Senior Consortium MEAL Manager at International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Requisition ID: req24041

Sector: Monitoring & Evaluation

Employment Category: Regular

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria

Job Description

This position is subject to funding

The International Rescue Committee 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, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

The IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when the organization responded to flooding in Kogi state. In February 2014 the IRC moved into Adamawa State in NE Nigeria to provide humanitarian interventions through a multi-sectoral, integrated approach for conflict affected populations. IRC Nigeria now operates a country office in Abuja and field offices in Mubi and Yola of Adamawa State, Maiduguri and Monguno of Borno state and Damaturu of Yobe State. Currently, IRC Nigeria implements programs primary health care, nutrition, environmental health, women’s protection and empowerment, protection, child protection, education, food security & livelihoods

Project Overview

The MMC/Jere consortium is a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in partnership with Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), funded by Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), USAID  that aims to leverage the expertise of each partner to deliver an Integrated Emergency, Recovery and Resilience  Area-Based Response in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere LGAs, Borno State, Nigeria by providing integrated services to conflict affected persons across the following sectors: Health, WASH, Nutrition, Food Assistance, Multi-purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), Economic Recovery and Market Systems (ERMS), Protection and Shelter and Settlements. The consortium aims to meet the most immediate and lifesaving needs of IDPs, host communities and returnees in MMC and Jere, as well as addressing ongoing, protracted needs, and supporting early recovery through capacity-building, the strengthening of existing health systems and community-based structures, and increasing the ownership of lifesaving, life-sustaining, and life-building services by local authorities, service providers, and local communities to ensure sustainability.

Job Overview/Summary

The consortium Senior MEAL Manager will be responsible for M&E systems development and implementation for the IRC led BHA MMC/Jere Consortium, ensuring consistent use of M&E approaches, data management, client responsiveness, data quality and facilitate learning across teams and consortium partners. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring overall coherence of monitoring and reporting tools, and coordination of data compilation from all consortium members. He/she will have a strong working relationship with the IRC MEAL team as well as the consortium team for additional technical support. The role requires extensive MEAL experience and good understanding of organizational M&E approaches and understanding of working in a consortium led project. The post holder will be expected to provide technical support in data gathering, aggregation, M&E tool development, support electronic data platforms, databases and select technologies to capture and organize data in a usable format.  He/she will work collaboratively with consortium teams, MEAL/Consortium coordinators in partner organizations and support M&E officers at the field level. He/she will be expected to communicate courteously on consortium performance and maintain positive relationships with program and support teams. As a member of the Consortium Management Unit, the consortium senior MEAL Manager will be responsible for ensuring MEAL Working Group meetings take place with partners, harmonizing of MEAL systems and tools and will provide targeted support and capacity building as required.

Major Responsibilities

Program Management, Technical Quality, and Strategy

• Take lead role to set up a robust and well functional monitoring and evaluation system, SOPs, tools and guidelines including beneficiary counting system at BHA consortium level in line with approved project proposal.
• Provide overall direction to the management of a robust, sustainable, and effective MEAL system across all sectors of interventions. Analysis of these changes will be shared extensively with all consortium partners and stakeholders to facilitate actions
• Overall, support the project cycle management from the consortium MEAL department
• Ensure the consortium project has innovative and technology driven MEAL systems and tools
• Ensure detailed ad feasible consortium project monitoring plans are in place which: (i) provide an indicator matrix (ii) consider ethical and safe collection and storage of data (iii) consider data quality audits (iv) consider mid/end project learning reviews
• Provide strategic and technical support to both program and MEAL staff of consortium partners in the collection, entry, sharing, verification, analysis and use of data and share with all partners as appropriate.
• Develop and roll out robust client responsiveness and feedback systems, community engagement throughout the project, in consultation with the consortium MEAL working group
• Lead on planning and managing internal or external baseline, midterm and end line study, research undertaken by the consortium members, including lessons learnt process and documentation
• Assist consortium technical lead to make timely decisions to adjust project design based on the MEAL data and project proposal amendment as necessary
• Assist consortium coordinator in producing high quality reports such as but not limited to monthly/quarterly progress reports for internal consumption and government authorities, donor reports as per contractual obligations and other ad-hoc reports asked by consortium steering committee and/or IRC management
• Promote cross learning and sharing across all consortium partners

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development:

• Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches to build the strengths of the consortium team.
• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews..
• Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least monthly.
• Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths.
• As required identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies.
• Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions.
• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff.
• Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train and develop capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition role and responsibilities, by the end of assignment.
• Adhere to and act in accordance with the IRC Global HR Policies and Procedures and communicates through word and example a high standard of compliance with all applicable policies and regulations.

Key Working Relationships

Position Reports to:  Consortium Team Leader

Indirect/Technical Reporting: MEAL Coordinator

Position directly Supervises: N/A

Key Internal Contacts:

• Country Program:  MEAL Coordinator and Consortium Partners (NRC & DRC) MEAL Lead
• Region/Global: Regional Measurement for Action Coordinator – West Africa

Qualifications

• Master’s degree (statistics, social science, public health, development economics, or related discipline). First degree with demonstrated experience of 5 to 10 years in MEAL is accepted

Work Experience:

• Excellent database, data management and data analysis skills with experience in using at least two software applications such as Microsoft excel, SPSS, STATA

Demonstrated Technical Skills:

• Experience with electronic/mobile data collection (kobo collect, survey CTO, Commcare) and GIS mapping
• Proven technical skills in monitoring and evaluation, including experience with multi sectoral and multi donor funded programs and experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
• Proven abilities to develop monitoring plans, data collection, information management, use of databases and analysis and performance monitoring
• Strong analytical, qualitative and quantitative research skills
• Ability to take initiative and independently respond to situations
• Experience in consortium MEAL work will be an added advantage
• Ability to communicate effectively with managers, colleagues, partners and clients
• Strong commitment to IRCs mission, purpose and values

Languages: 

• Fluency in English (verbal and written) 
• Knowledge of Hausa (verbal and written) is an advantage

Computer/Other Tech Requirements:

Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.  Add position-specific (e.g. accounting software, statistical software, etc.).

Standards of Professional Conduct The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Working Environment

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.