Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Manager - Beirut

ROLE PURPOSE:

The MEAL Manager plays a strategic leadership role in assuring accountability to stakeholders and strengthening quality in the design, delivery and reporting of programmes. The MEAL Manager is responsible for ensuring the MEAL team fulfils its objectives by including the mechanisms, processes and data that help us to:

•           Document our strategic impact;

•           Be accountable to ourselves, children, donors and partners;

•           Insure clarity of MEAL responsibilities and access to information;

•           Use evidence and learning to ensure the quality of our work.

In line with Save the Children's key priority towards increasing quality, the MEAL Manager must lead an integrated MEAL approach aiming to emphasise the use of data to support decision-making, accountability and continuous improvement of SC’s programming for and with children.

The MEAL Manager has direct line management of MEAL team in the Country Office and technical line to MEAL staff in the field offices. They will lead on enhancing and maintaining a national MEAL framework as well as project related MEAL systems. They will lead on developing approaches to ensure beneficiaries are engaged throughout the project management cycle and are able to hold Save the Children to account. The role will require maintaining systems and processes related to monitoring and accountability as well as supporting on developing and implementing an evaluation and learning framework. The MEAL Manager is responsible for leading assessments and research to fill key information gaps and contribute to SC Lebanon’s relevance and appropriateness of response.

The post holder will be expected to mentor and strengthen the capacity of existing country MEAL and programme staff with the dual objective of enabling staff to fulfil their current roles whilst also developing their capacity to take on more senior roles.  

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Director of Program Development and Quality.

Managing/Supervising: 2 MEAL Coordinators, 1 MEAL/IM Specialist, 1 Accountability & Evaluation Officer, 1 IM Coordinator (seconded to Ministry of Education)

Dimensions: The Lebanon Country Office (CO) has diverse programs in areas of Education, Child Protection, Food Security, Livelihoods and Social Protection, , Child Rights Governance, WASH and Shelter and presence across Lebanon, with an annual portfolio of over US $18. It employs 200 staff and works with 21 local partners.   

Key Working Relationships: Technical Advisors (TAs), Operations, Awards, HR, Finance and Field Teams.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Design and Roll out of MEAL System and Tools  

-Lead and strengthen the process of developing organisational MEAL framework, systems and structure in line with SC 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 program quality indicators, as relevant and required.

-Oversee and guide the team in rolling out of MEAL framework, including management information system, aligned with the SCI Program Quality Framework.

-Support the field teams to ensure that MEAL system is understood and integrated in program implementation, leading to enhanced quality, accountability, management and impact, including feeding into new program design.

-Assist Technical Advisers (TAs) in establishing quality benchmarks for each sector, developing checklist and tools to monitor benchmarks, and ensure quality monthly reports.

-Advise TAs, Field Managers and Program Managers to ensure participation of communities, including children in program management cycle: assessment and program design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation; and solicit and respond to community feedback.

-Support technical staff to design tools for monitoring and evaluation of project activities as agreed in MEAL framework.

-Coordinate and oversee strategic and operational evaluations, including real time review, evaluations of humanitarian action, program evaluations, end line survey, etc.

-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.

-Ensure SC has clear system for monitoring partners’ progress and accountability mechanisms.

-Engage with local partners and ensure capacity development support on MEAL systems is provided.

Program Design

-Ensure that learning from the previous or current programs are fed into new program design.

-Support the program design and fundraising efforts, including log frame development, drafting narrative MEAL sections, budgeting for MEAL activities, and ensure that MEAL is an integral part of program design.

-Oversee and ensure that inclusive process is followed in program design: inclusive and participatory assessment, including consulting communities and children, gender analysis, inclusion (disability, partnership).

-Support TAs in the integrations efforts, the logical frame work. 

-Work with the TAs and field colleagues for integrated program design: child protection, gender, inclusion (disability or differently able), marginalization and extreme vulnerability, etc.

Learning & Evidence  

-Work with the Director, PDQ, TAs and field-based colleagues to develop systems and forums, and clear agenda for capturing and using learning, including promoting participatory learning process with communities, children.

-Ensure that reflection or lessons learned events and workshops are organized regularly and at the end of the programs, and learnings are fed into new program design.

-Commitment to applied learning and adaptation based on data: Lead the program team on routine reviews and interpretation of data for learning and adaptation; package and disseminate timely findings in a meaningful way.

-Create a learning and research agenda and implement a system designed to identify lessons learned and disseminate timely information.

-Oversee if learnings are captured and consolidated into learning database.

-Communicate top level learning / analysis reports to the SMT for management decisions and advocacy and external sharing, including publications.

-Contribute in development and implementation of the strategy for knowledge generation and evidence building for identifying, generating, sorting, retrieving, validating, sharing and disseminating information in a more efficient & effective manner.

-Review literature and innovations/good practice in order to improve approaches and strategies.

-Identify research gaps and initiate research to inform programming.

-Promote a knowledge based culture to help strategically improve results and support of wider learning.

-Ensure that research and evidence building activities are comprehensive and cover overall advocacy and reporting needs of the programme.

-Ensure research findings are communicated to Save the Children International and other partners to strengthen evidence-based programming.

-Update the centralized information system and maintain a resource library in conjunction with other staff.

MEAL Staff Management, Mentorship, and Development

-Lead the country’s MEAL team by structuring it appropriately and then hiring and retaining highly-qualified and motivated MEAL staff. This includes direct supervision of all CO MEAL staff.

-Develop the technical expertise and coherency of the team through use of a Community of Practice that includes regular workshops and staff exchanges.

-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.

-Ensure MEAL staff have and understand clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are also understood by Program Ops and PDQ teams.

-Promote all aspects of MEAL through training and capacity building for multiple stakeholders including MEAL staff and PDQ Leadership to support the creation of an organizational culture which prioritizes MEAL leading to quality programming.

-Participate in relevant MEAL training opportunities and networks in country, region and globally.

Others (5%)

-Support the Director, PDQ on regional and global aspects, related strategy, cross thematic areas, reporting, advocacy, and protection mainstreaming and child safeguarding.

Responsible for effectively managing the MEAL budget (under this post responsibility), including any breakthrough accountability funds.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

-Master’s degree in Economics, Development Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Science, Statistics, Business Administration, Public Health or in relevant field

-7 years of experience in areas of program development & quality

-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

-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

-Previous experience supporting local partners to develop MEAL systems

-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

-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 Save the Children

-Experience in advancing gender equality and partnership.

Additional Job Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding

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.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.