Career Opportunity with RI, Bangladesh

MEAL Manager

About RI:  Relief International, headquartered in USA, is a leading international non-government organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International (RI) has been working in Bangladesh since 2004, implementing programs covering emergency response, health, economic opportunity, trafficking in persons, gender equality and youth empowerment. RI has been present in Cox’s Bazar since 2014 where it was implementing a trafficking in person’s project in Ukhiya and Teknaf supporting old caseload refugees as well as host communities prior to the large-scale influx. Since 2017, RI has scaled up its operations in Cox’s Bazar to support the emergency response by providing integrated, multi-sectoral programming for refugee and host communities, covering health services, including a 100 bed COVID-19 Isolation and Treatment Center in Ukhiya, child protection, SGBV, complimentary food and livelihoods opportunities to support social cohesion. Relief International is currently implementing a large scale refugee response program in Cox`s Bazar in Bangladesh in collaboration with multiple partners including UNHCR, WFP, USAID.RI maintains a country office in Dhaka with multiple field offices in Cox`s Bazar.

Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach which we call the RI Way emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships, and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

Position Summary:

The MEAL Manager will work to ensure that RI is adhering to quality and accountability, both from donor requirements and, importantly, resulting in immediate and long-term changes in the lives of the communities that RI serves. The MEAL Manager will bring considerable experience and new ideasto lead on MEAL system implementation, review and evaluations, MEAL budgeting, recruitment, and proposal writing and log frame building. The MEAL Manager will work in close collaboration with Regional and Global MEAL teams to ensure quality implementation of organizational initiatives.

The Manager will ensure that all RI and Partner projects are supported by measuring the quality, efficacy, and appropriateness of their programs. It will be critical for the Manager to document and disseminate lessons learnt in order to improve current and future programs. To ensure the quality of interventions, this position will support RI and Partner teams in maintaining an effective monitoring system across all sectors, including the utilization of community feedback data.

A central focus of this position will be on building and supporting MEAL capacity among all staff and partners. This will include, notably, accountability towards and participation of affected communities that RI serves. The Manager will also guide an evidence-based agenda that will inform program direction through assessments, regular meetings with program staff, and mid/end line evaluations.

Specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

MEAL System Design and Implementation:

  • Oversee the implementation and maintenance of an organizational MEAL (emergency & development) system, providing accountability to RI leadership, donors, and program participants. .
  • Promote all components of MEAL in order to foster the development of an organizational culture that promotes quality programming, accountability and learning.
  • Develop strong relationships with colleagues and offer assistance as needed to ensure that the MEAL system is understood and supported at the Dhaka and Cox's Response office levels.
  • Collaborate closely with program teams to ensure that MEAL becomes an integral component of project implementation, resulting in improved quality, accountability, management, and impact.
  • Lead on incorporating country MEAL and program data into RI global MEAL database (LogAlto). After training, act as primary country focal point for database and technology systems.

Personnel Management, Coaching, Training and Development:

  • Lead the MEAL team, establishing a strong team identity inside the organization and fostering collaboration among team members working in diverse geographic zones.
  • Oversee the hiring of appropriate MEAL personnel for specific programs.
  • Manage the MEAL team to ensure that the MEAL system is operating efficiently with the necessary support and resources, and that there are clear communication and reporting lines between the field and Country office levels, as well as between MEAL and other program areas.
  • Assist the MEAL team's progress on specific projects, offering management oversight and problem-solving in the event of issues.
  • Define expectations, give leadership and technical support as needed, so that MEAL staff can carry out their responsibilities.
  • Administer direct reports' performance in the MEAL unit through performance management, coaching, mentoring, training, and development.
  • Create and manage an organizational MEAL training program with the goal of increasing MEAL capacity and awareness among all employees. Determine the training needs and solicit the assistance of MEAL team members to carry out the training program.
  • Inform program design by leading assessments and ensure the availability of relevant analyses of existing program data.
  • Contribute to proposal development by developing log frames, theories of change, indicator frameworks, etc.
  • Contribute to lessons learned and reflection sessions through presentation of relevant data, ensuring buy-in from program and technical staff.

Reporting:

  • Accountable for ensuring that the organization meets all internal and external MEAL obligations in emergency and development programs on time and with high-quality data, including reporting on RI global indicators and quarterly reports, total direct and indirect reach statistics.
  • Identifies and introduces new elements (systems, tools, and procedures) as required to improve the system in close coordination with RI’s Global and Regional MEAL team.
  • Receive monthly field monitoring and accountability reports from the MEAL team and distribute them to national office teams, ensuring that action plans are included and followed up on, and that the SMT examines reports on a regular basis. Encouragement of Learning for Strategy Development and Decision Making
  • Responsible to ensure that the organisation delivers on all internal MEAL requirements in emergency and development programmes in a timely manner and with high quality information, including reporting on RI global indicators and quarterly reports, total direct and indirect reach data.
  • Ensure that data and conclusions from across thematic and operational zones are brought together to establish a coherent framework for impact analysis that fosters learning and strategy creation for the entire organization.
  • Take the lead in monitoring and enhancing the synergy and integration of thematic programs in order to improve the delivery of excellent results to communities.
  • Disseminate top-level learning / analysis reports and monitoring data to ensure that management can make timely, informed decisions to scale up and address operational issues. Duplicates from above

External Reporting and Representation:

  • Ensures external responsibility to funders by implementing timely and high-quality MEAL activities that result in timely and accurate reporting.
  • Ensure the production of high-quality analytical reports to demonstrate RI's effect and assessment findings, including proof of best practices and replicable programs, and that they are disseminated at suitable events.
  • Ensure that RI is represented at key inter-NGO and government level meetings at the field level (related to MEAL) to improve inter-agencies best practices sharing and learning.
  • Ensure that MEAL is included in all proposal development and is an integral component of the program design stage.
  • Ensures external accountability to donors through the implementation of timely and quality MEAL activities leading to timely and accurate reporting

Qualifications & Requirements:

This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.

Education/Skill Requirements

  • Master’s degree in an area of social science, humanities or equivalent.

Essential

  • Recommended a minimum of eight years management and/or MEAL experience in a both emergency and development contexts, preferably with solid experience in more than one of the RI’s current priority sectors in Bangladesh: protection, health and nutrition, social cohesion and emergencies.
  • Knowledge of the major evaluation methodologies (e.g. qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method, and impact) and data collection and analysis methodologies a plus
  • Experience in planning and managing surveys.
  • Experience in developing and refining data collection tools.
  • Experience with data quality assessments and oversight.
  • Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
  • Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
  • Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
  • Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
  • Fluency in English, both verbal and written, preferred.
  • Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
  • Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
  • Previous deployments in complex conflict situations
  • Previous experience in Cox’s Bazar
  • Remote management/contingency planning
  • Commitment to RI values.

Safeguarding and Gender Sensitiveness:

  • Be part of embedding an organizational culture that is committed to protecting clients from harm.
  • Ensure that the team understands and abide by the organization culture of safeguarding.
  • Design and implement gender sensitive approach (if/where applicable).

RI Values:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities. We value:

  • Integrity
  • Adaptability
  • Collaboration
  • Inclusivity
  • Sustainability

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are requested to apply through online by August 04, 2022.

Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted, so candidates are encouraged to apply early.

RI Bangladesh has a non-negotiable policy of ZERO TOLERANCE towards Safeguarding. All employees are expected to abide by the Code of Conduct, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) , Child Protection Policy and Human Trafficking Policy of Relief International.

You may check our website at www.ri.org to know about our organization.