Consortium MEAL Coordinator

Introduction

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956 and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 7,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Based in Copenhagen (Denmark) and present in forty countries, the Danish Refugee Council is a non-profit-making, politically independent, non-governmental and non-denominational relief organization.

Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced. All our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

Background

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally. Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees, and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter, and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and states in northeast Nigeria and Sokoto and Zamfara states in Northwest Nigeria.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consortium MEAL Coordinator will be responsible for MEAL systems development and implementation for the DRC led BHA Consortium, ensuring consistent use of MEAL 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 DRC MEAL team as well as the consortium team for additional technical support. The role requires extensive MEAL experience and good understanding of organizational MEAL approaches and understanding of working in a consortium led project. As a member of the Consortium Management Unit, the Consortium MEAL Coordinator will be responsible for ensuring MEAL Working Group meetings take place with partners and will provide targeted support and capacity building as required.

The main responsibilities and tasks of the Consortium MEAL Coordinator.

Responsibilities:

System Design and Promoting MEAL:

• Develop the overall BHA program MEAL Plan in alignment with BHA MEAL guidelines.
• Lead implementation and reporting based on the MEAL Plan, including accountability, community engagement and participation, learning, PDM, course adaptation and endline/evaluation.
• Build strong relationships with all consortium partners, including providing tools, expertise and other support to ensure that the MEAL Plan is understood and delivered with high quality and reliability.
• Establish the overall program Indicator Tracking Table (ITT) based on the BHA indicator definitions and lead roll out to all consortium partners to ensure a consistent approach;
• Regularly monitor the ITT reporting, tracking and progress to ensure timely and quality inputs; as well as provide analysis to the for PIU Management for discussion and action with Consortium Partners and the Consortium Steering Committee, as needed.
• Use process level monitoring to undertake field monitoring visits, focusing on program quality aspects, discuss with relevant staff and share reports with relevant colleagues.
• Support Consortium MEAL staff in PDM activities, ensuring that tools and processes are consistent to allow collation of data for program monitoring, learning, course-correction and improvement in collaboration with the PIU team.
• Perform regular field visits to ensure the quality of data collected by program staff and to verify the accuracy of reported data.
• Lead and coordinate with partners the donor Third Party Monitoring process
• Provide technical leadership and coordination for program evaluations, baseline and end-line assessments in collaboration with consortium partner organizations.
• Work via the PMU to support consortium partners to conduct periodic Lessons Learned workshops and implement a systematic way of documenting and disseminating lessons learned such as developing lessons learnt trackers to help increase program level knowledge and improve future interventions.
• In consultation with the Chief of party, coordinate and technically supervise consultants who are hired to deliver some components in the Consortium MEAL framework.
• Coordinate with consortium partners to ensure effective feedback and response mechanisms are in place to support accountability to affected children, adult and communities in alignment with BHA guidelines.
• Coordinate and support MEAL team from consortium partners for all required reporting and develop tools and that consolidate consortium-wide data to ensure donor requirements are met at programme level..
• Provide support to consortium partners in preparation and reviewing of program plans and program reports, ensuring that program reports meet DRC and donor reporting standards;
• Coordinate and develop the delivery of all MEAL aspects of donor reporting, including monthly, semi-annual and annual reporting.
• Consolidate, analyze and interpret all consortium-wide data, and develop evidence-based data.
• Communicate the evidence-based data for program improvement
• Provide formal and ad-hoc capacity-building support to the consortium MEAL and program staff, as needed, based on knowledge gaps and needs identified during the delivery of MEAL activities and/or on request of consortium partners, where possible.

Monitoring:

• Baselines, Endlines, Evaluations, dissemination, and learning

• Support accountability systems to facilitate stakeholder feedback and participation

• Planning and Reporting

• Capacity building

  Perform any other duties as directed by the Chief of Party

Qualifications

Experience and technical competencies: (include years of experience)

a) Essential

• Minimum 5 years of relevant work experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning of humanitarian and development programmes.
• Experience working with International NGOs, UN agencies, line ministries and/or local authorities in migrants/refugee settings and/or emergencies.
• Experience in consortium MEAL work will be an added advantage
• Proven experience in effectively working with a variety of donors’ requirements including BHA, ECHO, EU, DFAT, GIZ, OFDA and UN agencies (as required).
• Strong understanding of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning principles and processes, including database management, reporting and communicating results etc.
• Demonstrated experience with DRC Core Sectors.
• Proven understanding of mix-methods approach, research methodologies and the nature and use of evidence, including participatory methodologies.
• Demonstrated understanding of Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) and ability to apply accountability and ethical standards in everyday work.
• Advanced skills in design, implementation and quality assurance throughout data collection process and specifically software, such as Kobo Toolbox, ODK, CommCare and others as relevant.
• Very good skills in analysis frameworks, with data analysis for quantitative and qualitative data and communicating evidence.
• Experience of working with or providing support to partners and/or a partnership model of working, when relevant.
• Good skills in supporting organisational learning in programmes.
• Proven facilitation and training skills with diverse audiences of NGO practitioners.
• Demonstrated ability to work and deliver under pressure, within budget and time constraints and to manage team priorities.
• Excellent skill in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and Office365.
• Ability to inspire and apply critical thinking in everyday work; promote and contribute with constructive critique.
• Demonstrated experience and motivation to learn on the job and advance in the role.
• Very good verbal and written communication skills, ability to adjust communication to various stakeholders and audiences.
• Full professional proficiency in English

b) Desirable

• Knowledge of ArcGIS/QGIS, NVivo (or other qualitative analysis software)
• Fluency in local language or the language of communities (Hausa)
• Experience of working in insecure environments and of security management; when relevant.
• Experience in developing/ guiding information management systems for large humanitarian programs, as relevant.
• Familiarity with the relevant data collection software, preferably Kobo Toolbox, Activity info, Commcare, ODK, DEEP, nvivo.
• Experience in statistical software, SPSS, R and visualisation tools such as PowerBi.
• Certification in Advance MEAL programme/course

Education:

• A Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (international development, social sciences, statistics, M&E, public health, etc.) + at least 5 years of relevant experience, including in research methods and generation of evidence based data
• A Master’s degree in relevant field + at least 5 years of relevant experience

Languages: (indicate fluency level)

• English (fluent)
  • Local language (desirable)

Key stakeholders: (internal and external)

• Senior Management, including SMT
• Area Management
• Technical Coordinators