About Action Against Hunger 

Action Against Hunger was founded in 1979 as an international non-governmental organization that fights against hunger in the world. Our mission is to save lives by eliminating hunger through preventing, detecting and treating undernutrition, especially during and after emergencies related to conflicts and natural disasters. 

The international network of Action Against Hunger has offices in France, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, USA, India and Belgium. Teams in the field combat hunger on four fronts:

Nutrition and Health, Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS).

About Action Against Hunger - USA 

As the world’s hunger specialist, our primary goal is to create a better way to deal with hunger. For more than 40 years, we led the global movement that aims to end life-threatening hunger for good within our lifetimes. With 7,500+ staff, our teams have been on the front lines, treating and preventing malnutrition across more than 45 countries, assisting more than 21 million people.

We save the lives of children and their families. We are there for them before and after disaster strikes. We enable people to provide for themselves, see their children grow up strong, and for whole communities to prosper. We constantly search for more effective solutions, while sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world. We push for long-term change.

 About the Country Program in Ethiopia

Action Against Hunger has been operational in Ethiopia since 1985 responding to both chronic and acute needs through a multi-sectoral strategic approach where Nutrition and Health, Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) are integrated in order to maximize impact on people’s resilience.

Action Against Hunger currently operates in 5 different regions with an anticipated 2020 yearly portfolio of $20M of emergency and resilience building programs, research and innovation. We have a country team of about 550 staff working out of 18 field offices and sub offices across Ethiopia. 

Our main donors in Ethiopia are ECHO, Europaid, UNHCR, OFDA, BPRM, SIDA, EHF, WFP, UNICEF and others.

General Assignments / Scope of the Role:

The MEAL Head of Department is responsible for effective planning and implementation of a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning system for the Action Against Hunger Ethiopia mission in line with Action Against Hunger's M&E Minimum Standards and MEAL Strategy 2020.

S/he will provide technical support to needs assessments, baseline/endline studies, post-distribution monitoring and other routine monitoring and surveys. S/he will oversee the mission’s accountability and feedback mechanisms, ensuring sensitization of Action Against Hunger staff and communities as well as timely follow-up on all feedback. S/he will supervise program knowledge management of the mission.

The MEAL Head of Department role’s purpose, engagement and delivery is

Purpose

1: Strengthen the MEAL system of the mission including human resources, tools, and knowledge management.

The MEAL Head of Department is responsible for:

·         Lead the development of MEAL country strategy, structure, staffing and financing

·         Help coordination missions to better define the follow-up of country strategies based on SMART indicators and targets on mission’s strategy defined by the coordination under the validation of ADRO/DRO

·         Provide analysis about MEAL performance at country or project levels

·         Ensure M&E systems are developed to guide project start-up, implementation, adjustment, accountability and learning in compliance with ACF’s M&E Guidelines and Minimum Requirements for M&E.

·         Stocktaking of existing data collection and monitoring tools in the mission

·         In collaboration with Head of Department s (WASH, FSL, NUT-HEALTH, MHCP), the Senior M&E Head of Department  in HQ and the DCD propose possible improvements and/or streamlining of tools

·         Support the recruitment, capacity building (formal and on-the-job training), and management of qualified staff to carry out regular MEAL functions

·         Organize in collaboration with Field Coordinators regular workshops for programme staff on principles of MEAL and other relevant topics

·         Supervise and provide technical support to MEAL staffs’ development of systems and tools, including promoting and rolling out new technologies relevant to MEAL

·         Ensure harmonized application of tools, methods, and informed consent procedures across all bases

·         Ensure SADD data is collected

·         In close collaboration with Field Coordinators, PMs, Head of Department s and MEAL staff, ensure that field teams develop centralized project databases with appropriate levels of data protection, storage and management.

·         In collaboration with Field Coordinators, Head of Department s and Deputy Country Director, represent ACF externally in relevant forums and working groups at national level on issues related to monitoring, evaluation and accountability (consortia, alliances and clusters).

2: Ensure proper and timely implementation of MEAL activities, including program monitoring, reporting, and accountability mechanisms

The MEAL Head of Department  is responsible for:

·         In close collaboration with Field Coordinators, follow up on MEAL staff timeframes and budgets are respected as per MEAL Plan

·         Actively participate in the development of project logical frameworks to ensure objectives are clearly constructed and indicators are SMART and respond to process, outputs, and outcome

·         Support the inclusion of MEAL activities in new project proposals and their implementation at country level, in collaboration with the senior management country team

·         Reinforce systems and tools for MEAL, developing new tools as necessary; ensure appropriate process-, output-, and outcome level monitoring is carried out across all programme sectors using effective qualitative and quantitative methods

·         Establish and monitor systems for accountability, including community and other stakeholder feedback and participation across programmes

·         Support the development of Terms of Reference (TORs) for external evaluations

·         At field level, work with MEAL Officers, Programme Managers, and Field Coordinators to ensure MEAL findings are incorporated into both qualitative and quantitative Activity Progress Report (APR).

