Please refer to the terms of reference at the following link:
https://plan-international.org/uploads/sites/56/2026/10/TdR_Consultoria_MERL_Venezuela.pdf
1. The Organization: Through its work in 80 developing countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, Plan International seeks to reach as many children and adolescents as possible, particularly those who are excluded or marginalized, through quality programs that generate lasting benefits, partnerships, and effective operations. Plan International promotes children’s rights and is committed to child protection and gender equality. The organization takes steps to ensure that its interventions and the actions of those involved are consistent with its policies of safeguarding, equal opportunities, and non-discrimination.
2. Background The earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, 2026, generated humanitarian needs for children, adolescents, and caregivers. Plan International Venezuela is implementing a national response and recovery operation with a lean operational model, led by local partners, that combines humanitarian response, early recovery, and capacity building in protection, education, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), livelihoods/household stabilization, and partner strengthening. In this context, Plan International requires specialized, long-term services to lead and ensure the quality of the operation’s monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) system, generating useful, reliable, and timely evidence for decision-making, accountability, programmatic learning, and donor reporting.
3. Purpose of the consultancy To provide specialized technical assistance, with technical and organizational autonomy, to design, implement and ensure the quality of the monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) system of the multisectoral programs of Plan International Venezuela and its partner organizations, within the framework of the humanitarian response and recovery.
4. Scope of Services • Design and update MERL frameworks, monitoring plans, indicator matrices, data flows, and collection tools, aligned with Plan International’s MERL Policy and Global Standards. • Ensure data is disaggregated by age, gender, disability, and other relevant criteria, where safe and feasible. • Implement data quality controls, including validation, database review, consistency, integrity, timeliness, and traceability. • Consolidate indicator progress, narrative reports, internal dashboards, and MERL contributions for donor reports and coordination spaces. • Support evaluations, baseline/final assessments, real-time reviews, rapid studies, and needs analyses. • Implement secure, accessible, and confidential feedback and grievance mechanisms (AAP), with a focus on age, gender, disability, and security. • Facilitate learning opportunities, data review, documentation of best practices, case studies, and lessons learned. Plan International | Consulting Terms of Reference | MERL Plan International | Consulting Terms of Reference | MERL • Strengthen the MERL capacities of partners, field teams, and data collectors through support, training, and simple tools. • Issue technical recommendations on informed consent, safeguards, do no harm, data protection, and responsible use of evidence. • Participate, when expressly requested and within the scope of the consultancy, in technical coordination meetings. Such participation does not confer legal, labor, financial, or contractual representation powers on behalf of Plan International.
5. Deliverables
- Consulting work plan and methodology, including initial national MERL plan, indicator matrix, data needs mapping and secure information handling protocol.
- Brief technical diagnosis of the current MERL system, with prioritized gaps, data quality plan and applicable recommendations.
- Toolkit and monitoring dashboards (indicator matrix, data flows, feedback mechanisms and complaints/AAP) contextualized for the prioritized lines of intervention.
- MERL capacity building plan and materials for partners and field teams, along with evidence of the facilitated sessions.
- Consolidated monthly MERL technical assistance product, including: activities and products developed during the month; status of indicators and data quality; findings from the feedback mechanism/AAP; ongoing evaluations or studies; tools or technical notes prepared; capacity building sessions carried out; and updated work plan for the following month.
- Consolidated final report, presented as part of the monthly product corresponding to the last month of the consultancy, which brings together the MERL products developed, clean databases, results, pending gaps, lessons learned and recommendations.6. Service Delivery Method and Technical Coordination: Complete and organized final documentation. The consultant will provide services with technical, methodological, and organizational autonomy, without being subject to a work schedule or integration into Plan International’s hierarchical structure. The technical counterpart will review the deliverables solely to verify their compliance with these Terms of Reference, the agreed-upon quality criteria, and the policies applicable to the service. Coordination meetings will be scheduled based on the deliverables and will not involve attendance tracking, timekeeping, or subordination. The consultant will organize the necessary resources and methodology to produce the deliverables. Any resources provided by Plan International must be documented and used exclusively for the contracted service. The consultancy does not grant the authority to enter into contracts, commit funds, issue work instructions, approve expenses, or assume obligations on behalf of Plan International. Any substantive adjustments to the scope, deliverables, or deadlines must be formalized in writing by both parties.
