MEAL Specialist

War Child is an independent and impartial international non-governmental child rights organization investing in a peaceful future for children and young people affected by armed conflict. With a focus on child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, we strive to empower children and young people, while enabling adults to bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of conflict affected children and young people. War Child has been working in the oPt since 2004, and has offices in Jerusalem, Hebron, the Jordan Valley, and in Gaza. 

War Child seeks a motivated MEAL Specialist to join its team. (Position is anticipated for January 2021, pending funding)

General Objective of the Job

The MEAL Specialist is the focal point for monitoring and evaluation processes of the project and in the country office. This role ensures that all M&E and learning activities are in line with global War Child standards, and that effective processes are built into the project life cycles. The MEAL Specialist leads in the systematic collection of data and ensures the effective use of M&E information and reports to make necessary changes in project implementation and inform programming and project design. The MEAL Specialist offers technical input on the development and improvement of planning, monitoring and evaluation, and guides capacity building on these technical areas for project staff and local partner organizations. 

Position in the organization

The MEAL Specialist reports to the Country Director

Direct Reports: N/A at this time

Essential functional relations: War Child Head of Programs, Project Coordinators and implementation team, Operations Department, and in-country, regional, and global advisors

Result Areas 

Monitoring and Evaluation standards, guidelines, methods and tools

• Develop and manages the implementation of a MEAL system with associated documentation, processes and standards, rules and instruments, to optimize the planning, managing and reporting on policies, programmes and projects, in accordance with WCH Global Monitoring Framework.
• Lead the development of M&E plans and supports M&E aspects of projects.
• In collaboration with the Head of Programs and relevant project staff, contributing to grant proposals and donor report writing and reviewing all information related to MEAL in order to ensure that proposals, reports, and any other project documents capture progress, effectiveness, and impact of activities. 
• Develop grant-specific indicators, prepare results frameworks, performance monitoring and evaluation plans for projects and/or grant proposals in close collaboration with the Head of Programs
• Ensure the M&E components of projects are implemented through guiding, supporting and building the competency of the staff of War Child and partner organisations.
• In collaboration with the Head of Programs, conduct periodical review activities and lesson learnt sessions, to evaluate progress towards projects goals and outcomes. 
• Provide advice to the Head of Programs, Project Managers and Coordinators, local partners and communities on necessary adjustments to projects during implementation and post-implementation based on data coherence with overall program strategy and any other metrics in place.
• Develop M&E guidelines, methods and tools.
• Design data collection tools as and when required. 
• Leads in the processing, analysis and reporting of data whenever needed.
• Manage third party baseline studies, monitoring, and evaluation contracts from end-to-end, including procurement, contracting, tools development, delivery of final reports, and dissemination. 

Manage Learning Process

• Develop and/or streamline reporting templates that facilitate the acquisition, aggregation and flow of information in and between programs and projects. 
• Ensure that quantitative data and qualitative observations inform decision-making and planning in the Country Office. 
• Maintain, improve and adapt channels to support programming that is participatory and responsive to the views of the children and communities we work with. 
• Develop reports using the information and data obtained, ensuring that these are shared with the team, partners and communities, to develop feedback loops of information. 
• Identify the need for and develop new tools in collaboration with the sector-specific Technical Advisors and Implementation teams, to address any gaps in information.

Community-Based Feedback and Response Mechanism

• Provide technical support to partners on establishing and maintaining effective feedback mechanisms for decision making, fully in line with commitments regarding accountability to affected population (AAP), including IASC, CPMS, CHS and Sphere Humanitarian Charter.

Training, capacity building 

• Engage with partner organizations on MEAL systems and tools and ensure that these are being used in an efficient and effective way throughout the project lifecycle. 
• Develop the capacity of partners on MEAL systems from overall approaches to individual tools and techniques, rolling out War Child systems such as the Global Monitoring Framework and associated tools. 
• Coordinates with project implementation team to ensure that project-level data is collected and analysed in systematic manner, all deadlines are met, and key questions on the projects area addressed through the data collected.
• Host learning events for the War Child country office and partners when appropriate. 

Coordination and networking

• Proactively coordinates and liases with MEAL focal points of partners when needed 
• Maintain a network of internal and external contacts relevant to the position, represent War Child in relevant technical working groups as needed.
• Participate in donor and partner meetings when required to facilitate information sharing.
• Liaise with other War Child global and regional M&E colleagues to help facilitate the exchange of best practice, tool development, and promote learning. 

جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.

Knowledge and Experience 

• Relevant academic background (eg: development, research, social science, statistics)
• Demonstrated knowledge of quantitative and qualitative M&E systems and tools.
• Minimum 5 years of applied experience with humanitarian or social development programming in designing, implementing and overseeing monitoring and evaluation tasks.
• Experience in women, peace and security, gender, child protection, and/or psychosocial support programming desirable.
• Proven ability to work productively with a variety of stakeholders to run participatory processes and meet tight deadlines with an emphasis on quality.
• Experience conducting interviews and focus group discussions with children, vulnerable persons as well as a variety of stakeholders.
• Experience in database design, data analysis  
• Knowledge of casual analysis approaches (e.g. problem tree analysis, SWOT analysis) and carry out situation analysis and assessments of needs and opportunities (with inputs from the programme team)
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, SPSS, Access, SQL, and any other statistical packages.
• Commitment to local capacity building and the ability to engage local stakeholders in the project design and implementation. 

Skills 

• Critical thinking and strong analytical skills
• Demonstrated understanding of data protection and confidentiality as part of data collection and management practices, and ability to respect and maintain confidentiality,
• Strong reporting and writing skills – i.e. excellent data interpretation skills and an ability to translate and present complex ideas into simple concepts and graphics/messages, in a convincing and unbiased manner. 
• Ability to identify needs/gaps and work towards solutions
• Commitment to training, capacity building, and collaboration with local organizations 
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills, maintaining close working relationships with local authorities, international NGOs, and local NGOs and associations. 
• Excellent management skills, teamwork and flexibility
• Openness to working with different communities.
• Fluency in spoken and written Arabic and English 

“Commitment to the vision and goals of War Child Holland in oPt, including adherence to the Child Safeguarding Policy, is essential”

To apply please send your one page letter of motivation and CV to [email protected] by November 30, 2020, citing “MEAL Specialist”  in the subject line.