MEAL Manager

The Opportunity – MEAL Manager

Post location:  oPt CO, Based in Ramallah with frequent 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 strategic position within the Country Office. S/he oversees the design and implementation of a quality, comprehensive and integrated MEAL System that meets SCI standards and donor regulations. The post holder manages the MEAL team, supports and mentor them, while playing a leading role in program design, strategic and annual planning and reporting.

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 feedback and complaints mechanism, ensuring we are accountable to children and communities. 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 demonstrate 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 and Quality.

Staff reporting to this post: Manages 4 people; Research and Learning Specialist, PRIME MEAL Officer and 2 Senior MEAL Officers. Oversees the MEAL team which also includes MEAL assistants. 

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.

Budget Responsibilities: None.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

1. 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.
• Assist TAs in developing, maintaining and applying quality benchmarks for each sector, developing checklist and tools to monitor benchmark, and ensure quality monthly reports for each project.
• Ensure that there is a safe, accessible and inclusive feedback and complaint mechanism, providing quarterly reports to learn from insights 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.

2. 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).

3. 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.
• 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.

4. 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.

5. Promoting a Culture of Learning

• Supports the Research and Learning Specialist in developing a strategically aligned Learning Agenda, with an up to date research pipeline and workplan.
• 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.

Child Safeguarding responsibilities

Ensure that child safeguarding and child protection mainstreaming are integrated into all MEAL frameworks through measurable output and outcome indicators; and lead the process of piloting and scaling up local level beneficiary complaints’ mechanisms in relation to staff conduct, with an emphasis on the Child Safeguarding Policy and measure to prevent sexual exploitation of women and children.

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In order to be successful you will bring/have: 

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

Required

• 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.

We offer a competitive package in the context of the sector. This role is offered on the basis of national terms and conditions.

Save the Children promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment, women and people with different abilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at Search Jobs - SCI Career Site Careers (oraclecloud.com)

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.

All employees are expected to carry out their duties in accordance with our global anti-harassment policy.