Lebanon: MEAL Advisor - Beirut

POSITION SUMMARY

The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor will provide the leadership necessary to ensure that the IRC Lebanon country program develops and meets its monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning commitments, as set out IRC’s Strategy 2020 and partnerships with donors. Core to this will be providing strategic direction to, and harmonization of, MEAL efforts in Lebanon. The MEAL Advisor will be a technical focal point for Monitoring and Evaluation staff in country. These staff report into program units. In addition the MEAL advisor will contribute to ensuring evidence-based program design and continuous improvements of program quality based on data and learning. The MEAL Advisor will, in coordination with the program teams, will be responsible for developing and implementing an internal capacity-building strategy including training and mentoring M&E staff and promoting a culture of peer-learning.

Major Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

• Building on existing practices, establish a coherent Lebanon MEAL system (approaches, procedures, structures) depending on the needs of each program
• Provide MEAL technical assistance to program teams and inputs into the design stages of program proposals, budgets, logframes, indicators, and measurement methodologies, plans and tools
• Ensure the country program meets IRC’s global monitoring standards (“Monitoring for Action”) for improved monitoring practices, data quality and use of data within the organization. As part of this, champion an organizational culture shift from a focus on data being primarily for donor reporting or indicator calculation purposes to using data for programmatic course correction and other decisions.
• Ensure continued generation of accurate information about beneficiary reach, as per regional requirements
• Support or coordinate planning and managing internal or external program evaluations as needed
• Develop systems and procedures that measure country program-wide performance and achievements towards outcomes (using the Outcomes & Evidence Framework core indicators and other methods as appropriate) and strategic and organizational commitments
• Keep on top of in-country beneficiary feedback and response mechanisms;

Internal and External Coordination:

• Actively contribute and liaise with regional and global counterparts to continuously learn and keep up with M&E best practices and share learning with team accordingly;
• Serve as Country Focal point for regional M&E initiatives such as beneficiary counting systems;
• Maintain working relationships with M&E counterparts in other relevant International and Local NGOs in Lebanon.

Capacity Building and Mentoring:

• Oversee and support the technical quality of work by M&E staff supporting the program teams’ implementation of MEAL systems through tool development support and Capacity building efforts;
• In close collaboration with the Partnerships Unit, develop and execute a coherent strategy and plan for strengthening MEAL capacities of implementing partner organizations

ICT4P:

• Work closely with ICT4P colleagues to ensure that the country program has innovative and technology-driven appropriate MEAL systems and tools;
• Stay on top of ICT4P developments inside of the IRC and co-facilitate ICT learning round tables with relevant staff to promote cross-departmental learning;

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Deputy Director Program

Position directly supervises: N/A

Internal: All staff and departments within the Lebanon Country Program (primarily the DDP and Program, Partnerships and Grant teams), Regional M&E unit, HQ/Regional Technical Units (Technical Assistants and M&E specialists), HQ Research Evaluation & Learning Unit

External: Partner organizations, other humanitarian actors

Professional Standards

IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Job Requirements:

• A relevant postgraduate university degree
• At least 7 years of experience within the development / humanitarian sector, several of which was at senior management level (some international experience preferred)
• Excellent technical understanding of contemporary MEAL methods and practices, with hands-on experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis
• Comprehensive knowledge of humanitarian accountability principles and their translation into practice
• Experience with multi-sectoral and multi-donor funded programs
• Previous experience with remote management (preferred)
• An appropriate balance of strategic thinking and doing skills
• Strong methodical planning and organizational skills
• Strong leadership, interpersonal and communications skills
• Strong analytical, presentation, and reporting skills
• Strong IT skills in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and specialized data management software
• Excellent written and verbal English language abilities; Arabic is a strong added advantage Strong commitment to IRC’s mission, purpose and values

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation. Please submit your application on https://rescue.csod.com/ats/careersite/jobdetails.aspx?site=1&c=rescue&id=896 before January 22, 2018 Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.