Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) At Norwegian Refugee Council

Background

NRC Jordan is looking for a senior leader to provide guidance and technical direction to its MEAL program portfolio. The Head of MEAL will oversee the NRC Jordan Country Office’s monitoring, evaluation, accountability as well as drive institutional learning on durable solutions programming at a field and regional level. For the 2022-25 Country Strategy, NRC Jordan has a dedicated objective to revise the country program’s MEAL systems to support durable solutions programming, which will require significant revisions to the current monitoring system. The Head of MEAL oversees a unit of approximately 20 staff, which sit in three teams: a dedicated complaint and feedback mechanism team, which includes Safe and Inclusive Programming (SIP); a research team; and, an M&E team.

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Duties and responsibilities

Generic responsibilities:

Responsible to develop the Country Office (CO) monitoring, evaluation and learning strategy, responding to contextual challenges but also ensuring alignment with the regional strategy and global M&E framework, policy and strategy.
Develop CO specific M&E SOPs responding to contextual challenges, according to NRC’s M&E minimum standards ensuring necessary resources
Technical input to program monitoring and evaluation plans, including methodological guidance and resource planning
Ensuring the roll out and use of global and regional M&E developments at the CO level. Also leading new technical developments to respond to M&E needs in the context.
Provide technical M&E support, guidelines and capacity building across the CO.
Line manage CO M&E staff and capacity building for area office M&E staff
Ensuring learning moments are institutionalized in the CO, with systems in place for analyzing and using M&E data and supporting program and CMG to interpret and use learning for strategic and program decision making. This includes contributing to the development, learning and adaptation of a multi-year program strategies.
Lead the processes and design of country office and program level monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring the learning is integrated, accurate and relevant.
Ensure planning and quality control of all monitoring and evaluation activities throughout the PCM cycle, including technical support for Theory of Change, M&E plans, indicator reference sheets, data quality assessments and evaluation processes.
Ensuring systems /processes are in place to ensure high quality reporting in NRC’s Global Output and Outcome Reporting System (GORS).

Specific responsibilities:

Design, lead, and manage Country Office and program level monitoring and evaluation systems ensuring the learning is integrated, accurate and relevant. Ensure the findings and M&E systems are institutionalized.
Manage a team of approximately 20 staff and provide high quality technical support to program departments across four programmatic core competencies.
Work with programme teams to ensure technical soundness of program hypothesis, M&E plans, indicator reference sheets and conduct data quality verifications and assessments.
Participate in program design and proposal discussions, including through theory of change development, log frame design, and budgeting for M&E
Ensure the central complaint response and feedback mechanism (CRFM) is functioning in all office locations, and that the learning is systematically feeding into program development. Invest into continued improvement of the system.
Ensure Safe and Inclusive Programming (SIP) action plan is implemented by the SIP Coordinator in collaboration with teams across NRC Jordan.
Develop and maintain strategic learning partnership with key relevant academic and research institutions to enhance internal learning and advocacy efforts of NRC Jordan
Co/Lead and/or provide technical contributions to research and evaluation studies (such as baselines, process, performance, outcome and impact evaluations or meta-analysis across different programming) as needed
Manage research grants and budget, as necessary.
Oversee the Country Office’s integrated assessment. Engage with external stakeholder to ensure alignment and best practices in country wide vulnerability assessments.
In coordination with the Specialists and the Head of Program and in line with the 2022-25 Country Program Strategy, lead the development of the country’s learning agenda on durable solutions programming.

Critical interfaces:

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

Core Competencies Advisers
Area Managers
Project Managers
Field M&E Teams
Grant coordinator
Program Adviser
Advocacy Coordinator

Competencies

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

Required Professional Competencies:

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience in design, implementation, and oversight of monitoring, evaluation, and research for large to mid-scale international projects
At least 3 years of experience in leadership and management of large teams
Advanced degree in economics, research methods, social sciences or a related field
Technical knowledge needed to both design rigorous research methods and instruments (including non-experimental, experimental and quasi-experimental designs)
Technical competency and prior experience implementing various program evaluation methodologies and approaches;
Excellent analytic, communication, interpersonal, writing, collaboration, problem-solving, planning/organizing, and facilitation skills;
Experience working with databases and Microsoft products. Experience with SPSS/STATA/R or Python is strongly preferred;
Experience working with mobile tools for collecting data like ODK and Survey CTO a plus
Experience working with qualitative data analysis and tools like Nvivo, a plus
Fluency in spoken and written English. Knowledge of Arabic is an asset
Knowledge of the political situation of the Syria Crisis is an asset
Expertise within one of NRC’s core competencies is an asset

Required Behavioural Competencies:

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, and the following are essential for this position:

Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision
Ability and willingness to work and live under difficult circumstances
Ability to engage and motivate staff in a challenging program area
Good coordination skills
Goal oriented and visionary
Patient, flexible and creative, and it helps if you have a sense of humour

Performance Management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews: