MEAL Coordinator At MENTOR Initiative

Duration: 6 months (renewable)
Start Date: ASAP

Closing date of application: 26th May 2023

Reporting to: Country Director

Mentor started operations in CAR in 2008 and has since then steadily increasing activities in several parts of the country, channelling primary healthcare services through a network of community health workers and health facilities. Mentor’s target population are mothers and children, specifically those who are displaced as a result of the ongoing violence and insecurity in most parts of the country.

Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning in Mentor’s program cycles has the objective to remain accountable to communities in need, national authorities and donors and to further improve the quality of our work. Mentor’s MEAL operational procedures need to describe basic project/programme monitoring and evaluations, including tools and processes to develop management tools and learning from evaluations. The current system needs to be updated to meet future MoH-, donor- and Mentor requirements.

The MEAL coordinator is a member of the Country Management Team (CMT) and as such responsible for the development of the mission’s program strategies and for the quality of the health programmes all along the project cycle, in particular on the level of monitoring and evaluation. S/he works closely with the HPC and field medical coordinators.

Overall Job Purpose:

The MEAL Coordinator provides methodological support to all the Mentor program teams. S/he also guarantees the quality and the relevance of any monitoring activities and internal and external evaluations carried out on the mission, together with any recommendations and analysis provided.

S/he is involved with experience capitalisation and contributes to the development of Mentor’s strategy, by providing a support framework for the programs in terms of monitoring, evaluation and integration of any “cross-functional issues” (type, protection, accountability, negative impact, community participation, disability inclusion, etc.). The MEAL Coordinator will make the learning process a functional part of Mentor’s overall capacity to implement quality programs.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Enable accountability through monitoring systems in donor reporting and outcomes tracking.
• Support donor reporting and proposal development.
• Track data to highlight trends, concerns, and areas in need of response.
• Train a second data manager to input and analyse data when it comes from the field.
• Provide recommendations as to requirements, gap, training needs for MEAL programme in country.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

• Review existing MEAL procedures and make recommendations to the Country Management Team for improvements.
• Then work with the team to build capacity in MEAL at national and field level by producing a MEAL guideline and field training package.
• Review indicators and donor requirements across the country programme to identify gaps, areas for improvement and recommendations.
• Work with the Country Management Team to ensure data is managed and analysed effectively and proposals and reports are produced in a timely and accurate manner.
• Track data for epidemiological trends and areas of concern that may require a response.

TIMEFRAME DELIVERABLES

• First month: review existing M&E/ MEAL systems (field and capital levels). Consultations with MoH and other stakeholders to identify expected results and indicators.
• Second month: share the first updated MEAL framework draft with counterparts for inputs and comments. Facilitate consensus workshop.
• Third month: adjust and finalize MEAL framework and associated guidelines expected results and indicators.
• From then on under, in close cooperation with the Health Porgramme Coordinator, ensure the effective implementation of the evaluation policy, set minimum monitoring and evaluation requirements for the Mentor mission, and initiate thematic evaluations.
• Ensure that objective evaluation is designed and managed to assess the programme relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability of results.
• Evaluations carried out in a credible and systematic manner; evaluation lessons and recommendations are used for further programme design, and donor priorities.
• 6th month: finalizing terms of reference for future monitoring and evaluation, including operational consequences.

Job requirements:

– Higher level degree in epidemiology / Public health.

– Minimum 3 years of experience in a similar position.

– Ideally experienced in MEAL framework design, development and evaluation.

– Experience conducting quantitative and qualitative field research in an overseas environment and in conflict zones or complex emergencies.

– Experience designing and/or facilitating staff trainings and/or experience supporting capacity building projects in a humanitarian, development, or transition context.

– Experience working in sensitive contexts where an understanding of gender and social inclusion and familiarity with or experience in Protection programming including work responding to gender-based violence.

– Fluency in French, with good verbal and written English skills.

-Strong skills in Epi-data & Excel.