Scope of Work: MEAL Technical Advisor (TA)

On behalf of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) (www.crs.org), Caritas Bangladesh is seeking a qualified professional as a full-time consultant for the Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Technical Advisor (TA).

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a US-based relief and development agency working in nearly 100 countries/territories to alleviate poverty and suffering. In Bangladesh, CRS supports vulnerable people through partner organization, Caritas Bangladesh.  Key program sectors include agriculture, livelihoods, food security, emergency response, disaster management, and disaster risk reduction. CRS seeks to hire a Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) TA to help provide MEAL support to agriculture, DRR, and ICB projects in the Bangladesh Country Program, as well as build capacity of the local partner.

Job Title: MEAL Technical Advisor (TA)

Job location: Dhaka
Reports To: Country Manager

Terms of Reference Summary:

The key purpose of this position is to ensure high quality monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) across CRS supported programming sectors and to strengthen the partners MEAL capacity. The MEAL TA will be responsible for supporting Caritas Bangladesh’s MEAL staff and coordinating efforts with project/program managers. The MEAL TA will keep abreast of agency and industry best/good practices in MEAL to ensure the use of technically and operationally appropriate MEAL methods and tools in CRS supported programs. This position needs to coordinate and ensure that all CRS supported programs meet the MEAL requirements, complying with CRS’ Project Management Standards (PMS) and MEAL Policies and Procedures (MPP) as well as donors’ requirement.

Primary Responsibilities:

A. MEAL in Design

  • Provide technical support for the design and implementation of project design assessments, gender analysis, stakeholder analysis, and other pre-proposal data collection and analysis.
  • During project design and proposal development, provide technical support to develop and review theories of change, results frameworks, ProFrames, MEAL plans, MEAL narratives, and MEAL budgets.
  • Contribute to the writing of MEAL sections of proposals.
  • Ensure that MEAL system design for all new projects is in compliance with donor MEAL requirements and CRS’ MEAL policies and procedures (MPP).
  • Lead the appropriate application of CRS’ simple measurement of indicators for learning and evidence-based reporting (SMILER) approach in the design of MEAL systems for all new projects ensuring that all paper-based and digital data collection tools, reporting and visualization tools, data flow and communication & reporting maps, data management, and accountability and learning processes and tools are well designed.

Monitoring:

  • Ensure that project monitoring systems provide timely, high quality data that is consistently collected, analyzed and shared in a user-friendly format with project management, implementing partners and MEAL stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with project/program managers to co-facilitate quarterly learning to action discussions that include reflection on project monitoring data to inform evidence-based decision making and action planning.
  • Provide technical assistance to MEAL and project management staff to ensure the quality and integrity of all data gathered, including planning and organizing annual data quality assessments (MEAL procedure 2.4).
  • Provide technical assistance to MEAL and project management staff to ensure that all monitoring data is recorded in relevant project databases and tracking tools in a timely and accurate manner.
  • Assist program management and MEAL staff in the development of timely, high quality donor and project progress reports.
  • Ensure accurate and comprehensive beneficiary data tracking across all projects that facilitate timely annual reporting of beneficiary and service delivery indicators data reporting to HQ. 

Evaluation:

  • Provide technical leadership to ensure that baseline and evaluation events for all CRS supported projects comply with donor and CRS evaluation (MPP) requirements.
  • In consultation with CRS sub-regional MEAL Manager, develop terms of reference (ToR) for all project baseline, midterm and end of project evaluation events that include technically and operationally appropriate evaluation methods that reflect agency and industry good practice.
  • In consultation with CRS sub-regional MEAL Manager develop scopes of work (SoW) with the respective Program Managers, for hiring MEAL consultants.
  • Co-facilitate participatory reflection events with project and partner staff to identify learning and recommendations as part of all baseline and evaluation events (MEAL procedure 3.7).

Accountability & Learning:

  • Support the identification and documentation of lessons learned, good practices and results from CRS Bangladesh supported programs. This includes the preparation of donor success stories and contributing to the development and implementation of the Country Program Learning Agenda.
  • Provide support and technical assistance to partner MEAL staff to ensure that transparent high quality accountability mechanisms are in place for all programs, and that beneficiary feedback mechanism is installed and routinely captured and responded to by programming teams.
  • Proactively participates in sub-regional and regional MEAL processes, including Accountability and Learning, through a community of practice approach, including sharing and application of good practices in the sub-region.
  • Support programming staff to introduce participatory community level monitoring & evaluation systems and tools.

