Democratic Republic of the Congo: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator

JOB SUMMARY

The MEAL Coordinator will provide leadership within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) country program to strengthen organizational and staff capacity to design and implement effective monitoring, evaluation, learning and accountability systems. S/he will provide technical assistance to staff and partners to ensure that projects/programs are monitored as needed, scopes of work for evaluation reflect key learning questions, high quality external or internal evaluators undertake evaluations, recommendations are adopted, and lessons learned are disseminated through the country program and the CRS MEAL community of practice. The MEAL Coordinator will lead efforts to demonstrate clearly the impacts of CP programs which is increasingly required by donors.

The CP has a wide range of programs funded by multiple donors, including USAID Food for Peace (FFP), Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), PEPFAR, European Union, DFID, and UNICEF. Of particular note is a USAID FFP-funded Development Food Security Activity in which CRS is the prime agency. CRS DRC has significant programming in health and nutrition, WASH, agriculture, livelihoods, resiliency, peacebuilding and emergency. CRS/DRC currently has around 180 staff operating out of 7 offices in Kinshasa, Goma (North Kivu), Kananga (Kasai Central), Mbuji Mayi (Kasai Oriental) and three antennae, Kalemie (Tanganyika), Lubumbashi (Haut Katanga), and Lodja (Sankuru) and one antenna.

CRS, as part of its agency core competencies, has recently adopted a set of auditable MEAL policies and procedures (MPPs) for its projects and Country Programs. These MPPs represent an agency-wide initiative that reflect agency values and guiding principles. Within this context, the MEAL Coordinator will provide technical support to programming staff in the implementation of these MPPs to positively impact on the development and implementation of MEAL systems that improve program quality. S/he will also lead capacity strengthening of local partners to implement MEAL systems.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide leadership on all matters pertaining to MEAL, including but not limited to supporting the development of systems, capabilities and culture of data-use for decision-making
• Developing and implementing a strategic plan for strengthening capacity of Country Program staff to design and implement MEAL systems that meet CRS MEAL Policies and Procedures and reflect good MEAL practices;
• Ensuring technical MEAL reviews in project design, start-up, implementation and close-out;
• Collaborating with Country Program staff to realize learning agendas that contribute to the evidenced-base for CRS DRC's programming approaches.
• Collaborating with Country Program staff to ensure accountability to a range of stakeholders through increased participation, transparent communication, responsive feedback mechanisms, and adherence to internal and external quality standards and requirements,
• Collaborating with the ICT4D specialist at the regional office and at HQ to identify and implement ICT4D solutions that aim to ease the process of data collection, visualization and use

SPECIFIC JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Improving Program Quality:

A primary responsibility for the MEAL Coordinator is to strengthen the capacity of staff to design, implement and utilize MEAL systems to improve program quality:

• Take an active role in promoting implementation of the agency's MEAL policies and procedures and other agency-wide MEAL initiatives;
• Support country program staff and partners to design and plan MEAL systems that meet project needs, enable responsiveness to both beneficiaries and donors, and ensure program quality;

• Provide guidance to teams to effectively collect data, e.g. as part of field assessments, baseline, monitoring, mid-term and final evaluations, including:

• Advising on data collection methodologies and sampling;

• Developing or reviewing instruments for data collection;

• Designing data management systems;

• Advising on data entry needs and requirements;

• Establishing mechanisms to effectively utilize local consultants;

• Support staff and partners to analyze and report on data collected, including training in quantitative and/or qualitative analysis, as appropriate;

• Work with staff and partners to develop information and communications technology (ICT)/management information systems which meet stakeholder information needs and streamline MEAL management;

• Work with staff and partners to strengthen existing beneficiary accountability systems that meet stakeholder information needs and enable community engagement;

• Champion use of MEAL data to revise project theory of change/assumptions and adapt project strategies, as needed, to ensure high quality programming.

• Perform and take the lead using Data Quality Assessments (DQAs)

• Help ensure integration of cross-sectoral priorities in MEAL, including gender, protection mainstreaming, disaster risk reduction and conflict sensitivity.

