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Oxfam programme in Iraq has been started in 2014 responding to the humanitarian needs of the displaced population as a result of the war against ISIS. We are currently implementing humanitarian and development projects in Diyala, Anbar, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Salahaddin Governorates. Oxfam Iraq has three programs namely the humanitarian response program, governance program, and equality program. The program focuses on multi-sectoral projects delivering water supply, sanitation, and hygiene support, livelihoods and economic support, gender, and protection.
Oxfam will also focus on the establishment and rolling out of MEAL/program quality strategy and protocols for the country programs to ensure the minimum MEAL requirements/standards are in place and followed. The reputation of Oxfam’s programs in Iraq has been built with quality programming. The ambition to grow further to respond to the scale of needs in the country requires attention to program quality.
Our team is MEAL and Programme Quality, and we are primarily concerned with how to enhance program quality through monitoring, evaluation, learning, and accountability (MEAL) in order to achieve a greater impact. The MEAL and Programme Quality Lead will lead and coordinate the MEAL and Programme Quality department at the country and field office levels. He/she is primarily responsible for ensuring that the project design, monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning, and reporting processes meet Oxfam’s minimum program quality standards for programming and CAMSA standards.
The purpose of the MEAL and Program Quality Lead is to ensure the development and implementation of an effective and coordinated MEAL and program quality framework and system of the Oxfam Programs in Iraq, in accordance with Oxfam program quality and CAMSA standards.
The PQ_MEAL Lead will closely work with the programme team to improve the processes of optimizing reporting and presentation of information Interacting with various functions and stakeholders (internal and external) to accomplish compliance and implementation of Oxfam’s Programme Quality standards.
He/she will also manage the MEAL & Programme Quality team and collaborate closely with all program teams on MEAL & program quality activities for the program, ensuring quality programming, delivery, and learning based on evidence of impact at the field level.
core details |
| Location: | Erbil, with frequent travel to field locations (50%) to MEAL & PQ technical support |
| Salary: | According to OXFAM salary scale |
| Internal Grade: | C1-National |
| Division | MEAL and Program Quality | Job Family: | Programme |
| Contract type: | Open to International Applicants only – Fixed contract |
| Hours of work: | 40 hours per week. This is a full-time role; however, Oxfam offers various flexible arrangements which candidates can discuss with the Recruiting Manager at interview stage |
| This role reports to: | DCD Programme |
| Staff reporting to this post: | 2 (Senior MEAL & PQ Officer and MEAL & PQ Officer) |
| Annual budget for the post: | N/A, this position doesn’t hold any budget management responsibility |
| Key relationships/interactions: | Oxfam program teams, Local Partners, Volunteers, and Local community Structures |
| Screening checks: | All successful candidates will be screened through Refinitiv World-Check One to comply with counter terrorism and financial sanctions regulations. |
| References: | Should you be successful and not already employed by Oxfam GB, we will require a minimum of two references covering five years of employment history. |
| DBS checks (for roles based in the UK): It is a requirement in the UK for a new DBS check at enhanced level for every new member of staff who works directly with, or has regular contact with, children or vulnerable adults in the UK (consistent with DBS guidance and relevant law). | N/A |
Technical
Programme Planning/Design, Development and Programme Quality:
- Support country programme processes, particularly on logic of intervention (country program logical frameworks and MEAL framework/plans) and contribute to ensuring adherence to Oxfam’s program quality standards and CAMSA.
- Take the lead on annual Program Quality Reviews/PQR/ and learning events for programs/projects in accordance with Oxfam Program Quality Review/PQR/ standards and guidelines. Ensure that program quality review meetings and other learning events are integrated into Oxfam programming to improve program quality.
- Assist with the planning, coaching and execution of internal and external quality system and process related to 11 Oxfam PQ standards and potentially standard 1,4,5,8 standards.
- Support the deployment of processes and establish metrics to monitor process compliance (process evaluation) against previously mentioned plans, following activities defined in the Programme Quality Action Plan for Iraq.
- Lead the creation of the program plans and establish Quality assurance plans.
- Identify risks and issues and establish relevant quality alerts to highlight process deviations that are creating a risk to the program commitments.
- Lead the development of logical frameworks and MEAL plans in project proposals, in consultation with the Business Development Manager and program teams (technical leads and PMs).
- Responsible for estimating and setting MEAL resources in proposals’ budgets. Check the inclusion of an adequate MEAL/PQ budget for MEAL activities & staffing in the new proposals based on CAMSA standards
- Review project proposals and program development to ensure project logic and PQ standards are met.
- Develop a comprehensive annual and/or quarterly MEAL & PQ work plan for Oxfam’s country programs in Iraq and track its implementation on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis, with the MEAL/PQ and program team at all levels
- Develop a MEAL/PQ strategy for Oxfam in Iraq country programs, including MEAL/PQ guidelines and tools for various programs/projects, that is aligned with Oxfam OCS program quality and CAMSA standards, in consultation with the Deputy Country Director and Country Director.
