Senior MEAL / Capacity Builder Specialist at the International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Senior MEAL / Capacity Builder Specialist

Requisition ID: req13928
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Employment Type: Full-Time
Sector: Monitoring & Evaluation
Employment Category: Fixed Term
Open to Expatriates: No

Job Description

The conflict in North East Nigeria has displaced over 1.9 million people and shattered livelihoods of many more. Since 2014 IRC has been delivering support to communities affected; across Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, with field offices in Maiduguri, Monguno, Gwoza, Damaturu, Yola and Mubi and a country office in Abuja. With over 700 staff we deliver humanitarian support and longer term recovery programming in health, nutrition, WASH, education, protection, economic recovery and livelihoods. We work in coordination with State government Ministries, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UN OCHA and other development organisations. IRC is an active participant in coordination mechanisms to contribute to improved impact.
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning is a strategic priority for 2021, and IRC Nigeria intends to strengthen its systems and the capacity of its staff.

Scope of Work:

IRC is seeking a dynamic and experienced MEAL professional who will be accountable for leading the development and delivery of the IRC Nigeria MEAL Systems Strengthening and Capacity Building strategy in conjunction with IRC regional and global technical experts in Measurement, Learning and Training, Knowledge Management, IRC Technical Units. Additionally, the Senior MEAL / Capacity Building Specialist will support the monitoring, evaluation and learning from the systems strengthening and capacity building interventions. The position is one-year fixed term.
The Senior MEAL / Capacity Building Specialist will support the strengthening of leadership and management capacity of IRC Nigeria MEAL staff to: design, deliver and maintain MEAL Systems; effectively and efficiently adopt and use the IRC’s preferred Measurement Technologies and standard indicator definitions; provide decision makers with timely and quality data; conduct ongoing MEAL orientations and professional development.
This position will be based in Maiduguri, Borno State, with regular travel field offices to supervise programs and provide capacity building throughout the northeast.

Major Responsibilities
Capacity Building:

Lead the development and implementation of the IRC Nigeria MEAL Systems Strengthening and Capacity Building strategy: on the base of the current initial capacity assessment and training needs, provide coaching / mentoring / training as necessary to key identified staff;
Reinforce leadership in the department through definition of clear reporting lines, structure of the team and roles and responsibilities;
Develop and nurture collaborative working relationships between MEAL and Programme Team staff and the Senior Management Team.

Improve Workflow Definition:

Contribute to revise / reframe management lines, roles and responsibilities in main office vs. field offices;
Improve definition of workflow from data collection to data analysis and ensure that teams are aware of the entire process
Improve connection / communication / transfer of knowledge and data from field offices to main office: quality check on data, upload on BOX system, ensure that data is trackable from collection to analysis

Improve Quality Data Management:

Improve current beneficiary count system among sectors and make sure that count methodology is consistent; facilitate revision of current overall beneficiaries count and identify measures to prevent double counting;
Revise current Master Database Indicator, reconcile indicators in the masterplan with indicators in each grant and facilitate elaboration of indicators sheet on current Project Cycle Management Dashboard;
If necessary, provide training on data collection, data storage, data analysis;
Facilitate elaboration of quarterly reports on beneficiaries outreach.

General M&E Management and Operations:

Provide leadership in project and portfolio review and planning meetings.
Provide M&E analysis as required to project teams, grants team or other units
Contribute to elaboration of proposals and concept notes
Manage M&E budget, allocation of expenses and spending plans
Other daily tasks as required in collaboration with Senior M&E Manager

Qualifications
Education:

Advanced degree in relevant field such as Epidemiology, Public Health, Economics, Statistics, International Development, Public Policy, or other social sciences.

Work Experience:

Minimum of 7-9 years of MEAL capacity building experience with specific focus on complex multi-project programming.
Extensive experience designing, implementing, and supporting M&E frameworks and results, with extensive experience supporting field-based M&E design and reporting, as well as working with major international donors on M&E related aspects.
Extensive experience in developing baseline research, logic models, data collection and analysis, mid-term evaluations, outcome evaluations, and in mentoring and teaching-by-doing other M&E staff.
Experience with the challenges of effective monitoring in the field, including cultural, gender, and access considerations with the aim of enhancing project learning, quality, and data-driven decision making.
Proven ability to operate in a complex organisation, across functions and projects, on own initiative and collaboratively as part of diverse teams, including project management experience.
Excellent communication skills, including solid writing skills and the ability to plan for and prepare strategic communications.
Excellent understanding of basic ICT principles and the logic of data collection and management systems.
Strong computer skills: proficiency with MS Office – especially MS Excel. Knowledge of ArcGIS, Kobo ToolBox, CommCare, MS PowerBI, as well as other software used in qualitative and quantitative M&E would be solid assets.
Experience with direct program implementation in emergency and low-resource contexts.
Experience rolling out organizational initiatives, particularly related to monitoring and evaluation.
The chosen candidate will be a proven team player able to work with multi-cultural teams and under tight deadlines.
Ability to handle a large and dynamic workload, work under pressure and meet deadlines.
Previous work experience in West Africa, field experience in Nigeria is preferred.