MEAL Coordinator at Gender Equality, Peace and Development Centre (GEPaDC)

Role Purpose

• The individual in this position is tasked with overseeing the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) function.
• They will collaborate with the MEAL Department, Technical Specialists, and program teams of partners to formulate and guide an effective MEAL system. The primary goal of the MEAL system is to facilitate synchronized and coherent data collection and monitoring, enabling informed decision-making, accountability, reporting, and learning in a timely and strategic manner.
• The MEAL Coordinator ensures that the program incorporates regular Continuous Quality Improvement and data quality assessments.
• This involves creating information briefs, consistently sharing program updates with stakeholders, and establishing a mechanism for collecting, tracking, and responding to feedback and complaints from program stakeholders.
• Additionally, the individual in this role ensures the utilization of Quality Benchmarks throughout the implementation of program activities.
• They establish a customized documentation strategy for impact stories, reports, and best practices. The MEAL Coordinator fosters a culture of learning within the program, ensuring that insights gleaned from pilots, program interventions, and consortium collaborations are documented, shared among partners, and disseminated to key stakeholders. These contributions aim to enhance learning and research at both the national and global levels.
• The staff is accountable for the accurate and timely collection, analysis, and synthesis of program data related to outputs and outcome progress.
• They play a key role in training the program team and partners in high-quality data collection and management, emphasizing the use of data to inform decisions regarding program priorities. Additionally, the job holder may be called upon, as needed, to support the emergency team during humanitarian crises.

Key Areas of Accountability
Program design:

• Evaluate the requirements and capabilities of the communities targeted for intervention.
• Engage communities in both problem analysis and the design phase of the project.
• Conduct gender assessment studies and fulfil other critical project deliverables in alignment with the theory of change.

Set up a strong MEAL system and operationalize MEAL in all field locations

• In close collaboration with the Program Officer and Partners, establish an operational Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) plan. This includes implementing mechanisms to monitor and document the progress of Program activities.

Specifically:

• Ensure that MEAL planning and discussions occur with all project staff, partners, and key stakeholders both before and after project kick-off meetings.
• Develop the project MEAL pack (Project Log frames, detailed Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan, Activity Targets Trackers (ATTs), Quality Benchmarks, Indicators Performance Trackers (IPTs), accountability measures, data audit, and learning plans) within the first three months of the project's initiation, in close collaboration with the project team and partners.
• Facilitate results monitoring and learning for decision-making by consistently tracking and maintaining the Project Performance Tracker (IPTT) to identify and address necessary performance improvements on a monthly basis.
• Conduct, analyze, and disseminate monthly IPTT/outcome monitoring, evaluations, program studies, and research findings.
• Analyze project data provided by the project team and produce strategic analyses for the project management team.
• Develop and review program data collection tools to ensure they provide the required information on program indicators.
• Implement data quality assurance activities in accordance with the MEAL plan, including data verification and spot checks.
• Implement measures to control for double counting and establish beneficiary unique identifiers.
• Conduct monthly Quality Benchmark (QB) monitoring for at least 80% of implemented activities and ensure that improvement actions are developed and logged into the action tracker for follow-up.

Design and operationalize the Accountability mechanism:

• Assist the project team in creating information-sharing materials such as briefs, posters, and brochures, and ensure the effective dissemination of program information to relevant stakeholders, partners, and beneficiaries.
• Facilitate the project team in establishing context-specific feedback and complaints infrastructures, mechanisms, and approaches to solicit feedback and complaints from beneficiaries, including children.
• Collect and oversee the management of complaints and feedback in close coordination with the Program team. Monitor the timeliness of responses to complaints and maintain an updated Program complaints tracker.
• Integrate Child Safeguarding and Safe programming principles into accountability mechanisms for the consortium.

Integrate ICT in the project MEAL system:

• Assist in implementing the Program Management Information System (MIS) and integrating the Geographical Information System (GIS) into program reporting. Support GIS mapping and the dissemination of MIS/GIS reports. Offer input on MIS content/requirements and provide feedback to the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) team, documenting progress on indicators and the achievement of targets.
• Promote the utilization of digital data management tools within the program, including platforms like Kobo and ODK, among others.

Build a culture of Learning and Knowledge Management:

• Take part in or coordinate the design of both quantitative and qualitative participatory program evaluations, including baseline, annual, and final evaluations, assessments, reviews, and other specialized studies.
• Facilitate the documentation of project results, impact, best practices, and the most significant changes.
• Document lessons learned and best practices; disseminate findings, reports, and publications, and actively engage in learning sessions. Ensure that the lessons learned are effectively utilized to inform programmatic decisions and advocacy efforts.
• Provide support in conceptualizing and planning learning events and activities.

Planning, Budgeting and Reporting:

• Collaborate with Technical and project teams to ensure the proper allocation of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) resources and budget during project reviews and in the development of annual plans.
• Offer day-to-day direct support to the project team, specifically in the preparation and review of annual and quarterly project plans and reports. Ensure that these reports adhere to donor requirements and GEPaDC reporting standards.
• Supervise the utilization of the MEAL budget, ensuring timely implementation of MEAL activities.

Communication and Networking:

• Cultivate and maintain positive working relationships within the organization, fostering collaboration with other technical staff. Build external relationships with local government officials, Civil Society Organization (CSO) partners, and other stakeholders. Stay informed about key development trends in the project area to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
• Represent the project in various thematic coordination forums as requested by the line manager or Field Offices.

Academic Background, Experience and Personal Specifications

• Holds a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Public Health, Sociology, or Development Studies, preferably complemented by postgraduate training in Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) or Project Planning and Management.
• Has a minimum of three years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, preferably in education, protection, health, nutrition, Child Rights and Gender (CRG), or Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL) related programs.
• Possesses experience in collecting data using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
• Demonstrates proficiency in conducting interviews with community members and leaders and facilitating focus group discussions, particularly with beneficiaries, including children.
• Exhibits an understanding of basic standards to ensure data quality.
• Holds knowledge of data analysis principles and software, ideally including SPSS, STATA, R, ArcGIS, NVivo, and/or ATLAS.ti.
• Familiar with mobile data collection platforms such as Kobo Collect, ODK, SurveyCTO, etc.
• Brings experience with monitoring and evaluation techniques for assessing the quality and effectiveness of program strategies, contributing to program learning.

Skills and Behaviors
Accountability:

• Takes personal responsibility for decision-making, resource management, and upholding GEPaDC values.
• Holds both the team and partners accountable for fulfilling their responsibilities, allowing them the autonomy to deliver in the most effective manner, providing necessary development opportunities to enhance performance, and implementing appropriate consequences when results are not met.

Ambition:

• Establishes ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, assuming responsibility for personal development and encouraging others to pursue the same.
• Shares their personal vision for GEPaDC openly, engaging and motivating others.
• Demonstrates a future-oriented mindset, thinking strategically.

Collaboration:

• Establishes and sustains effective relationships with their team, colleagues, members, and external partners and supporters.
• Recognizes the value of diversity, viewing it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, attentive listener, and easy to engage in conversation.

Creativity:

• Cultivates and promotes new and innovative solutions.
• Demonstrates a willingness to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Demonstrates honesty and actively promotes openness and transparency.
• Occasional Duties Perform any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the line Manager.