The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer (3) At Concordis International

We are looking for three MEAL Specialists, one of whom will also be a Senior MEAL Manager. These specialists, peacebuilders at heart, will be stationed in our various hubs in CAR – Paoua, Ndele and Birao. In addition to serving in one of the hubs, the Senior MEAL Manager will have additional responsibilities in the Central Africa Regional Program, as delegated by the Regional MEAL Manager.

As a MEAL Manager, your work will go beyond simply reporting on logframe results and impacts, important as these are. With your experience in peacebuilding, under the guidance of the Regional MEAL Manager, you will help develop sophisticated indicators to measure these changes over time and be responsible for their implementation in the hub, in collaboration with the team. You will integrate this information into programme implementation to ensure that programmes remain accountable to the wider population and adapt to the fragile and rapidly changing contexts in which we work.

You will also use your writing and publishing skills to produce more informal information, telling the stories of the impact of our work and disseminating the recommendations emerging from the dialogues we facilitate. This will help us amplify the voices often ignored by decision-makers, leading to evidence-based policymaking.

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer (3)

Location: Implementation hubs in the Districts/Prefectures in CAR – Paoua, Ndele and Birao

Reporting: CARP Regional MEAL Manager, and administratively, to the Hub Manager

Supervision: No supervisory role – except for occasional interns

Salary: €1,200 to €1,500 gross of taxes (depending on location). 33 days of annual leave including all public and religious holidays (plus R&R, accommodation and food allowance in the Hubs)

Status: The candidate must be a national of the country of the position for which he/she is applying.

Functions and Responsibilities:

Contribute to the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in the assigned Hub:

• Implement monitoring and evaluation systems for the program at the Hub
• Collect and analyze data on transhumance flows and conflict dynamics in the coverage area
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis to assess the effectiveness of our peacebuilding initiatives and the impact of our activities
• Monitoring social cohesion among communities
• Contribute to the identification and protection of designated vulnerable groups, including women and girls in the coverage area
• Design the implementation plan to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program at the Hub level
• Assist with IT support and training at the Hub level.

Responsible for monitoring and evaluating the program at the Hub level:

• Ensure that the programme adapts and evolves to meet identified needs, while remaining accountable to conflict-affected communities
• Assess the impact of climate change on conflict in the designated region
• Monitor against the Theory of Change and ensure the program is achieving the desired impact. If not, identify what needs to change to achieve the intended impact
• Monitor against performance indicators to verify that the project meets the indicators. Identify issues and agree action plans to address them
• Capture learnings and identify what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be done differently to achieve desired outcomes and impact.

Responsible for producing timely internal and external reports:

• Contribute to the production of monthly and semi-annual reports for all activities at Hub and country level
• Generate clear, professional and visually appealing reports that explain the impact of our work and the recommendations from our dialogues
• Work with the communications team to produce informal articles, tell the impact of our work and publish recommendations from the dialogues we facilitate.

In addition to the above, the Senior MEAL Manager will support the Regional MEAL Manager and contribute to:

• Ensure that program staff understand the role of MEAL in their work and have the skills to use the required systems and collect information
• Provide training and coaching on MEAL techniques to the extended team
• Collect and analyze baseline information for baseline assessments
• Interpret and analyze trends in the region related to peace and security and their impact on the program and activities
• Provide high quality feedback and input to stakeholders
• Develop and maintain region-wide monitoring systems and reporting schedules
• Represent the Regional MEAL Manager in his absence

Person Specification:

Essential :

• At least 3 years of experience in peacebuilding in complex environments, preferably in the region and/or country
• Proven experience in evaluating the impact of peacebuilding work
• Professional level in French, and exceptional writing skills in French or English, able to produce highly professional reports for various audiences
• Willing to be based at the designated Hub office and provide MEAL support to the designated Hub, as well as other Hubs in-country as required
• Demonstrable experience in monitoring, evaluating and learning from peace processes
• Degree in social sciences, statistics or related field
• Excellent computer skills including MS Office and large data analysis tools
• Personal effectiveness, resourcefulness, organizational skills and the ability to demonstrate flexibility and good humor in difficult circumstances
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to adapt to difficult field conditions
• Familiarity with conflict-sensitive approaches
• Sensitivity to cultural diversity and political sensitivities and ability to address these issues with tact, diplomacy and sensitivity
• Commitment to Concordis’ mission, principles and values ​​(available at https://concordis.international/vision-and-purpose )

Each MEAL Manager will be responsible for their assigned hub, contributing to the overall program objectives while addressing challenges specific to the local context.

For the Senior MEAL Manager, in addition to the above:

• Advanced degree in statistics, data science or related field
• Advanced skills in statistical analysis and data interpretation
• 4+ years of experience in MEAL, preferably in peacebuilding contexts
• Strong quantitative and data analysis skills
• Proficiency in statistical software and data visualization tools
• Strong project management and consulting skills
• Experience in the Central African region desired

The Senior MEAL Manager will play a critical role in ensuring the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of our program through robust data analysis and evidence-based decision making.

Desirable:

• Excellent communication skills in English and French for report writing and stakeholder engagement
• Ability to work in complex and multicultural environments
• Work experience in the region
• Experience in video editing
• Practical experience and/or training in NGO security management

Information on the Central African Border Zones Program:

The objective of the programme is to prevent and mitigate the impact of local conflicts in the border areas of the Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Chad and Darfur, Sudan. All four countries rely heavily on agro-pastoral activities, including cross-border transhumance: the seasonal movement of livestock across borders in search of good pastures.

The four-year programme aims to address the root causes of instability and conflict in Central Africa, particularly those associated with the practice of transhumance, by improving the resilience of cross-border communities, strengthening local and border security and promoting local dialogue, conflict resolution and cross-border cooperation.

The programme builds on the work that Concordis has been carrying out with local communities in CAR and Sudan for over ten years and which it was recently invited by local representatives to extend to the border areas of Chad and Cameroon.

The program has three specific objectives:

1. Manage agro-pastoral conflicts in border areas by establishing and/or supporting local community mechanisms for conflict prevention and management, with the active participation of women and young people.
2. Reduce illegal actions and agro-pastoral conflicts in and around protected areas (including national parks) near the border by establishing effective working partnerships between managers of these areas and local stakeholders.
3. Strengthen cross-border local governance and contribute to local and high-level dialogues around conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Program activities will include:

1. Consultation studies to understand the needs of local communities and identify conflict drivers.
2. Strengthen or establish Local Advisory Groups for conflict prevention and management and to strengthen the resilience of local communities.
3. Workshops to address the root causes of conflict and identify ways to transform conflict.
4. Training of protected area managers, including national parks, and local communities using the areas in conflict resolution and mediation to enable them to identify and resolve tensions and conflicts around park use.
5. Facilitating cross-border agreements, building on the success of existing agreements, including the Laws of Engagement between local authorities in the CAR and Chad.

The nature of this regional programme means that the approach will change depending on the local nuances of the conflict.