Senior Consortium MEAL Officer-Readvertised

 Organization Background 
Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a world leader in relief, rehabilitation, and post-conflict development services for those affected by violent conflict and oppression. The IRC is currently working in over 40 countries around the world, addressing both the immediate and lifesaving needs of conflict-affected people in emergencies and the reconstruction needs of post-conflict societies. The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting IDPs, refugees, and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector. The current program portfolio in Uganda includes health and nutrition, support to persons with specific needs (PSNs) including case management, legal assistance to refugees, prevention and response to gender-based violence, and economic recovery and development. IRC Uganda has a head office in Kampala, field offices in Kyegegwa, Lamwo, Kiryandongo, Karamoja, and West Nile regions, as well as Kampala urban.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Teams International (MTI) with funding from the European Union for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) are implementing an epidemic disease surveillance and response and life-saving health services project across high-risk districts in 10 settlements of refugee settlements of Adjumani, Bidibidi, Imvepi, Kyaka II, Kyangwali, Nakivale, Palabek, Palorinya, Rhino Camp and Rwamwanja. This action is complementary to the national disease outbreak control surveillance and response outlined in both the Uganda National Ebola Virus Disease and COVID-19 Preparedness Plans, led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and supported by United Nations agencies. Both IRC and MTI are actively involved in supporting national, district, and settlement-level disaster preparedness and response through daily field-level coordination with other first responders.

Job Overview
The senior consortium MEAL Officer will be responsible for ensuring quality data is obtained from program facilities, VHTs, and program staff. He will support the MEAL manager to execute MEAL-related activities during the project cycle (Conducting baseline studies, operational studies, routine monitoring, midterm, and endline evaluations, and learning meetings). The staff will be responsible for maintaining a functional and robust MEAL system for managing data collection, storage, analysis, reporting, and dissemination processes. He will provide MEAL technical support to the MEAL assistants and Health Information Assistants (HIAs) in the 4 locations (Yumbe, Madi Okollo, Terego, and Lamwo) where the project is being implemented. He will be responsible for the development and execution of MEAL work plans, budgets, and spending plans. He will take lead in compiling monthly data reports and updating the aggregated indicator project performance tracker table (IPPTT) and Beneficiary/activity tracker including the performance of the partner. He will assist in preparing quality presentations for the review meetings while providing data trends to inform programmatic decisions. The staff will work with the Program and MEAL Managers in writing donor reports and other reports required by the IRC’s field office. With support from the MEAL manager, he will provide MEAL technical oversight to the existing MEAL team and build their capacity in data management while ensuring timely data collection from the health facilities to feed into designated databases including program reports and DHIS2. He will support the implementation of monthly data review sessions at the field level and will conduct site visits to monitor data quality, and train, mentor, and coach where needs are identified. The staff will build the capacity of health facility staff and program staff in the interpretation of trends and performance on indicators. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Leadership and Partnership
• Support all technical aspects and actions of MEAL under the ECHO health program; respond to program needs; foster high standards and practices for quality data collection, analysis, and reports.
• Enable accountability to clients, partners, and donors.
• Implement and support MEAL systems, and approaches and foster learning. 
• Represent IRC at technical meetings, forums, and other events & build partnerships within IRC and its area of expertise.
• Champion access and use of data for shared learning, sound decision-making, and data-informed programmatic adaptations. 

Technical Oversight 

• Run the MEAL system and processes for the project in harmony with the MEAL Country and Global Strategies throughout the project cycle which include:
• Collaborate with MEAL and non-MEAL staff to ensure that data is collected, compiled, and checked for its quality and completeness in compliance with IRC and donors’ standards for data quality 
• Document and share learning, evidence, and data from previous projects to inform project proposal design
• Implement M&E/MEAL plans, revise (digital) data collection tools, follow up on processes for online data management, conduct data quality checks, and audits, and update for data visualization and utilization.
• Undertake regular analysis of monitoring data and work closely with program officers and managers to facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation.
• Produce quality reports and update dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in project cycle management meetings and team meetings.
• Identify, document, and share client feedback to improve services and results for our clients.
• Support deployment of surveys such as baseline and end line, needs assessment, pilot studies, client exit interviews, client satisfaction, and the commission of evaluations in coordination with colleagues and partners.
• Support the use of standard mobile data technology and online dashboard to enhance the timeliness and quality of data collection, analysis, and visualization.
• Join and contribute to IRC’s effort in meeting its internal and external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms. 

Human Resources  

• Coordinate, lead, and mentor MEAL officer and assistants; foster timely and high-quality achievement, and an inclusive and respectful team climate.
• Promote the growth and development of others in IRC teams and partners: present high-quality technical training and learning material for partners, colleagues, and junior staff. 
• Participate in the recruitment and onboarding of M&E/MEAL assistants, field incentive workers, and enumerators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, public health, demography, Economics, or a related field.
• A master’s degree or postgraduate diploma in M&E, statistics, or economics will be an added advantage. 
• At least three years of working experience with proven success in designing, implementing and operating project M&E systems from project initiation to close-out stages.
• Possess technical knowledge of M&E approaches and techniques in the following areas: Outputs, Outcome monitoring; Theories of Change, Logical frameworks, Data collection, Data analysis, Accountability, Client feedback mechanisms
• Experience in conducting primary quantitative data collection and data entry.
• Basic proficiency and experience with mobile data collection such as Kobo, CommCare, and ODK Collect is required, knowledge of Tableau, Power-Bi, or GIS software tools are additional assets. 
• Good computer skills in MS Office, especially Excel; and Word – with experience in writing reports.
• Self-motivated and pro-active attitude with good organization, planning, and analytic skills, including prioritizing work, multi-tasking, and attention to detail
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and in constantly evolving work environments.
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and in constantly evolving work environments.
• Demonstrated analytical, systematic-thinking, and problem-solving skills are definite assets.
• A strong understanding of accountability and proven ability to build Client Feedback Systems 
• Language [specify which language/s are required and at what level of fluency]
• Willingness to travel to various field-level offices (Yumbe, Lamwo and Arua)
• Experience in the use of the MOH data collection and management tools, including DHIS2.
• Good report writing skills.

Deadline for receiving applications is February 12th, 2023.