Supporting Program Growth:

• Design projects that ensure rigorous logic between activities, outputs, results; have a clear Theory of Change; and provide for robust accountability mechanisms;
• Ensure MEAL policy and procedures' requirements are addressed during the design phase of the project,
• Advise on development of indicators and selection of methods that will ensure rigorous MEAL during project implementation;
• Support design of field assessments to collect the information necessary for project design and strategy development;
• Be familiar with and advise on integrating relevant donor MEAL requirements (e.g. USAID and relevant US agencies, DFID, UN agencies, European Union, Global Fund, World Bank, Catholic Donors and other potential donors).
• Provide thorough review of MEAL plans and budgets to ensure winning proposals.

Strengthening MEAL Capacity:

The MEAL Coordinator will assist Country Programs in strengthening the capacity of both CRS and partner staff to implement and utilize MEAL systems to improve program quality, including:

• Mentor country program staff working in MEAL, including advising on staff development plans; participating in recruitment of country program MEAL staff; supporting onboarding; and identifying and/or facilitating relevant staff development opportunities.
• Deliver on-site capacity building of staff and partners in field offices, including but not limited to MEAL staff, including formal and on-the job staff training and co-facilitation of MEAL training events;
• Provide distance coaching of staff through reviews, emails and conversations which provide tools, resources, and practical advice in simple terms.
• Collaborate with staff to identify and develop action plans to strengthen local partner capacity based on the assessment results;

Supporting Country Program Learning:

The MEAL Coordinator will collaborate with staff and partners to draft learning agendas rooted in evidenced-based approaches. Specifically, the MEAL Coordinator will support staff to:

• Develop and disseminate knowledge in support of accountability and learning, including: guidelines, tools, case studies, and e-learning as part of the project learning agendas,
• Promote knowledge management and collaborative learning processes at the project, program and institutional levels, generating robust evidence for project and programmatic learning that leads to action, decision-making and influence,

The MEAL Coordinator will also be part of a broader learning agenda linked to MEAL for the Agency as a whole and may participate in various fora from time to time to support this broader agenda. S/he will also be expected to represent the country program to external donors and stakeholders, as well as colleague PVOs, universities, research institutions, and other actors. The MEAL Coordinator will network with other counterparts within her/his community of practice, and s/he will serve as a key link for the country program staff to external sources of knowledge and information.

QUALIFICATIONS

Technical/Professional:

1. Master's degree in International Development, International Relations or in a field relevant to a senior MEAL position in an international NGO. Additional experience may substitute for some education.
2. 5 years of progressive responsibility in overseas relief and development programs; with 3 years' experience working for an international agency on MEAL.
3. Thorough familiarity with principles and current approaches to MEAL of relief and development programs using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
4. Experience in data collection, including survey design and training enumerators.
5. Understanding and experience with data management, including database design.
6. Strong experience analyzing data, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, and experience with appropriate software.
7. Experience training others in MEAL, including developing and leading workshops.
8. Understanding of donor expectations and trends for MEAL, especially by key donors, FFP, OFDA, PEPFAR, DFID, and UN agencies.
9. Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods.
10. Prior experience in sub-Saharan Africa preferred.
11. Skilled in working collaboratively with others
12. Able to work with diverse groups of people in a multicultural, team environment.
13. Excellent interpersonal communication skills
14. Self-motivated and able to work without close supervision, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking to meet deadlines.
15. Excellent organization, planning and analytical skills; detail oriented.

Personal Competencies:

Required Language(s)

Fluency in oral and written communication French and English.

Travel Required (include percentage of required travel, if applicable)

The position will be based in Kinshasa, DRC. The position will require extensive travel (25%) throughout DRC.

Key Working Relationships:

Supervisory: Will supervise the DRC Accountability, Protection, and Gender Advisor; SILC Coordinator; and periodic supervision of consultants, as needed.

Internal: Project-based MEAL staff, Chiefs of Party and Program Managers, Regional Technical Advisor/MEAL, Deputy Country Representative for Programming, Head of Programs, Country Representative, CRS HQ Technical Advisors in headquarters, MEAL Coordinators in other country programs.

External: Local Partners, other PVOs; consultants working in MEAL; USG, especially USAID, and other donor agencies.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.

• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning

Disclaimer: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS' talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply via CRS' Career Page by clicking on the link below:

https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/nghome.guid?c=1161051&d=External&prc=RMPOD3&r=5000423127906