Job Description

• Job Title: Senior MEAL Officer
• Band/ Level / Grade: 8A
• Department: MEAL
• Location: Aden     

BACKGROUND: 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 required 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.
The IRC Yemen began its programs in October 2012. Since establishing its presence in the South of Yemen, in the Red Sea Coastal city of Aden, the organization has grown from just an implementing small project to handling large scale emergency and relief operations. Following the war which broke out in Yemen in March of 2015 and the humanitarian disaster, which was crafted by the same, IRC launched one an emergency response program in the southern governorates of Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwah and Aldalea. Currently IRC Yemen is operating in eight governorates in the south and north of Yemen and Sana’a and Hodeidah in the North through direct programming and through local partnerships, in Health, WASH, Nutrition, Economic Recovery Development, Education, Child Protection, Gender and Women Protection and Empowerment.

SCOPE OF WORK:

Working under the direct supervision of the MEAL Manager, the Senior MEAL Officer for the FCDO grant will be based in the IRC Aden Office, Yemen. The Senior MEAL Officer will work closely with all program staff in the field and Partner MEAL staff to implement the FCDO MEAL commitments and improve program quality through enhanced data management systems and processes in all locations in the South. 
The Senior MEAL Officer will oversee daily MEAL activities at the Field Office and offer technical assistance to Partner MEAL field teams to enhance project implementation. Collaboratively, the MEAL officer and Partner MEAL field teams will conduct field data collection and on-site verifications.
The Senior MEAL Officer will supervise the feedback mechanism for all South locations funded by the FCDO grant. This includes conducting field visits, surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and individual meetings. Additionally, they will be responsible for generating reports and providing support to the staff.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior MEAL Officer will be responsible for supporting MEAL Activities in the design, collection of data, compilation, data analysis, and data quality audit with regular field visits to field offices.

WORKING RELATIONS:

This role will be under the supervision of the MEAL Manager and involve collaboration with Partner MEAL staff and Data Management officers.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide direct support to monitoring and evaluation processes of the project.
• Support Partner MEAL staff to adhere to the Monitoring and Evaluation standards.
• Supervise data entry processes and provide complete, accurate, and consistent data to the MEAL Manager to ease data analysis and action planning.
• Take part in all data analysis and action planning meetings organized in the locations in the South.
• Keep the database up to date and help Partner MEAL staff prepare periodic high-quality reports.
• Assess MEAL technical capacity needs in the field office, prepare and implement a capacity-building plan on data collection, cleaning, analysis, presentation, and use with support from the MEAL Manager
• Provide support in all assessments, surveys, and evaluations in all locations.
• Conduct regular data verification and audit exercises in collaboration with Partner MEAL field teams to assess the quality of data reported and address any anomalies identified.
• Submit to the MEAL Manager weekly and monthly updates on MEAL activities conducted in the locations, including reports on the implementation and use of feedback channels including limitations and challenges.
• Ensure that the feedback channels for all Partners are in place and appropriate for the affected population: this may include conducting field visits, surveys and facilitating FGD, and running individual meetings with communities.
• Assess the utility and efficiency of the established mechanisms for children and adults and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Provide support, advice, and training to Partner staff, where applicable for the management of client feedback.
• Present statistics on feedback received and feedback content in clear formats to highlight feedback trends, as well as synthesize qualitative feedback in ways that provide the detail that the program team will need to have an appropriate response.
• Keep a record of the number of cases that are closed/responded to, the timeliness of response, and how client feedback has been responded to through information collection and data analysis.
• Make sure the feedback loop with clients is closed within the agreed timeline to acknowledge their feedback and respond to them about what the IRC has done in response to feedback.
• Maintain open and professional relations with other team members while promoting strong team spirit.

Other:

• Represent IRC Yemen at inter-agency field-based MEAL coordination forums
• Foster good relationships and team spirit with program and operations staff in the field
• Perform any other MEAL tasks assigned by the MEAL Manager

REQUIREMENTS: (Qualifications, Skills and Abilities):

A.    Education:

A postgraduate or bachelor`s degree in Social Sciences, Information Technology, Development Studies, Statistics, or a related field

B.     Experience:

• Minimum of three years working experience in MEAL or research at field level.
• Experience in conducting surveys or evaluations e.g., post-distribution monitoring, post-harvest surveys, post-planting surveys, and KAP surveys will be a distinct advantage.
• Experience in data collection using mobile data collection systems such as Commcare, KoBoCollect, or ODK.
• Experience in data analysis using Excel, PowerBI, ENA, SPSS, and/or STATA.
• Good technical skills in writing surveys and assessment reports.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; both verbal and written communications skills as well as strong team working skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks in an effective, proactive, and timely manner.
• Good English and Arabic writing and verbal skills.

C.     Skills and Abilities:

• Competence in using computer packages including Word and Excel.
• Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Skilled in effective, concise, and optimal communication.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural contexts. 
• Skilled at working under pressure and meeting tight deadlines.

D.    Proficiencies:

• Active listening and effective communication.
• Professionalism and work ethic.
• Receptive and Resilient.
• Positive Interpersonal interactions

Professional Standards

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

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, marital status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

IRC strives to build a diverse and inclusive team at all levels who as individuals, and as a group, embody our culture statement creating a working environment characterized by critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity for us to achieve our aspirations as a team and deliver the best possible services to our clients.   

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.