MEAL Coordinatior

JOB OPPORTUNITY

MEAL Coordinator – KIRKUK

Ashor Iraqi Foundation for Relief and Development ( ARD) is a non-profit LNGO established in 2015 and registered in 2019 in the Iraqi Federal government and KRI , Ashor is youth-led organization which is leading by youth who were working in senior positions with INGOs like Tdh , Save the Children , G4S , US embassy , Islamic Relief , ..etc .

Ashor is using international systems, Polices and SOPs through transfer the knowledge from its senior management staff .

Ashor has implemented many projects serving vulnerable people in many Iraqi governorates to reach a world of optimism, and to focus mainly on programs of Social Cohesion ,Livelihood , Economic empowerment , climate change , Agriculture /Food security  Education and protection programs .

Ashor seven five bases in Iraq, the HQ in Kirkuk, and the other bases in Erbil, Ninewa, Salah Al-Din, Diyala, and Anbar governorates . In addition in south of Iraq including Basra and Dhi-Qar governorates 

Job Purpose: 

Monitoring, Evaluation Accountability & Learning (MEAL) Coordinator role is to provide technical support, coordinate all programs, and project task around MEAL. This role will be responsible to lead and support the development and maintenance of a results based MEAL frameworks throughout Ashor programs; tracks and reports on project progress against targets & standards, measures and provides evidence on the impact of Ashor’s interventions, learns & responds to beneficiary feedback within predefined standards, and with centralized accurate data available for both internal & external learning & reporting purposes. 

The position will be required to establish & mainstream MEAL systems for direct and partner implementation in Ashor Iraq. This position will also be leading on Accountability processes within the Ashor projects, and will coordinate all MEAL tasks & communication with internal & external entities and largely support the Ashor donor reporting and managing the data.   

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITES

Technical Leadership, System development & Management

• Support the in the process of developing MEAL strategy and processes in line to the Country strategy making sure there are clear strategy realization plans & establish measurement processes, clearly outline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and methodologies.
• Establish and maintain (up to date) country level macro assessments / context assessments on a regular basis.
• Leading in the overall MEAL system and ensure synergy between the different M&E, humanitarian and development accountability & learning processes.
• Develop the overall MEAL system based on local capacity, cost-effective approaches and sustainable processes.
• Build a team of highly committed and competent staff, ensuring cooperation and coordination among relevant staff within the MEAL team.
• Mentor, coach and provide opportunities for the professional growth of direct reports and ensure all on boarding and performance process are performed as per policy and follow the Ashor child protection policy.
• Oversee and responsible for supporting proposal development budget, MEAL indicators and tools and ensure the log frame is fully compliant to the proposal design.
• Closely works with all department to implement Ashor program and projects with high quality MEAL task well managed.

Design, Monitoring, Implementation & Reporting

• Work closely and ensure all approved projects have well defined cost effective M&E, accountability & Information management processes that are aligned to the country level MEAL framework and meet the required standards.
• Take lead of the impact assessment process for Ashor programs on a regular basis, in close collaboration with the Head of Program and Operations and other project lead.
• Establish systems that enable monitoring of partners & direct implementation on a regular basis for quality standards.
• Ensure the effective functioning of the MEAL system and generate reports for analysis and timely quality reporting.
• Ensure MEAL findings are presented at the program review meetings on a monthly basis.
• Establish and ensure the establishment of a National Monitoring Dashboard that will integrate critical indicators of access progress and sharing program results.
• Ensure beneficiaries and partners have constant access to information about Ashor’s programs and to channels that can process complaints & feedback with confidentiality & respond appropriately within predefined standards.
• Lead on undertaking accountability responsibility and plan action to report and implement on Ashor accountability policy and procedures. 
• Ensure high standards of stewardship and accountability, work with all departments to build a strong internal control environment, ensuring compliance with Ashor policies and procedures and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability.
• Lead and provide guidance to all senior manager’s /project manager’s /Coordinators/officers and other staff for optimum quality MEAL outputs.
• Manage and mitigate any risks within the MEAL processes and project delivery that could have impact on data and reputation of ARD .

