NEW MEAL Officer Mid level – Mid level IRC – International Rescue Committee Closing in 7 days Kyegegwa | Yumbe | Kampala

BACKGROUND:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is one of the world’s leading crisis response agencies, providing life-saving assistance and supporting recovery and reconstruction for people affected by war and natural disasters. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women’s empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home.

The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting refugees, vulnerable host communities and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector. Currently, the IRC in Uganda has a presence across six sub-regions and six refugee settlements, implementing programming in the sectors of health, protection, and rule of law (PRoL), women’s protection and empowerment (WPE), economic recovery and development (ERD), and education. IRC Uganda also implements cross-cutting programming focused on systems strengthening and accountability to affected persons. As part of IRC Uganda’s strategic ambitions, the IRC works closely with local actors, including civil society organizations, local non-governmental organizations, local and national governments, among others, to strengthen their capacity and with intentions of transferring more resources for locally led implementation and support to our clients.

JOB OVERVIEW:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has received a $10 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to implement a three-year project titled ‘Kulea Watoto’ – meaning ‘nurturing children.’ Kulea Watoto is an initiative aimed at improving early childhood development and transforming the livelihoods of refugees and host communities in Uganda by providing nurturing care and early childhood learning opportunities, and to build their own skills to generate income for their families. The project will use a unique two-generation approach to reach out to young children under five years of age and their caregivers in Yumbe, Kyegegwa, and Kampala districts, implemented in partnership with four local partners – the AfriChild Centre, Madrasa Early Childhood Program, Kabarole Research, and Resource Centre and Literacy and Adult Basic Education (LABE). To achieve this, the project will offer learning sessions for parents and caregivers on responsive caregiving and the provision of early learning opportunities, improved links to children’s services in local communities, livelihood training, and start-up funding for promising business ideas, and more.

Reporting to the RMEL Manager -Kulea Watoto, the MEAL Officer works closely with program teams to optimize monitoring capabilities and opportunities, evaluation, accountability, and learning for Kulea Watoto project to ensure high-quality programming for the clients we serve and to support the overall ambitions of the of IRC’s Strategy100 and the country’s strategic action plan. The MEAL Officer supervises and implements MEAL project activities working with the project staff in Kampala, Kyegegwa and Yumbe collecting routine data from ECD and livelihood interventions

Responsibilities:

Program support and learning

• In collaboration with the RMEL manager, design, develop and continuously update project MEAL, and impact measurement tools and systems in a timely manner.

• In close collaboration with the Client Responsiveness and Accountability Manager, collect and manage Client feedback and complaints from clients including tracking timeliness of response to client feedback and complaints, and maintain an updated Client feedback register.
• Support on conducting analysis of client feedback data and share with program team during project/program review meetings to inform strategic and programmatic decisions and course correction.

• Lead onsite discussions on development and implementation of action plans and follow-up of actions on collected and analyzed client feedback data.
• Capacity building of field teams including trainings, mentorship, and onsite support on client responsiveness and accountability.
• Support development of Client Responsiveness and Accountability information sharing materials/briefs, posters and brochures, and dissemination to relevant stakeholders, partners, and Clients.
• With support from the RMEL Manager, the MEAL Officer will implement MEAL plans, revise (digital) data collection tools, follow up on processes for online data management, quality checks, and audits, and updating of data visualization

• Identify, document, and share client feedback to improve services and results for our clients.
• Take a lead in the deployment of surveys such as baseline and end line, assessments, and the commission of evaluations in coordination with RMEL Manager, project staff, and partners

• Support the research work under Kulea Watoto aimed at generating learning and credible evidence to support the improvement, expansion, and sustainability of the integrated programming (ECD and livelihoods).
• With the support of RMEL Manager, ensure that learning from the project implementation and research is incorporated into project implementation and improvement plans.

.Monitoring and evaluation

• Take the lead in tracking Kulea Watoto project progress by work plans and targets
• Coordinate the field-level monitoring, client responsiveness and evaluation activities, reflective practice, and impact measurement.
• Ensure the on-time execution of project monitoring, accountability, and evaluation events including but not limited to needs assessments, labor market survey, baseline survey, final evaluation, data quality audits, project monitoring data, and field supervision.
• Support the field organization of data collection surveys, client satisfaction surveys, and client feedback collection systems.
• Provide technical assistance to project staff, partners, and incentive workers on information management systems, data collection and record keeping,
• Update the MEAL plan and indicator trackers timely and provide feedback to program staff, partners, and other stakeholders on the status and the quality of implementation. (Quarterly performance indicator analysis, including generation of reports as well as presentations for staff related to ongoing performance;)
• Conduct regular data quality checks and verification exercises to ensure reporting and collection of quality data;
• Actively participate in and contribute to MEAL team activities, system assessments, development, and implementation of new systems and/or tools aimed at strengthening overall MEAL practices for Kulea Watoto project
• Provide MEAL inputs for reports written during project implementation.

Human Resources 

• In collaboration with the RMEL Manager, support the technical training of partners, project staff and incentive workers.
• Support in the recruitment and onboarding of field incentive workers and enumerators.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports directly to or in Management in Partnership to: RMEL Manager.
• The position directly supervises enumerators.

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Program Manager and Officers, Project Coordinator, HR Officers, Supply Chain Officers

     External: Beneficiaries, Kulea Watoto partner organizations, local and national government

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request reasonable accommodation.

Gender Equality & Equal Opportunity

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous 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. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

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

This position is only for Ugandan nationals to apply, IRC strives to attract, motivate and retain qualified national staff in our programs

·Standards for Professional Conduct:

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.

 Deadline for receiving applications is Tuesday November 5th,2024

Minimum Qualifications:

•  A technical degree or equivalent – additional relevant work experience may substitute for education.
• A University degree in a relevant field (such as: statistics & data management, social science, public health, development economics, or a related subject area)
• A Minimum 3 years of working experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and                 Learning-related functions.

• Possess basic technical knowledge of M&E approaches and techniques in some or all of the     following areas: Outputs, Outcome monitoring, Logical frameworks, Data collection, Basic data analysis, Accountability, Client feedback mechanisms.

    Good computer skills in MS Office, especially Excel; and Word – with experience in writing reports;

·Technical skills in setting up quality MEAL processes and creating logical frameworks and data analysis that leads to learning and action.

Experience in conducting primary quantitative data collection and data entry.

Proficiency and experience with mobile data collection such as Kobo, Commcare, ODK as well as proficiency with Microsoft Excel, SPSS, STATA, or other similar software. Knowledge of  PowerBi, and GIS software tools are additional assets.

Demonstrated analytical, systematic thinking, and problem-solving skills.

·Proven ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods together with presentation and reporting skills are a strong asset.

·Confirmed ability to lead, mentor, and empower a small to medium professional team.

·Self-motivated with good organization, and planning skills, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking.

·A strong understanding of accountability and proven ability to build Client Feedback Systems

·Demonstratable ability to engage and build excellent working relationships with local partner organisations implementing the project is vital during project delivery

Language Skills:

·Fluency in English Language both written and spoken is required

·Ability to speak the local language is desired; Knowledge of other local languages is an added advantage.

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