Organisation: Catholic Relief
Services (CRS)
Reports to: Head of
Programming
Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) is an international non-profit organization which 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.
Job Summary: The Project Officer – Monitoring, Evaluation,
Accountability and Learning (MEAL) will primarily oversee, strengthen, and
provide strategic guidance to the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Uganda Country Program MEAL system, ensuring
cross-learning in MEAL among projects, and to build capacity of MEAL staff. The
MEAL Officer will be responsible for supervising MEAL activities, particularly
during times of emergency, and assessments required for proposal development. The
MEAL Officer will work closely with CRS program teams and partner staff to
develop high quality monitoring systems and tools which address indicators set
out in project proposals. He/she will ensure that learning from projects is
systematically captured and used throughout the country program. He/ she will
also take learning needs into account, and develop and conduct capacity
building for MEAL and program staff, with support of the HoP and the RTA for
M&E. The MEAL Officer will also work closely with the Head of Programs
(HoP) to ensure that the Uganda program complies with the CRS’s regional and
global MEAL systems and standards.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
1.
MEAL Strategy & Design:
·
Ensure that the Uganda Country Program MEAL systems
are in compliance with CRS’ global and regional policies, procedures,
standards, and strategic initiatives
·
Provide strategic guidance to the development and
maintenance of MEAL systems, and the roll-out of new initiatives
·
Assist the Program Managers and MEAL working group
members in the design and implementation of assessments, gender analysis,
stakeholder analysis, organizational capacity assessments, and other pre-program
data collection and analysis
·
Provide strategic high level feedback, analysis and
interpretation throughout the proposal development process
·
Develop and review Results Frameworks, ProFrames,
M&E Plans, and Analysis Plans
·
Ensure the consistency of tools and indicators
across all offices, sectors, and programs as appropriate, maintaining a bank of
key program indicators
·
Technically support programming staff to incorporate
participatory methods into community level M&E systems and tools
·
Collect and analyze lessons learned and best
practices from previous and ongoing programs capturing the impact of
activities, and ensure that these are incorporated into the design of new
projects
·
Leverage lessons learned, best practices, program
data, evaluations, and provide evidence based information, proposal annexes,
success stories, case studies, and other high-quality, results-based
documentation
·
Ensure that all programs comply with the CRS
accountability framework
·
Work closely with senior management to identify and
pursue strategic opportunities for program development expansion, etc.
·
Manage emergency real-time evaluations, internal
end-of-project evaluations, needs assessments, baselines, impact studies, case
studies, and other evaluation efforts
·
The incumbent will also steer project monitoring
design initiatives including: tool design, data collection processes, and
analysis methods using the SMILER method
·
Manage agency driven MEAL inquiries, requirements
i.e. end of year beneficiary counts, etc.
·
Significantly contribute to donor proposals and
reports, through high quality analysis of reports and interpretation of data,
create a dashboard to review reports and data for specific projects.
·
Render support to the MEAL team in strategically
preparing and reviewing MEAL calendars
·
Develop MEAL operation manuals to ensure that they
are complete, up-to-date, high quality, and contain tools, dataflow maps, and
analysis plans that address all information needed for program quality and
donor reporting
·
Support learning-to-action events and reflection
sessions to systematically analyze data for programmatic use, and to document
and incorporate lessons learned into program design and implementation
·
Ensure that MEAL and program teams regularly review
and accordingly adjust MEAL plans and tools in the light of changes and needs
in the field context based on monitoring data and reflection sessions
·
Ensure that transparent high quality accountability
mechanisms are in place for all programs and are regularly monitored and
evaluated
·
Ensure that beneficiary feedback is adequately
captured, addressed, analyzed, and utilized by program teams
·
Lead CRS teams in conducting internal impact and
sustainability evaluations, and supporting external impact and sustainability
evaluation
3.
Capacity Strengthening:
·
Lead the CRS Uganda MEAL Community of Practice to
share learning, resources, and support across offices
·
Develop and co-facilitate MEAL workshops and modules
for staff and partners to share country program, regional, and global MEAL
tools, processes, and best practices to cultivate a culture of learning
·
Carry out trainings and orientations for new MEAL
and program staff on CRS systems and key MEAL resources
·
Provide mentoring/accompaniment to CRS and partner
staff to increase capacity and to achieve annual performance and development
plans
·
Remain updated with developments among the CRS MEAL
community and worldwide MEAL trends and resources, and ensure that the Uganda
MEAL team is applying CRS MEAL guidance and policies appropriately and in a
timely manner
·
Carry out field monitoring visits events frequently
with project teams and implementing partners
·
Send timely feedback to senior project and MEAL
staff to improve the overall MEAL system and ensure quality implementation of
MEAL activities
·
Support MEAL and programming teams to develop strong
project tracking, record keeping and filing methodologies for all activities
·
Work collaboratively with MEAL and IT staff to
maximize the value and utility of ICT4MEAL initiatives and/or the roll out of
similar initiatives
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience:
·
The ideal candidate for the CRS MEAL Officer
opportunity should be a Graduate in a field related to international
development
·
A minimum of two years of managerial experience with
an NGO (experience with INGO preferred); in addition to significant MEAL
experience
·
Prior exposure and experience working with large
donors i.e. USAID, ECHO and MasterCard
·
Familiarity with principles and current approaches
to MEAL of development programs using past exposure and experience with
participatory MEAL systems
·
Computer literacy i.e. Proficiency in database
development/ management, SPSS, Epi-lnfo, Access, Excel and skills in analyzing,
interpreting and communicating information to various stakeholders
·
Prior experience using ICT for data collection
·
Significant experience in conducting quantitative
and qualitative assessments and surveys (including sound understanding of
sampling issues)
·
Prior exposure and experience using appreciative
inquiry and conflict sensitivity techniques
·
Previous experience with leading and managing
studies and consultants
·
Experience with facilitation, capacity strengthening
and partnership building, with the capacity to empower staff through
opportunities for growth & development
·
The MEAL Officer is expected to have a high level of
self-initiative and use critical thinking skills to identify and fill gaps.
·
The MEAL Officer should possess the ability to work
sensitively and positively with programming teams and promote a learning
environment – success of the post relies on this.
·
Ability to transfer knowledge through formal and
informal training
·
Prior supervisory experience and management and team
building skills
·
Excellent planning and organization skills
·
Flexibility to work both in a team and independently
·
Cultural sensitivity, patience and flexibility
·
Demonstrated personal accountability and driven to
serve others
·
Fluency in both written and spoken English
·
Excellent oral and written communication skills,
ability to work well with people, good judgment and commitment to CRS’ mission
·
Willingness to travel 35% of time.
Personal 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
·
Cultivates Constructive Relationships
·
Promotes Learning
All suitably
qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to send a cover letter, updated
CV and three work references (names and contact information only) to: ug_recruitment@crs.org
Deadline: 8th September, 2015.
Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda
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