Regional MEAL and Program Quality Manager At Community Organized Relief Effort

CORE is an international NGO focused on emergency response. We are a dynamic, flexible, and fast-paced group of people. Our Ukraine regional team is looking for a Regional MEAL and Program Quality Manager. This person will join a team of experienced people focused on meeting the needs of affected communities; a team that listens to these communities’ needs; adheres to international humanitarian standards; works with both local, international, and institutional partners to ensure a timely, effective, and efficient response. As the MEAL and Program Quality Manager you will have the overall responsibility for coordinating monitoring and evaluating programs both at the regional and country level ensuring accountability to all stakeholders, especially to affected communities we serve. This will include developing an appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, adapt and implement data collection and analysis tools, mechanisms and systems based on a coherent monitoring framework. This role will ensure functioning monitoring processes that allow management to make informed decisions about our programming and ensure improvements in our response and program quality. This role will also ensure CORE programs and partners are implementing quality programs that integrates gender and protection and builds the capacity of and empowers local partners and organizations.

We require all employees to comply with our Mandatory Vaccination Policy. As a condition of employment individuals will be asked to provide proof of compliance to this policy

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

MEAL:

Ensure CORE Ukraine, Poland and Romania has a solid MEAL framework in place and that relevant tools adapted to various implementing modalities are in place.
Ensure each country office has an efficient control system in place to monitor compliance with MEL framework
Ensure MEAL team’s priorities are well aligned with CO priorities and ongoing work and works closely with the program teams.
Ensure applicability, logic and quality of MEAL SoP’s and guidelines to address remote management gaps and challenges if applicable.
Ensure CORE Ukraine regional data consolidation process is adapted to various modalities as well as realistic and practical solutions are implemented to avoid incoherent data and double counting.
Setup the Accountability Mechanism for all CORE Ukraine regional countries (Ukraine, Poland, and Romania)
Identify gaps in the capacities and knowledge of the data management and work closely with CO teams and HQ address them.
Identify and develop lessons learned and case study documents to highlight the work of CORE in Ukraine, Poland and Romania.
Ensure that collected learnings and recommendations are shared with the relevant departments across the CORE Ukraine offices and HQ for their actions and follow up.

Develop and Promote Program Quality across CORE Ukraine offices (Ukraine, Poland and Romania):

Feed into the overall program strategy, providing data and analysis as required for strategic purposes and new program design, including proposal development.
Ensure that all grant proposals include solid MEAL, Gender, Protection and Partnerships inputs and costs.
Identify gaps, challenges and risks in the areas related to Program Quality of CORE Ukraine and work with the relevant Program lead on addressing them.
Contribute to decision making process to improve program quality across CORE Ukraine programming.
Develop CORE Ukraine’s regional/CO program quality framework/strategy.
Develop Ukraine’s regional/CO Program Quality systems ensuring they are aligned with CHS and contribute to the development of CORE’s PQ standards.
Ensure findings from monitoring, AAR and other reports are integrated and included in program design/redesign and implementation and share with teams for learning and adaptive management.
Initiate the development of gender action plans (GAPs) for all partners and provide consistent follow up to ensure that program managers are implementing as per plan.
Ensure sufficient review of GAPs with partners and CORE Program teams, capturing learning from GAP processes and synthesizing GAP lessons across the hub.
Periodically review the tools, process, and systems that allow the program to embed gender sensitive approach in COs design and implementation processes, adapting based on learning and need.
Support Program, Grants and Sub-Grants Teams on the use of gender responsive budgeting. Teams should be able to adequately cost the function of supporting females, children and people with vulnerabilities and disabilities to access and benefit from project activities in both protected and less secure/safe project locations.

Partnerships and Capacity Building:

Build the capacity of partners on monitoring and accountability
Ensure the pool of partners working with Ukraine, Poland and Romania’s offices are meeting CORE’s requirements for programing.
Ensure CORE is providing enough support to implementation partners through mentoring, coaching and structured trainings that are pre-identified and scheduled using capacity development plans.
Work with the Grants Management Manager to develop CORE’s capacity-building approach and toolkits.
Work with Grants Management Manager in conducting regular reviews of CORE’s partnership approach and partnership management system including contributions to the development and follow-up of the revision of the existing processes and tools.
Coordinate with peers and the relevant coordination mechanisms to avoid duplication and maximize impact on partners

Team Management and Coordination:

Identify and facilitate opportunities for joint activities and inter-agency collaboration
Help the Country Office to establish joint assessments and compatible monitoring systems collaboratively with national and international agencies responding to the emergency / crisis.
Support participation by CORE’S in joint needs and vulnerability assessments, pre- and post- distribution monitoring initiatives, compatibility of tools and data management systems
Supervise, mentor and coach CO meal staff to produce high quality outputs.
Keep close coordination with the MEAL HQ to exchange updates and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Represent CORE Ukraine in relevant coordination platforms.

Key Interactions:

Internal: Program, MEAL officers, Regional Director, CORE CO Country Directors, Director of International Humanitarian Response , Director of Program Data, Program Data team, VP of Programs

External: Implementing partners, peers, and UN agencies.

**Qualifications:

Required:**

Strong networking capability
Bachelor’s degree in relevant subject
Solid leadership and management skills
Solid experience and skills in negotiation and relationship brokering.
At least 4- 8 years’ experience in a similar role with a local or international NGO
Good command of the English language (written and oral).
Knowledge of Microsoft Office and similar applications. Comfortable learning new software tools.
Knowledge and/or experience of form collection tools, such as Kobo, Google, Smartsheet
Strong organizational skills.
Pro-active and helpful attitude, ready to take on a variety of new tasks.
Ability to multi-task and manage competing priorities.
Strong Program Quality vision and focus
Excellent communication and influencing skills across a range of stakeholders, but particular with partners
Preferred:
Previous experience in a similar role in Ukraine or surrounding region
Polish, Ukrainian, or Romanian or other language experience

Key Competencies:

Ability to work independently within a regional team.
Clear and sensitive communicator with internal and external stakeholders as a representative of CORE.
Strong commitment to CORE’s central values and humanitarian principles.
Effective performer under extreme circumstances including stress, high security risks and harsh living conditions.
Demonstrated awareness and sensitivity to gender and diversity.
Experience and ability to live and work in diverse cultural contexts in a culturally appropriate manner
Demonstrated experience in developing MEAL strategy, frameworks, SOPs, tools and resources and documenting learnings including drafting case studies, learning briefs, etc.
Strong assessment, evaluation, analysis, and strategic planning skills