MEAL Officer

Job Title: MEAL Officer (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Reports to Position Title: Project Manager

Research Project Title: Promotion of Vancouver Principles in Sub-Saharan Africa

Faculty/ Department: Africa Center of Excellence, The Dallaire Institute

FTE (based on 35 paid hr work week): 100%

Duration: 12 months. Full-time

About the Research
The Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security was established by retired Lieutenant-General the Honorable Roméo Dallaire, former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Our mission is to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed violence and transform cycles of violence.

The Dallaire Institute’s African Centre of Excellence has been funded to finance projects specifically designed to strengthen national security sectors’ capacity to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts in Africa.

Job purpose
The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Officer directly contributes to the results achieved by the Dallaire Institute across the countries of focus, in this case, the ones relevant for the PVPSSA project. S/he will report to the country Project Manager of PVPSSA. S/he will work closely with the Africa Center of Excellence (ACoE) team, Global MEAL representatives and country-based teams. The Officer will follow the HQ-level guidance that frames the Dallaire Institute’s approach to MEAL.

Duties and responsibilities

Monitoring

• With support from the country Project Manager, maintain logical frameworks, MEAL plans, and Indicator Progress Tracking Tables (IPTT) for each project in his/her portfolio.
• With support and oversight from the Project Manager, plan and budget for MEAL activities in project proposals.
• Conduct monitoring visits, collect monitoring data, enter, analyze, and report on findings to project leads.
• Review project IPTTs monthly and ensure progress, challenges, and corrective actions are adequately documented by project leads to support decision-making and improved performance.
• Support project leads in preparing project inputs for the Quarterly Program Review meetings.

Evaluation

• With support from the Project Manager, support baseline, midterm (as relevant) and final project evaluations, including the development of ToRs, inception reports, tools, testing of tools, data collection, analysis and reporting as well as advertising and managing external consultants whenever relevant.
• Participates in the development and revision of project targets based on baseline results.
• Draft baseline and evaluation reports and offer inputs to respond to donor inquiries as relevant.
• As relevant, run ad hoc evaluations or studies of broader scope than project level.
• Support the MEAL manager to conduct country level impact assessments, relevant to the PVPSSA project.

Accountability

• With project staff, develop an accountability mainstreaming framework for each project that describes the stakeholder/beneficiary engagement plan throughout the project life.
• In consultation with project leads and project team, implement accountability tools required to capture beneficiary feedback. Such tools could include FGDs, feedback and complaints forms, etc.
• Periodically review project management response to any feedback and complaints received through accountability channels.

Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• With support from the country Project Manager, and conduct end-of-project lessons learned events, document and share learning and recommendations for future programming. This lesson learned must be validated with the MEAL Manager.
• Provide MEAL advice, and support the project team in the use of MEAL data for decision making as needed.
• As relevant, run ad hoc lessons learned activities to document the experiences of the project or wider program participants.
• Create summary reports of baseline and evaluation reports and disseminate them internally.
• Present overview of baseline and evaluation results with all staff at relevant platforms such as the All-Staff Meeting
• With guidance from the Project Manager, support in the development and facilitation of Communities of Practice.
• Assist with the planning and execution of research-related events with key academic institutions, and convening with Communities of Practice at the PVPSSA

Capacity Building

• Conduct training and ongoing coaching for project staff on MEAL
• As relevant, provide capacity building to project-level partners on MEAL, to ensure timely and quality data and reporting on joint project results.
• Work in close collaboration with the Project Manager to support internal counterparts and external partners to strengthen the quality and consistency of monitoring and evaluation activities in the field.
• Always implement and apply data quality protocols in data collection and analysis.

All staff are additionally responsible to:

• Proactively participate in planning and performance processes as outlined in the Employee Handbook including annual appraisals, regular meetings, and ensuring that annual reviews are an integral component of work plans and priorities.
• Promote a safe and secure work environment in line with the organization’s core values including the Dallaire Institute Workplace Principles and foster strong communication between teams within the organization.
• Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of children, particularly the prevention of the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.
• Comply with Dallaire Institute’s financial and operational requirements and uphold high standards of honesty and integrity in personal conduct.

Qualifications

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field including Statistics, Monitoring & Evaluation, International Development, Performance Management, etc.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in the field of monitoring, evaluation, learning and research.
• Minimum 1 year of experience managing or coordinating communities of practice.

Skills

• Excellent ability to forge relationships at all levels and work across multicultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Adept at handling confidential information with discretion and following Institute research and other professional standards.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to problem-solve in difficult situations.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines.
• Good written and verbal communication skills in English, and strong analytical skills.

Knowledge

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrated experience with both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Strong knowledge of computer applications for information collection, management and dissemination.
• Experience in delivering monitoring and evaluation training in person and remotely.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts to colleagues.

Assets

• International work experience in complex environments, preferably in conflict-affected regions
• Experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa or other fragile contexts.
• Previous participation in multi-country projects.
• Experience with non-profit organizations, and academic or government institutions.

Working conditions
1. Presential role: Due to operational requirements, the successful applicant is required to work in person.

The position is based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the need for regional travel up to 50% of the time.

Supervisory/managerial
The position is an individual contributor who will interact and advise the PVPSSA country team, and must be ready to participate in daily activities.