****About CRS****
Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
****1) Position Identification****
****Department:****Health
****Job Title:****Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) Officer –****(Ref.2015/31)****
****Grade:****5
Reports to:Senior Program Officer – MEAL (Technical)
Project Coordinator - Nyanza (Administrative)
****Supervises(direct reports only):****0
****Job Location:****Homabay
****Background:****CRS will be implementing an integrated Early Childhood Development (ECD)/Wash/Mental Health project in Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania to contribute to improve child health and development from October 2015 to September 2018. The project will be a continuation of THRIVE I and will be working with partners and MoH in these countries. The Goal of the THRIVE II goal is that children under two years in Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania thrive in a sustainable culture of care and support. To obtain the goal, the Pilot’s strategic objective is that children under two demonstrate increased attainment of age-appropriate developmental milestones and reduced stunting.
2) ****Job Purpose****: The MEAL officer will be responsible for coordinating with partner and CRS staff to ensure effective implementation of MEAL system, ensuring information from the system is availed to key internal and external stakeholders for use in program decision. The MEAL officer will facilitate in ensuring project decisions are evidence based, all project data is of high quality, MEAL capacity of partners and staff is enhanced, beneficiaries and other stakeholders have opportunity to give and receive feedback to projects and documentation project learning is consistent with project learning agenda
3)****Specific Responsibilities and Accountabilities****:
I) Monitoring/Evaluation
- Support the SCORE ECD and THRIVE II projects to adhere to and self-assess against, CRS’ MEAL Policy & Procedures as a minimum standard.
- Contribute to the design of MEAL systems for SCORE ECD and THRIVE II projects, including active participation in the SMILER process and review project MEAL binders for all projects, with a focus on completeness and quality.
- Ensure standard implementation of MEAL systems for the SCORE ECD and THRIVE II projects at the country-level, including consistent administration of primary source documents and forms, reporting forms, and project databases
- Ensure collection and reporting of high-quality program data for the SCORE and THRIVE II projects, including administration of data quality assessments.
- Track program implementation against the MEAL system
- Support the design and coordination of SCORE ECD and THRIVE II project evaluation activities.
II Implementation Research and Learning
- Support implementation research activities under THRIVE II, including the provision of feedback to study Principle Investigator and monitoring data collection activities.
- Assist the study Principal Investigator in identifying and coordinating a local data collection team.
- Coordinate efforts to obtain approval of local ethical review board.
- Prepare and lead learning activities, including Learning to Action Discussions (LAD) for the THRIVE II and SCORE ECD projects to ensure promising practices, lessons learned, and recommendations are identified, documented, disseminated, and used to improve program quality.
- Facilitate the use of SCORE ECD and THRIVE II project data with partners, staff, and other stakeholders to inform decision-making and to identify lessons learned and promising practices.
III) Reporting
- Work closely with SCORE ECD and THRIVE II to produce high-quality required and ad hoc reports for monitoring and evaluation according to the reporting intervals (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually)
IV) Capacity building
- On-site capacity building of program and partner staff implementing the SCORE ECD and THRIVE II projects, including but not limited to managers and staff with dedicated MEAL responsibilities, including formal and on-the job staff training and co-facilitation of MEAL events and activities;
- Distance support to field offices and partner teams implementing the SCORE ECD and THRIVE II projects through document reviews, emails and conversations which provide tools, resources, and practical advice on assessments, MEAL system setup, and improvements to MEAL practices;
- Assess local SCORE ECD and THRIVE II partner MEAL capacity and develop and implement plans to increase their MEAL capacity in line with gaps
****Key Working Relationships****
- Internal: Head of Programming (HoP), Health Unit Manager, SCORE ECD and THRIVE II Project Manager, SCORE ECD and THRIVE II Regional Coordinators, Regional Technical Advisor for Health.
- External: Local partners, UNICEF, MOH
****Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)****
- These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.
- Serves with Integrity
- Models Stewardship
- Builds Constructive Relationships
- Promotes Learning
****4) REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS****
- Bachelor’s degree in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, international development, economics or related field. A Master’s degree would be an added advantage
- Five years of relevant professional experience in project-level MEAL, including development of data flow maps, data collection tools, reporting forms, and project databases
- Experience in designing and implementation of mixed method evaluation plans
- Thorough familiarity with principles and current approaches to project monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning
- Excellent analytic and computer skills; skilled in MS Office Suite including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Access.
- Experience in using data analysis software preferable SPSS STATA
- Skills in developing project M&E databases desired
- Prior knowledge and experience with early child hood development and maternal and child health (MCH) programs strongly desired
****MEAL Competencies****
- Interpretation of data in a rigorous and in-depth manner
- Leading/facilitating program learning
- Communication of key M&E information/analysis in a language and manner that aids understanding and informs evidence-based decision-making
- Evaluation: Developing project-level theories of change, results frameworks, ProFrames, related MEAL system tools and competencies, and accompanying MEAL narratives.
- Accountability: Improving accountability to a range of stakeholders through increased participation, transparent communication, responsive feedback mechanisms, and adherence to internal and external quality standards and requirements.
- Learning: Promoting excellent knowledge management and collaborative learning processes at the project, program and institutional levels, generating robust evidence for project and programmatic learning that leads to action, decision-making and influence.
- Analysis & Critical Thinking: Engaging with data, challenging biases and assumptions, posing thoughtful questions, pursuing deeper understanding of evidence through reflection and perspective-taking, and making informed programming decisions.
****Disclaimer:****This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.
HOW TO APPLY:
Written applications indicating the reference number of position applied for and CV including day-time contact phone numbers, as well as names and contact information of three references should reach the below-mentioned ****by Close of Business Friday October 23, 2015;****
Human Resources Manager
Catholic Relief Services – Kenya Program
E-mail: hr@ke.earo.crs.org
Please indicate the Reference Number (Ref:2015/31) on the ‘email subject.Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
****Note: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) does not charge any fees from applicants for any recruitment. Further, CRS has not retained any agent in connection with this recruitment.****
