian action, programme evaluations, end line survey, etc.
- Assist TAs in maintaining quality benchmarks for each sector, developing checklist and tools to monitor benchmark, and ensure quality monthly reports for each project
- Ensure that the accountability staff adopts clear system of feedback and response from key stakeholders, particularly children, and presents the information to SMT for decision making.
- Lead MEAL emergency preparedness and response within existing country MEAL frameworks, systems, tools and processes, adhering to the Core Humanitarian Standards, Sphere Charter and Red Cross Code of Conduct.
- Ensure that KPIs related to MEAL activities are regularly met through institutionalisation of robust systems for tracking, reporting and following up improvement actions.
- Once proposals are approved, develop a clear, practical and comprehensive MEAL plan with field MEAL offices, including output trackers, and ensure it is implemented effectively during the project life cycle.
Reporting
- Coordinate and ensure accurate data collection and processing for all regular reporting requirements, including internal reports such as the Country Annual Report, the Quarterly Programme Quality KPIs, Country Strategic Plan milestone reports, categorised emergency sit reps, and “Total Reach”.
- Support MEAL aspects of donor reporting, including review of baseline, mid-term, endline or any other donor/project specific studies.
- Ensure that regularly updated MEAL mechanisms (ITPPs, accountability leaflets, etc.) are in place for each project including technical reports and MEAL tracking tools that identify necessary future actions.
- Ensure data quality and accuracy (including for external reporting as needed).
Programme Development and MEAL Resources
- Lead planning of needs assessments in coordination other external sector agencies, ensuring assessment findings are documented and include an analysis of children’s needs and rights. Lead development of Save the children programme baseline surveys where required.
- Coordinate sharing of information with the programme team on MEAL data in comprehensive, timely and relevant manner to make sure the learning from these assessments and studies is feeding it to the programme decisions
- As a contributor to proposal development, lead in developing logframes and MEAL technical narrative and budgets within proposals, support development of SMART indicators with technical teams, ensure quality mechanisms are in place, and ensure consistency with the CO and SCI MEAL strategies.
- Ensure that adequate MEAL resources are included in proposals and work creatively to secure sufficient funding from diverse sources to ensure capacity to deliver MEAL according to SCI quality standards.
- Provide MEAL orientation to project team and partners in first project kick off workshops and later on as needed.
- Once proposals are approved, develop a clear, practical and comprehensive MEAL plan and ensure it is implemented effectively during the project life cycle.
MEAL Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development
- Support and coach the MEAL staff to ensure the quality and efficiency of the function according the donor and SCI standard and requirement.
- Build the technical expertise and coherency of the team, facilitate training and capacity building and convene the quarterly CO MEAL working group.
- Manage the performance of MEAL staff by clearly setting objectives, assessing performance, and providing coaching, mentoring, and training that aligns with SCI’s Global MEAL Capacity Building Strategic Workplan.
- Participate in relevant MEAL coordination platforms, training opportunities and networks in country, region and globally.
Promoting a Culture of Learning
- Work with the Director of PDQ, TAs, and field-based colleagues to develop the Country Office Learning Agenda.
- Guide the MEAL staff and field-based teams, and engage communications to document learning
- Ensure that reflection or lessons learned events and workshops are organized regularly and at the end of the programmes, and learnings are fed into new programme design.
- Oversee if learnings are captured and consolidated into learned database.
- Communicate top level learning / analysis reports to the SMT for management decisions and advocacy and external sharing, including publications.
- Support the TAs in analysing the evidence on SCI’s interventions, reflecting on course correction needs on the programme implementation as well as the broader impact on communities.
- Support high quality research and data collection for advocacy and influencing purposes of SCI.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Master’s degree in Economics, Development Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Science, Statistics, Business Administration, Public Health or in relevant field, or relevant work and learning experience.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
Essential
- 5+ years of experience in areas of programme development & quality, monitoring and evaluation, assessments or research.
- Extensive experience in MEAL related role in INGO environment, preferably in a fragile context.
- Excellent understanding of different components of MEAL and skills in leading MEAL systems.
- Excellent experience in analysis of research findings, reporting and presenting.
- Sound conceptual understanding in advancing gender equality in programming and at workplace.
- Experience of, and commitment to working through systems of community participation and accountability.
- Previous experience of managing a team and managing projects.
- Demonstrated skills in oversight of research, assessment and evaluations.
- Hands on experience in strategic planning processes.
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently with very limited oversight and support.
- Proven capacity to supervise, train and coach staff.
- Excellent documentation and report writing skills.
- Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tactic and diplomacy.
- Excellent communication skills: in written and spoken English and Arabic.
- Adaptability and flexibility: be adaptive, flexible and accommodative in difficult and insecure operating environment.
- Adherence to aims and principles of SC: good understanding of SC mandate and commitment to child participation.
Desirable:
- Prior experience with child rights organisations
- Experience or knowledge of working and living in Palestine.
- Experience in advancing gender equality, inclusion and partnership.