Global MEAL Director

Description

Title:                               Global Director of Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL)

Department:                    Programs

Location:                        France, with travel to RI regional and country offices

Reporting to:                  Chief Program Officer

Direct reports:                Applicable 

Technical Line:               Direct supervision of Global MEAL team members;

 Technical supervision of Regional MEAL Managers.

Budget responsibility:    Applicable

About Relief International.

Relief International (RI) is a leading nonprofit organization partnering with communities impacted by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build greater resilience, and promote long-term health and wellbeing. Relief International believes in being truly local, serving in the most remote areas, integrating climate smart, conflict sensitive, and evidence-based approaches. RI ensures communities have access to safe and inclusive programming with a focus on protection and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP). 

RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Europe.  Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

Context.

Climate change is dramatically impacting our world. Vulnerable populations with whom RI partners, often lack the resources to prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to climate change; they will bear the brunt of its fallout. Worst impacted will be RI communities experiencing armed conflict and the ensuing governance breakdown. Often, RI is among a handful of organizations providing assistance to remote and highly vulnerable communities.  RI invests in four broad program sectors: Health and Nutrition; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH); Livelihoods; and Education. RI is adopting integrated Theories of Change, which will rely on timely evidence-based program iterations to enable desired systems change.

RI is active in 15 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.

RI employs 7,000+ staff and auxiliary workers

97% of staff are local nationals

RI spent $130 million on programs in 2021

Position Summary.

In the above context, the RI Director of MEAL is a:

Visionary leader, driving a highly collaborative process to crystallize and lead RI’s MEAL vision and strategy to make ‘Evidence-Based’ an RI core capacity.

Consummate humanitarian voice, articulating RI’s sharpened positioning as a leader in the humanitarian and development sector, globally.

Team builder and talent developer, working as an integral contributor building MEAL capacity and driving talent development throughout the organization.

Kind contributor to an extraordinary team, contributing to collective problem solving as the organization grapples with complex challenges in high-risk settings.

Key Responsibilities and Duties.

Technical Excellence, and Evidence-Based Culture

• Foster an agencywide culture of learning and analysis, where sound evidence informs our actions, advocacy, and drives program quality, adaptation, and innovation.
• Guide and sustain a robust learning agenda across the country, regional, and global teams in support of RIs commitment to establishing innovative and sophisticated approaches with an increased emphasis on measuring change at the community level through community feedback and inclusion of all voices. 
• Work closely with the Regional MEAL Managers to provide strategic support, ensure harmonized approaches across country missions, and collaboratively create and grow a culture focusing on evidence-based program management to consistently achieve excellence in programming and deliverables.
• Guide RI’s global practices, quality assurance mechanisms, develop standard operating procedures (SOP), and centralized data management system. Lead processes for assessing and improving internal rigorous MEAL across the RI global portfolio and sectors and external relationships, collaborations, and platforms.
• Promote utilization of a systems approach to build RI’s ability to best reflect and represent data at program, country, and organizational level. Work with regional and country teams on effective rollout and utilization of digital database system (LogAlto) compatible with donor regulations, and aligned with Country, Regional, and Global requirements, to aggregate data, automate analysis, streamline reporting, and enhance visualizations. 
• Ensure that RI adheres to best practices across all sectors and standards related to data quality and excellence, protection and compliance, and Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP).
• Ensure meta-analysis of program evaluations and build longitudinal studies that can tell the story of RI’s impact over time. Support Regional MEAL Managers as needed in developing appropriate evaluation methodologies for complex projects, develop corresponding TORs for external evaluators, and manage the relationship with external evaluators to ensure timely delivery and high quality of final evaluation products.
• Enable utilization of new and appropriate technologies –such as AI and machine learning- to build efficiency without compromising on effectiveness.
• Assist CPO, as needed, in framing and implementing the strategic vision of RI as it relates to data, accountability, and community/stakeholder feedback; fostering an evidence-based culture as a fundamental element of RI’s Theory of Change approach. 
• Leverage key indicator data to uphold organizational accountability, identify areas of improvement, and guide corrective action. This will incorporate organizational indicators related to performance, adherence to compliance, and adherence to RI goals and external standards related to climate change.
• Build MEAL capacity and drive MEAL talent development throughout the organization.

