Save the Children is seeking an experienced Monitoring, Evaluation, Adapting and Learning (MEAL) Lead to provide strong leadership and technical expertise to generate and analyze quality evidence data through assessments, monitoring, evaluations, adapting, learning and capacity building, for the five-year USAID/BHA-funded Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA), Albarka program in Mali. The program seeks to sustainably improve the food security and resilience of communities in conflict-affected areas through strengthening local systems and community participation in three regions of Mopti, Tombouctou and Gao, in the center and north of Mali. The program is implemented by a consortium of four (4) deeply-rooted local and two (2) international partners, working with seven local platforms to achieve improved food security and resilience of conflict-affected communities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The Albarka program is an integrated, multiyear, multi-sectoral food and nutrition security intervention in the center and north of Mali. The MEAL Lead is overall responsible of providing technical expertise, strong leadership and oversight of MEAL activities of the entire Albarka program, staff management and capacity building to achieve the desired impact, through quality evidence and data from monitoring, assessments, evaluations, adapting and learning. The M&E Lead supervises the program’s monitoring and evaluation teams, including consortium members/ teams, and coordinate with program Collaboration, Adapting and Learning (CLA) and management processes to ensure effective feedback loops that contribute to the achievement of desired outcomes for the program. The MEAL will collaborate and interact with Save the Children country office, regional and HQ MEAL teams, as well as BHA MEAL team, in developing and establishing MEAL systems for a truly evidence-based program implementation and learning, for Albarka.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

  • Develop, and manage the implementation of a sound program MEAL Plan.
  • Build, manage, and continuously strengthen the program’s MEAL system, ensuring that the system and tools (including IPTT, DIP, Database) are developed in a consultative fashion and provides timely and accurate data regarding the program’s progress towards food and nutrition security and resilience outcomes.
  • Lead and supervise the development of the program MEAL Information System (MIS), with an emphasis on cutting-edge digital MEAL platforms.
  • Lead the program’s qualitative and quantitative analysis, survey and sample design.
  • Coordinate routine monitoring and annual monitoring survey processes, leading the contracting of external support (consultants, firms) as needed.
  • Coordinate with donor processes for program baseline and final evaluations, and for ad hoc assessments or evaluations as needed.
  • Lead data quality assurance mechanisms throughout the life of the program.
  • Actively contribute, or lead, to the adjustment and management of the program’s Theory of Change (ToC), ensuring coherence between the ToC and MEAL systems.
  • Promote evidence-based decision making among the program’s senior management team, ensuring that evidence from the program’s MEAL systems are used in collaborating, learning and adapting processes.
  • Supervise the program’s MEAL team, provide training, mentoring and coaching to team members, including partners, as required while ensuring high performance.
  • Contribute to the program’s Refine period (Year 1) studies, while leading on the MEAL side
  • Lead the program’s overall targeting strategies and community consultation approaches.
  • Play an important role in annual results reporting, while leading to MEAL components of routine and ad hoc program reports.

Required Qualifications

A Master’s degree in a quantitative field (economics, statistics, public health, applied sociology, Anthropology, etc.) with significant training in quantitative methods plus eight years of relevant work experience. Or, a PhD in a quantitative field plus six years of relevant work experience.

  • Specific technical expertise in monitoring, evaluation, adapting and learning as it pertains to food and nutrition security and resilience programming.
  • Demonstrated experience in leading the M&E of a large award, knowledge about TOCs, logic models, food and nutrition security indicators, M&E plans, data quality assurance, data utilization, and gender integration into M&E and experience and expertise in developing and operationalizing a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan.
  • Demonstrated experience with food and nutrition security indicators (specific USAID/BHA indicators’ knowledge is great asset).
  • Demonstrated knowledge and capacity in the qualitative field as well is a strong asset.
  • Excellent written communication and presentation skills in both French and English. Knowledge of local languages is an asset.
  • Demonstrated training, capacity building and coaching skills is required.
  • Ability to travel up to 75% if based outside of the field, and ability to stay for longer periods of time in the regions of Mopti, Tombouctou and Gao.
  • Experience conducting M&E activities in conflict and non-permissive environments is highly desirable

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

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Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions.

This vacancy is archived.

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