MEAL Specialist

Overall purpose of the role:

• Play a leading role in the development, implementation, and management of the MEAL Strategy and workplan, and contribute to DRC’s accountability commitments, learning needs, and priorities.
• Support the mainstreaming of MEAL throughout the project cycle, reinforcing quality programme management.
• Provide technical support and oversight to MEAL staff in the area offices to effectively carry out the MEAL plan for applicable projects.
• The MEAL Specialist will also contribute to embedding localisation commitments within MEAL systems by strengthening national partner capacities, promoting equitable and proportionate monitoring and reporting approaches, and ensuring accountability mechanisms are inclusive, accessible, and responsive to affected communities and local actors.

Responsibilities:

MEAL capacities and commitments

• Apply and adapt DRC’s Global MEAL Model to the local circumstances and corresponding programmes in Syria to develop, implement, manage, and learn from MEAL systems.
• Apply DRC guidance for MEAL and division of roles and responsibilities, particularly vis-à-vis programme staff, and foster collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders.
• Identify gaps as well as required amendments to standard processes and MEAL systems to adapt to programmatic growth and changes
• Identify and plan for the human resources, financial resources, and time needed to carry out MEAL activities in close coordination with the MEAL Manager, Area Management and programme teams.
• Apply DRC guidance with regards to GDPR and data protection, specifically for MEAL-related data. Liaise with relevant internal counterparts responsible for data protection.
• Identify, adapt, and apply accountability and ethical frameworks and principles, including the Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS).
• Contribute to capacity building and provide technical support for programme and field staff to improve field monitoring and strengthen evidence.
• Support the adaptation of MEAL systems to partnership modalities, ensuring that monitoring, reporting, and accountability requirements are proportionate and aligned with national partner capacities.
• Contribute to the development of joint MEAL plans with national partners, clarifying roles, responsibilities, and mutual accountability arrangements.

Results Monitoring and programme quality support.

• Alongside the MEAL Manager, lead in the development of M&E tools and guidelines for data collection, collation and reporting (ensuring these are gender sensitive and contextually appropriate)
• Engage in and support quality throughout the project cycle, including in partnership-based programming, ensuring that MEAL roles and responsibilities between DRC and partners are clearly defined and collaboratively implemented.
• Promote participatory and community-based monitoring approaches that elevate local perspectives and strengthen community ownership of programmes.
• Ensure development and adequate maintenance of MEAL plans, indicator tracking tools, and other relevant tools and ensure the MEAL team understand how to technically carry out commitments to the donor reflected in the logframe
• Support Technical Coordinators and Grants personnel in designing Logical Frameworks and MEAL activities at the proposal development stage.
• Design, refine, and deploy data collection in close collaboration with Technical Coordinators, combining quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Maintain and support processes and protocols for data protection, storage, sharing, and security.
• Participate in, and contribute to, Grant Opening, Review, and Close-out meetings in order to highlight cross-project components aimed at replicating good practices and strengthening synergies between projects or programmes.
• Develop appropriate data collection instruments and monitoring, tracking, and reporting systems that generate quality data and promote and ensure use of evidence-based outcome data for decision-making processes.
• In coordination with Technical Coordinators, conduct the analysis of MEAL qualitative and quantitative data, process the data, and produce reports in line with internal information needs and external reporting obligations.

Accountability

• Support in the roll out of CHS assessments, providing support to the MEAL Officers in providing accountability findings/recommendations and how to share regularly in an appropriate format
• Contribute to the management of DRC’s Community Feedback Mechanism (CFM), in close collaboration with the Accountability Officer and MEAL Staff.
• Build the capacity of staff to plan and implement effective accountability systems for the country programme.
• Ensure actions are followed to up close the feedback loop and ensure all complaints are processed in a timely, safe, and accountable manner.
• Support the MEAL Manager during CHS certification/CHS self-assessment processes, and when needed, liaise with HQ and coordinate with CO management.

Evaluation, analysis and learning

• Contribute (as appropriate) to analysis and evaluations for data-driven evidence and use.
• Plan for and perform quantitative and qualitative data processing, analysis and visualisation adequate for specific audiences and purposes.
• Support utilisation of results for better planning and decision making; and share knowledge and learning for improved programming within DRC and beyond.
• Translate MEAL findings into organisational learning; plan and implement learning events and design appropriate learning products.
• Regularly present the key MEAL findings and feedback to the programme teams, and when relevant, to the Senior Management Team.
• Facilitate joint reflection and learning sessions with programme teams and national partners to translate MEAL findings into adaptive programme improvements.
• Document and disseminate localisation-related lessons learned, including partnership effectiveness and community engagement outcomes.

Perform other duties as directed by the MEAL Manager and Consortium MEAL Coordinator.

Experience and technical competencies:

a) Essential

• Minimum 4 years of relevant work experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning of humanitarian and development programmes.
• Experience working with International/National NGOs, UN agencies in humanitarian settings.
• Experience working with or strengthening MEAL systems of national partners or local civil society organizations.
• Demonstrated understanding of localisation principles and equitable partnership approaches in humanitarian contexts.
• Strong knowledge and familiarity with Theories of Change and Logical Frameworks, in