Save the Children is seeking a Consortium MEAL Manager for the anticipated FCDO Kenya Devolution Programme (KDP).
The role holder will take overall responsibility of the overall consortium’s MEAL deliverables in the project.
S/he will provide overall MEAL leadership direction for the project, enhancing quality, accountability and learning and ensuring smooth coordination and MEAL coherence across the programme.
The project aims to strengthen the effectiveness of Kenya’s devolution process, specifically to improve development results by strengthening effective, open and accountable County Governments that improve service delivery and reduce poverty.
This will be done through strengthening the functions of county governments, improving intergovernmental relations, enhancing citizens’ engagement and public participation.
In the event of a major humanitarian emergency, the role holder will be expected to work outside the normal role profile and be able to vary working hours accordingly. This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.
Key Areas of Accountability
Technical assistance and leadership
Provide overall monitoring, evaluation, accountability, & learning leadership of the programme, bringing coherence to all MEAL activities and setting priorities in designing and overseeing the implementation of the project’s MEAL activities in collaboration with the other technical advisors and the implementation team.
Working with the technical and MEAL advisors across the partners, ensuring shared, harmonised, and integrated MEAL approaches across the partners.
Provides capacity building and leadership of MEAL staff to ensure innovative, adaptive, and iterative learning approaches across the consortium.
Ensure the use of digital technology for information data collection, sharing, evidence generation, learning and technical approach adaptation.
Works in close coordination with FCDO’s MEL technical lead to ensure strong MEAL alignment with FCDO’s overall programme and strategy.
Provide leadership for Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement measures in governance work.
Monitoring:
Ensure that the programme has a solid MEAL plan, Indicator Performance Tracking Tables (IPTT) and log frames.
Support the Program and MEAL teams in updating the indicator tracking tables and provide necessary MEAL guidance regarding project performance.
Lead in the development of harmonized tools and guidelines for data collection, collation and reporting across the consortium.
Maintain a program database and ensure that the databases are updated regularly.
Capacity building of program staff, sub-grantees and local partners on project related M&E templates/forms for data collection; like Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTT) etc.
Organize field visits to monitor program activities / interventions against Quality Benchmarks/Quality Checklists and produce & share reports with program team as well as management team based on quality and accountability findings.
Leads in the quality of program design – reviewing log-frames, results frameworks, project plan, strategic plans, MEAL Plan etc.
Lead in conducting data quality assessment to ensure that data reported is validated, is accurate and consistent while providing feedback as necessary to program teams;
Analysis against the performance indicators and targets on periodic basis
To carry out follow-up monitoring visits to materialize actions agreed and update these in the online “Monitoring-Action Plan Tracker’.
Support program teams in developing quality program reports.
Research and evaluation:
Work with the technical teams to develop and implement an innovative plan for generating and sharing evidence to identify key issues for adaptive management and sharing feedback to consortium members and wider stakeholders on findings.
Provides leadership, strategic direction, and oversight of the consortium’s learning approach.
Working in close coordination with the technical teams to provide
problem driven, politically smart, and adaptive research and evaluation approaches, using the results of the analysis to adapt programme activities to emerging risks and nascent opportunities.
Maintain an online research, assessments and evaluation tracker and ensure that this is visible and used by program staff.
With support from communications, MEAL and programs teams develop quality case studies.
Accountability:
Work with the technical teams to develop and implement a strong accountability plan, adopting the use of digital innovation to better leverage beneficiary feedback, information sharing, and promote transparency, dialogue and trust around devolution processes.
Ensure the Complaint Feedback Mechanism (CFM) are functional and accessible to beneficiaries.
Ensure that the agreed action plans are followed in timely manner by program team and that the feedback loop is closed.
Maintain a consortium complaints and feedback database while performing regular analysis of the feedback data
Learning:
Work with the technical teams to develop an innovative learning plan for the programme, providing leadership and oversight of the consortium’s learning approach.
Adopt the use of digital technology to facilitate innovative strategies for shared learnings across all stakeholders and ensure the key learning’s are incorporated in upcoming plans and interventions.
Qualifications and Experience
Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, public health, education, development, or information technology Training in data management is an added advantage.
Minimum of 5 years practical experience in M&E system development coordination/implementation in a large international non-governmental organization or other international relief/development body for large and complex grants, consortium leadership experience is an added advantage
Minimum of 3 years of relevant technical experience in MEAL for devolved governance projects in Kenya or similar context
Excellent knowledge of digital data collection and accountability systems
Excellent advanced quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills using SPSS and/or Stata as well as Nvivo/Atlas.ti software
Ability to use geographical information systems to collect geospatial data
Demonstrable track-record in data management, with the ability to manage large databases
Ability to analyse and disseminate complex information to a range of stakeholder audiences;
Computer literacy, particularly in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
Strong familiarity with project frameworks design/implementation/M&E cycle
Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, adapting and innovating where necessary, and defining a clear way forward and ensuring buy in.
Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
Good management skills with ability to manage a team
Highly developed cultural and political awareness and ability to work well in an international and matrix management environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills, with the ability to organize 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;