- Standards and Technical References • Plan International’s Global MERL Policy and Standards. • Global MERL Process Guide. • Quality and Secure Data Handling Guidelines. • Global Safeguarding Policy. • Global Gender Equality and Inclusion Policy. • Plan International Venezuela’s internal strategic documents on response, recovery, tracing, AAP, and MERL.
- Required Profile • University degree in social sciences, statistics, development, education, public health, humanitarian management, or a related field. • Minimum of five years of experience in MERL/MEAL, preferably in humanitarian or mixed (humanitarian-development) contexts. • Proficiency in logical frameworks, theory of change, indicators, quantitative/qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting. Plan International | Consultancy Terms of Reference | MERL • Technical experience in at least three of the following areas: MERL system design, evaluations, data quality management, AAP mechanisms, capacity building, or technical coordination. • Proficiency in Kobo/ODK or other digital data collection tools, Power BI, advanced Excel, and data visualization. • Experience working with non-governmental organizations, local partners, consortia, or humanitarian coordination mechanisms. • Knowledge of child protection, education in emergencies, WASH, gender and inclusion, AAP, and safeguards. • Previous experience with Plan International, PMERL systems, or global humanitarian frameworks (desirable). • Functional English for coordination, review of global guidelines, and donor reports (desirable). • Excellent analytical, writing, and evidence synthesis skills in Spanish.
- Technical and Financial Proposal • Technical proposal outlining the service requirements, methodology, work plan, and availability to meet deliverables. • Financial proposal broken down by monthly deliverable, indicating the value of each monthly installment and including fees, taxes, and any other costs necessary for service provision. • Updated curriculum vitae and relevant professional references. • If applicable, samples of similar MERL products previously developed.
- Fees, Payments, and Expenses. Fees will be established in the contract and will be paid in monthly installments upon delivery and written approval of the consolidated monthly deliverable defined in Section 5, and after presentation of the corresponding tax documentation. Payment Schedule: One (1) payment will be made for each month of consulting, once the corresponding monthly deliverable has been approved. The final month’s payment will include approval of the consolidated final report and the organized delivery of all consultancy deliverables and files. Each monthly payment is contingent upon written approval from the technical counterpart. The value of each installment will be as established in the contract and will correspond to the approved monthly deliverable, not to periods of attendance, days, or hours worked. Specific deliverables stipulated in the schedule must be incorporated as annexes or components of the corresponding monthly deliverable. Essential travel expenses must have prior written authorization from Plan International and will be managed according to the conditions established in the contract. The consultant will be responsible for compliance with their tax, administrative, and social security obligations as an independent contractor, in accordance with applicable regulations. Plan International | Consulting Terms of Reference | MERL
- Safeguarding, Conduct, and Confidentiality: The consultant must comply with Plan International’s policies and codes of conduct applicable to third parties, including safeguarding, PEAS (Personal Protective Equipment), fraud prevention, data protection, and information security. All information obtained during the consultancy will be confidential and may only be used for the fulfillment of the contracted products. Access to data of children, adolescents, and families generated by the MERL system must be limited to what is strictly necessary, applying the principles of data minimization, informed consent, security, and do no harm. The products and databases developed must be delivered without personally identifiable information, except with express authorization and when there is a legitimate basis for processing.
- Ownership of Products: The ownership, use, and delivery of the products developed within the framework of this consultancy (including tools, databases, reports, and training materials) will be governed by the contract. The consultant must declare any pre-existing or third-party materials incorporated and guarantee that they have the necessary authorizations for their use.
- Nature of the Contractual Relationship: The contract will be of a civil or commercial nature, as determined by the applicable contract, and will correspond to an independent, results-oriented service. These Terms of Reference do not, in themselves, create an employment relationship, position, job title, work schedule, exclusivity, reporting line, disciplinary authority, or right to employment benefits. The practical execution of the service must be consistent with this nature and with the signed contract.
- 14 Indicative criteria for evaluating proposals
– Experience and technical knowledge in MERL: 40%
– Quality and relevance of the technical proposal: 35%
– Coherence of the work plan and availability: 15%
– Economic proposal: 10%
How to apply
Proposals should be sent to Oscar.Cruz@plan-international.org by October 8th at 5:00 pm, indicating in the subject line: “Specialized technical assistance consultancy in MERL – Venezuela”.