Project closeout, Evaluations, & learning

• Establish a learning culture within the organization and among implementing partners to document learnings and best practices for ongoing and future programing. 
• Ensure all country level & thematic researches are reviewed for methodological thoroughness, and output quality. 
• Lead and coordinate project and program level evaluations on a periodic basis, and ensure the recommendations are used to inform future programming.
• Ensure all MEAL related data, reports, and records are clearly organized archived in a central location for future reference.
• Provide support in developing TORs for evaluations.
• Track the performance of the project activities and outputs against expected results and adjust implementation processes to ensure the project is progressing towards the intended outcomes.
• Analyze the impact of project and promote learning by documentation of best-practices. Use this information to support decision-making processes

Capacity building & management

• Ensure all MEAL staff supervised by this position are guided, mentored and their capacities built in order to deliver high quality outputs.
• Ensure all relevant ARD’s frontline & technical staff are assisted in strengthening their understanding of MEAL concepts & competencies and are equipped with knowledge, tools and resources to support MEAL functions at project and program level, as part of the MEAL system establishment.
• Ensure partner capacity is built to comply and produce high quality M&E products in-line with ARD & donor standards & requirements.
• Ensure management of day-to-day M&E tasks are completed with appropriate resources, proper planning and to the highest standard required. 
• Sign off on all Surveys (Impact assessment, Post implementation monitoring studies, baselines, evaluations) for sharing with within and outside the organization.
• Support and take responsibility on other task as assigned by the Line manager and Response Director.

Accountability, Coordination and Quality Assurance

• Ensure the humanitarian and development accountability system across the ARD programs uphold and mainstream i. information sharing, ii. Consultation, iii. Participation & iv. Complaints and response of affected people.
• Lead on planning and implementing accountability systems, processes and activities in consultation with the Line Manager.
• Ensure clear communication & strong coordination is maintained at all level internally and externally.
• Support and coordinate with Technical Advisors and Resource development teams in developing proposals and project specific quality benchmarks to ensure quality.
• Ensure ARD is well represented in MEAL related working groups and forums at local & national levels.

Qualifications & Preferred Skills

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE

• Minimum of 4 – 6 experience in the field of MEAL coordinated role, and experience on developing country level MEAL framework and systems. 
• Proven experience in establishing a fully functional MEAL system for an organization that’s supported by bilateral & multilateral international donors.
• Proven experience in leading Surveys (mix methodologies) from designing to report writing. 
• Proven experience in local staff capacity building
• Experience in coordinating MEAL functions at a national level for an INGO covering some of the following sectors / thematic areas is critical: Health, Cash, Food, WASH, shelter, Climate resilience, Education, GESI, Child protection, livelihoods and economic development.
• Ability to perform well under pressure and comply with donors & partnership deadlines is essential.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Demonstrated understanding of the NGO sector, public sector planning.
• Experience in Local partner mapping and partnering as subs and project implementation. Desirable 
• Excellent analytical/problem-solving skills and detail-orientation
• Excellent English communication skills (oral and written)
• Proven organizational skills and time management
• Excellent computer skills, familiarity with MS Word, Lotus Notes, MS Excel and Power Point would be an added advantage
• Ability to maintain performance expectations in diverse cultural contexts, psychologically stressful environments, and physical hardship conditions with limited resources
• Master’s degree preferably in the field of Statistics, Economics, social sciences, computer science, public health, nutrition, International relations, development studies or in any related field.
• Thorough knowledge in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, and analysis is essential, especially the use of SPSS / “R” software’s for quantitative analysis.
• Thorough knowledge in writing technical MEAL reports is essential. 
• Thorough knowledge on Sphere, Core humanitarian standards, child rights, human rights, DNH, HAP & DAC evaluation criteria are essential.
• Thorough knowledge on the humanitarian operations coordination, cluster operations, and major donor M&E requirements is essentials. 
• Thorough knowledge on the long term development programs, operations coordination, and major donor M&E requirements is essentials. 
• Good understanding on database management and data structures.
• Thorough knowledge of ARD processes such as Child-Wellbeing, M&E framework would be an advantage.
• Good understanding of the work of major donors (EC, ECHO, USAID, UNICEF, UNHCR, UK AID, WFP etc.)
• Proven good knowledge of the Convention on Child Rights.
• English required, Arabic and/or Kurdish preferred 

Application should contain the following attachment:

Curriculum Vitae ( PDF)

Two up to date and recent references required (write in CV).

Please submit your CV in English to [email protected] and with “MEAL Coordinatior” in the subject line

The deadline is 13-Nov-2024, by 4:30 pm. Only short-listed applications will subsequently be called for interview. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The short-listed candidates will have to travel at their own expense to the place of recruitment. No compensation whatsoever will be given for transport or other.