Save the Children MEAL Officer Job in Wajir

Save the Children
Position Name: MEAL Officer
Position Code: SCI/MEAL OFF/WAJ-01
Team / Programme: Cross Thematic
Location: Wajir

Grade: 4
Post Type: National (1 year with possibility of extension)

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 – the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to
children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners.

Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH.
In 2012, as part of a global reorganization process, Save the Children combined the programmes of SC UK, SC Canada and SC Finland to create a single operation in Kenya.
By Feb 2013, we will have completed a second transition, which will see us join forces with the British INGO, Merlin, and merge their health and nutrition programmes with our own.
Save the Children has an operational presence in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa, Mandera, Meru, Wajir, Bungoma and Turkana in 2014. We work through partners in many other parts of the country. We have a staff complement of around 300 staffs and an operating annual budget of approximately US$25 million

A key function of this position is to support the further development and implementation of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning system that will provide information at project, programme and country office level for measuring the outcomes and impact of Save the Children’s support to partners and directly implemented projects.

In addition the post-holder will be expected to identify and share lessons learned through Save the Children and partner interventions in order to learn from and improve practice, and contribute to a continuous increase improvement of the quality of our work.

Working in collaboration with the MEAL Coordinator, the MEAL Officer will partake and be responsible for the following duties that are in line with Save the Children’s Theory of Change.

Save the Children will work with the government of Kenya at both national and county levels and communities to facilitate the randomized control trial to test a package of multi sectorial interventions for girls ages 11-14 and also the most cost-effective that will provide the greatest impact for girls in Northern Kenya and urban slums

Scope of Role: To support the delivery of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) strategy, policy and practice by helping design programme monitoring systems, build the capacity of staff in their analysis and dissemination of data, and coordinate information management and reporting systems.
The job requires strict adherence to research protocols as this is a randomized control trial. Your support in the delivery of an effective MEAL function will play a key role in program implementation and the expansion of Save the Children programmes in Wajir to increase impact and enable positive change for children.Reports to: MEAL coordinator – WAJIR

Staff directly reporting to this post: TBC

Key Areas of Accountability:

• Supporting the development of systems and processes for the implementation of M&E policy and procedure based on Save the Children best practice, developing frameworks to integrate impact assessment and learning and knowledge management into the programme and project cycle;
• Maintaining a tracking spreadsheet for M&E activities and events – baselines, assessments, reviews, evaluations – tracking trends and recommendations, progressing their implementation where appropriate;
• Coordinating the sharing of learning related to M&E practices across offices, and providing support when internal/external reviews, evaluations, and lessons learned exercises should be employed;
• Developing national programme internal reporting schedules & templates, clarifying what level of information is needed and where, with key responsibilities assigned, and reviewing proposals, with a particular focus on checking log frames and ensuring indicators are are followed up and project milestones achieved;
• Participating in the development of tools and guidelines for data collection, collation and reporting, with a focus on establishing Output Tracking, systemically checking this data for quality, accuracy, and consistency, and providing feedback as necessary;
• Contributing to the design of M&E methodology and child-focused indicators by the programme team, and to the promotion of child participation in M&E planning and accountability
• Support the implementation of processes to review the quality of existing project data, information collection methods and the suitability of the existing data for the provision of sound baseline information;
• Ensure accountability assessments are conducted and capacity built of staff to undertake accountability assessments.
• Professionally document and proactively share information and learning with Save the Children stakeholders
• Ensure sensitive complaints collection and handling through system development and functional at ground level
• Ensure effective community complaints response mechanisms in collaboration with communities are developed and functional
• Take an active role in ensuring staff are compliant in uploading data into necessary app systems.

Qualifications and Experience

• First degree in Statistics or Mathematics or relevant area
• Minimum three years practical experience in M&E system coordination/implementation in a large international non-governmental organisation or other international relief/development body;
• Demonstrable track-record in data tracking and evaluation, with the ability to support staff and partners on M&E methodology and analyze and disseminate complex information to a range of stakeholder audiences;
• Computer literacy, particularly in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
• Working knowledge of data/statistical programmes e.g. SPSS
• Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills, with the ability to organise a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills in English, with experience working in multicultural, multi location, values driven teams;
• Commitment to Save the Children values

Competencies:

• Fluent in English and Kiswahili (both spoken and written).
• Understanding of importance of quality and timely data
• Ability to work independently with minimum supervision
• Good typing and data entry speed.
• Ability to work well with others in a team.
• Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
• Sets high standards for quality and consistently achieves project goals.
• Maintains and extends an effective network of individuals within the organisation and with government and development partners
• Proven ability to work as a team.

How to Apply

Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory Cover letter to indicating the Position Code on the subject line wajir.jobapplications@savethechildren.org by 24th June 2015.