Value-Added Partnerships

• Explore, lead, and facilitate value-added partnerships at global, regional, and country levels with the private sector, research institutions, and academia that add depth and scale to RI’s work through learning and iteration, thus enabling greater resilience, durable solutions, and long-term community health and wellbeing.
• Serve as RI’s energizing spokesperson, articulating RI’s sharpened positioning as a leader in the humanitarian and development sector and lead MEAL teams to position RI as the highest quality evidence-based actor in both humanitarian and development circles.
• Work closely with Regional MEAL and other teams, internally and externally, to ensure that RI is moving forward with strategic cross-departmental initiatives. These initiatives impact the quality of submitted proposals, the strength of RI internal systems, communication between teams at the global, regional, and country level, and an ongoing commitment to optimizing RI information systems, and building and improving AAP standards.
• Work across teams to share expert level guidance and, as needed lead, After Action Review processes. Lead the analysis of data that will shape RI’s learning and perspective on programmatic processes aimed to develop programs of excellent technical quality.
• Work directly with regional and country office senior management and external counterparts, to ensure that best practices are moved forward, maintained, and institutionalized through the MEAL Community of Practice.
• Work with RI Finance, Programs, Communications, HR, and other relevant teams on the effective collection, aggregation, presentation, and use of data to help build a performance management system that will help hold RI accountable to its mission.
• Work with MEAL team members to maintain robust data quality especially related to RI’s organizational Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Develop and measure MEAL KPIs related to community-centered development, Core Humanitarian Standards, climate change, and resilience.
• Assist operational teams on critical initiatives such as accountability mainstreaming, data protection standards implementation, community-centered development and AAP.

Safeguarding

• Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve.
• Consistent with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure your job-related activity and practice is compliant with safeguarding standards.
• Ensure that your behavior inside and outside of work promotes the values outlined with RI’s code of conduct and safeguarding policies.
• Remain alert and responsive to any child and adult safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the child and adult safeguarding policy and procedures.

Culture and Leadership

·      Ensure a positive and productive work environment which is free from harassment and bullying.

·      Ability to demonstrate cultural sensitivity, self-awareness, and understanding of diversity and cultural differences, gender issues and the commitment to equal opportunities.

·      Ability to demonstrate and uphold RI’s values and ethics.

Other duties as agreed upon between Director and CPO.

Role requirements.

Experience and skills required for the role.

• This position requires a dynamic individual with an energizing personality, proven leadership skills and with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in demanding, highly adaptive, and often difficult environments;
• A master's degree or equivalent experience in evaluation research, statistics, or a related field in an international setting;
• At least 10 years of relevant experience in a MEAL and senior management role in an INGO or evaluation consultancy;
• Practical and theoretical expertise in designing and managing rigorous evaluations, preferably in at least one or more of the four RI core sectors: Health & Nutrition, WASH, Livelihoods, and Education; as well as Cash and Vouchers Assistance.
• Strong analytical skills, including proficiency in data and statistical analysis software, such as PowerBI or SPSS;
• A positive and engaging personality with proven experience in collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to build consensus around ideas and proposed processes;
• A proven track record of moving strategic priorities forward, through a collaborative and iterative process;
• Knowledge of, and ability to work with, all departments of an INGO, including finance, business development, communications, operations, risk, and compliance;
• Experience in fragile settings that have conflict, post-conflict, or transitional state environments required.
• Ability to travel up to 30% in international settings, often with short notice and in hostile or insecure environments.

RI Values.

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as well as “Do No Harm,” Relief International Values:

We value:

• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Inclusivity
• Sustainability

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