Capacity-Strengthening:

  • Develop and co-facilitate MEAL workshops/training for staff and partners as needs are identified by Program Managers.
  • Coordinate with project management and partner MEAL staff to optimize partner participation and capacity development in the design and implementation of MEAL systems and activities.
  • Provide mentoring/accompaniment to CRS and partner staff to strengthen MEAL capacity
  • Participate in field-level project review meetings to support and validate the data collected and suggest for improvement.

B. MEAL Management:

  • Conducts or supports period reviews of project MEAL systems to refine MEAL practices and systems and to address gaps or challenges that arise. Coordinates with project managers and Partner level MEAL staff to ensure implementation of MEAL activities as per the project Detailed Implementation Plan and financial plan. 
  • Support Caritas Bangladesh for reviewing and strengthening MEAL system and structure across agency under Institutional Capacity Strengthening project

C. ICT4D:

  • Working with the sub-regional ICT specialist (based in New Delhi) and program teams to establish and implement appropriate ICT4D and ICT4Emergency solutions.
  • Prepare definition files and support developing app-based tools in consultation with project manager and MEAL staff, and sub-regional ICT specialist. 
  • Sharing experience of ICT use with the sub-regional, regional and global team to contribute to agency learning.

Emergency Response:

If CRS supports any disaster response, consultants may be called upon to support emergency operations. Willingness and flexibility to perform tasks other than described in this Scope of Work and work longer hours than normal as necessary to complete critical tasks is required.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: Country Manager, Sub-Regional MEAL Manager, Program Managers, and Sub Regional ICT .
External:  Local partner staff, community members, government, consultants, NGOs, donors.
Background, Experience and Requirements:

Education and Experience:

  • Master’s Degree in Economics / Development or Social Studies / Statistics, or related field & experience
  • Minimum 3-5 years of managerial experience with an NGO, preferably within an INGO with MEAL responsibilities
  • Excellent written and oral English and local language
  • Demonstrated experience in writing proposals and reports in English
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to detect and report inconsistencies
  • Excellent data management (collection, entry, analysis and visualization) skills in Microsoft Excel, Access, or similar platforms. Familiarity with analysis software such as SPSS, STATA, EpiInfo, etc. is a plus.
  • Demonstrated experience developing qualitative and quantitative tools and the analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data.
  • Experience with capacity strengthening and partnership building, with the capacity to empower staff through opportunities for growth, development and delegation of appropriate authority and responsibility
  • Excellent planning and organization skills and experience with information management systems
  • Supervisory experience and management and team building skills, especially in a multicultural setting
  • Preference for ICT4MEAL experience

Personal Skills and Requirements:

  • Ability to provide opportunities for continuous learning, motivate individual/team/department performance
  • Proactive and self-motivated approach to work, with an enthusiasm for learning and openness to adapting
  • Willingness to spend 40% of time traveling in the field

Agency-level Competencies:
These are rooted in the mission, values and principles of CRS

  • Serves with Integrity
  • Models Stewardship
  • Cultivates Constructive Relationships
  • Promotes Learning

Desired MEAL Competencies:

  • MEAL in Design: Developing project-level Theories of Change, Results Frameworks, Proframes, related MEAL system tools and components, and accompanying MEAL narratives.
  • Monitoring: Implementing monitoring activities, including timely collection of quality data, set up and maintenance of databases, facilitation of participatory reflection on monitoring results, and submission of timely progress reports.
  • Evaluation: Developing project-level Theories of change, results frameworks, Proframes, related MEAL system tools and competencies, and accompanying MEAL narratives
  • Accountability: Improving our accountability to a range of stakeholders through increased participation, transparent communication, responsive feedback mechanisms and adherence to internal and external quality standards and requirements.
  • Learning: Promoting excellent knowledge management and collaborative learning processes at the project, program and institutional levels, generating robust evidence for project and programmatic learning that leads to action, decision-making and influence
  • Analysis and Critical Thinking: Engaging with data, challenging biases and assumptions, posing thoughtful questions, pursuing deeper understanding of evidence through reflection and perspective-taking, and making informed programming decisions.
  • ICT for MEAL: Applying knowledge on information and communication technologies (ICT), both hardware and software, for opportune and accurate data collection, database management, conducting.
 

This is a fulltime consultancy and would be renewed each year subject to satisfactory performance of the incumbents and continuity of the Project.

Interested candidates should apply by October 4, 2018 with a detailed C.V. stating current professional fees/ salary drawn and expected fees and giving details of three references to IN_Jobs@crs.org

The subject line should clearly specify (then name of the position) - “Application for MEAL Technical Advisor (TA)

Only short listed candidates will be notified and called for interviews.