- Contributing to and Participating in the MENA Program Quality Community of Practice
MEAL System Development, Implementation, and Data/Information Management
- Undertake overall leadership and provide technical support to Oxfam and partners’ teams in designing and ensuring the operationalization and implementation of effective MEAL strategies and plans for all programs at all levels in accordance with Oxfam and donor standards and requirements
- To define specific processes, methodologies, and tools for MEAL and reporting in line with Oxfam principles and minimum requirements, working closely with Oxfam and partner project teams
- Oversee and support MEAL and project staff in the timely implementation of monitoring framework and tools, to ensure quality and consistent information is available on program performance and impact.
- Oversee and quality assurance of all field data collection exercises, data management, and analysis. Review the existing data management system and take the lead in establishing strong & effective Data/Information Management systems for Oxfam in Iraq programs/projects at all levels.
- Develop an online data/information management system to track the total number of beneficiaries reached and outputs achieved through Oxfam Iraq programs/projects.
- Create a Power BI platform that is integrated with an online data/information management system in order to generate or create interactive Power BI dashboards for information sharing.
- Review and approve reports with qualitative and quantitative MEAL findings.
- Identify, test, and roll out new monitoring approaches and methods (e.g., mobile data collection, participatory methods).
- Conduct monitoring/field visits in each field office to ensure the quality of the programs/projects in accordance with the quality & monitoring checklists developed for this purpose, as well as to assess project achievement against the targets.
- Act as a focal point for Oxfam’s beneficiary counting methodology and lead the establishment of an improved beneficiary database system (including needs assessment, engaging appropriate technical support, and supporting roll-out across the program).
- Lead the country programs’ annual reporting (Oxfam Output Reporting (OOR), One Program Report/OPR/, Country Operational Report/COR/, and Country Quarterly Management Report/CQMR/) in collaboration with technical leads and area managers.
- Work closely with the Gender Justice Lead in ensuring that all MEAL processes, methodologies, and tools are gender sensitive. Ensure MEAL feminist principles are embedded in all MEAL/PQ work and understood/implemented by the MEAL and program team.
Accountability:
- Develop and continuously update accountability strategy and lead the establishment of nationwide feedback and complaint mechanisms in line with Oxfam standards.
- Ensure that accountability and community feedback mechanisms are implemented and utilized according to agreed principles and following the minimum standards of accountability
- Share accountability findings and report with program teams and senior management.
People Management (Technical Supervision of MEAL/PQ Team)
- Provide technical supervision of MEAL and PQ staff and ensure that staff receive adequate training, mentoring, and coaching.
- Manage the performance of the MEAL and PQ staff including objective setting, personal development plans, and performance appraisal.
Leadership
Evaluations, Review, Learning and Knowledge Management:
- Share relevant MEAL findings with program teams and management in the appropriate format to ensure the whole organization benefits from and applies program learning.
- Act as lead and liaison point for external evaluations and initiatives and ensure that learning from these processes is disseminated and acted upon.
- Design and manage evaluations in compliance with Oxfam’s evaluation policy, from the development of ToR to advising management on approval of the final report, to dissemination of evaluation findings and recommendations with intended audiences.
- Monitor and ensure that a management response to the findings and recommendations of evaluations is completed, recorded, and followed up for implementation.
- Provide technical support and guidance for MEAL/PQ and the program team on designing of survey/evaluation/assessment tools, sampling methodology, data analysis, visualization, and report writing.
- Support the project team and partners in extracting lessons learned and good practices, and documenting case studies that demonstrate qualitative and quantitative changes over the period.
- Ensure that data from surveys, assessments, and evaluations, among other sources, are used by the Programme and Funding teams to improve Programme Quality during the design and implementation stages.
- Analyze documentation and reporting of assessments, program data, lessons learned, evaluations, and best practices to guide internal and external sharing.
Management
Capacity Building, Coordination, and Networking
- Ensure proper MEAL and PQ coordination and streamlining structures between Oxfam and partners are in place.
- Ensure the project teams and relevant staff know and use the Program Quality Standards and tools
- Organize different pieces of training for Oxfam and partners MEAL/PQ and program team (CAMSA, Program Quality, Project Monitoring, Oxfam Beneficiary Counting Principles, MEAL Basics, Accountability, PowerBI, SurveyCTO, and so on)
- Ensure that Oxfam’s MEAL and PQ system is linked to wider inter-agency MEAL initiatives and developments and liaise with technical teams to ensure coordination with sectoral working groups.
- Engage with professional peers to share knowledge and to identify best practices in other countries/agencies relevant to Oxfam which can contribute to our own understanding and development of MEAL & PQ.
- Delivering MEAL & PQ-related responsibilities assigned by the line manager.
Other
- Required to adhere to Oxfam’s principles and values as well as the promotion of gender justice and women’s rights
- Understanding of and commitment to adhere to equity, diversity, gender, child safety and staff health and wellbeing principles