·         Ensure that Activity Progress Reports (APR) are submitted on time to Addis office, centralize the APR and ensure they are on the server

3: Ensure quality and efficiency of data collected through the mission’s MEAL teams

The MEAL Head of Department is responsible for:

·         Manage Open Data Kit (ODK) / Kobo platform for the mission; lead on roll-out of mobile data collection within the mission, to include training, troubleshooting, and support for ODK / Kobo use in the field.

·         Support survey process and quality review of data from surveys (KAP, SMART, SQUEAC, NCA, PVCA, baseline – endline), Post-Distribution Monitoring and mapping exercise as needed.

·         Facilitate the analysis by producing visual summaries (maps, graphs) upon request of the coordination team

·         Ensure rigorous application of procedures based on sampling methodology

·         Supervise field staff to ensure rigorous training for internal and external enumerators incorporating ACF mandate, key project information, and application of ethical and rigorous data collection procedures

·         Support on strategy development for expanding ICT opportunities in the mission (new technological innovations and their application to Ethiopia context/ACF projects, GIS and spatial analysis capacity, and other technical platforms).

·         Support humanitarian context surveillance system and ensure coherence of ACF system with external system (government, cluster, etc.)

Engagement

·         Facilitate knowledge building and learning process to ensure previous recommendations and lessons learnt from evaluations and other data (including monitoring data) are incorporated in new proposal design, decision-making and activity planning

·         Organize and coordinate mid-term reviews, and review of program work plans with nutrition, WASH and FSL team at field level and other stakeholders.

·         Facilitate lessons learned meeting at different stages of the project cycle management (kick-off, during implementation, close-out) and share findings to relevant stakeholders

·         Ensure that lessons learned and recommendations in planning, monitoring, evaluation and accountability are documented, shared and considered / addressed in the design of new projects and technical plans and discussed during periodic program reviews and ultimately fed into current work and future program development.

·         Advise on the inclusion of MEAL resources and activities in new project proposals

·         Support the quality, timeliness and dissemination of M&E outputs internally and externally

·         Provide quarterly feedback to senior management team on standard indicators for nutrition, WASH and FSL while comparing information over time and between sectors.

Reporting /Delivery

·         Monthly activity progress reports

·         Weekly/monthly contribution to mission SITREP

·         Support to donor reporting and proposal development

·         Annual Beneficiary count and progress report

·         Ad-hoc reports (assessments and surveys)

·         Compilation of APR (quarterly, annually)

Additional Tasks

·         Ensure gender mainstreaming in the MEAL department

·         This job description is not intended to be all inclusive and the employee will also perform other related tasks as required and is                 responsible for reporting and communication of progress and achievement of the specific assigned task 

Required Qualifications and Professional Experience

Minimum- bachelor’s degree in humanitarian affairs, public health, epidemiology, demography, statistics, economics, or other human health science fields.

Preferably 7 up to 10 years of experience in the Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability of humanitarian or development programs; Familiarity with one of Action Against Hunger intervention thematic areas is also preferable. Fluency in English (both written and spoken skills).

Required Skills & Competencies

·         Professional, motivated, open, creative, mature, responsible, flexible and culturally sensitive

·         Excellent communication, writing and analytical skills

·         Skills on at least one statistical data analysis software (MS Excel, SPSS, etc.)

·         Microsoft Office Skills (Outlook, Excel, Power Point, Word)

·         Knowledge of  project cycle management

·         Commitment to ACF mission, values and policy

·         Experience in humanitarian MEAL

·         Experience in monitoring and evaluating donor (i.e. ECHO, OFDA, SIDA, PRM, and EHF) funded activities preferable.

·         Experience in designing and leading internal and external evaluation preferable

·         Experience designing and leading capacity building and training for program teams preferable

·         Familiarity with Management Information Systems (Databases) and GIS preferable

·         Previous experience with nutrition, WASH, food security and livelihoods programming.

·         Previous experience with cash based interventions (i.e. cash for work, cash transfers or cash vouchers)

·         Experience with mobile data collection processes and platforms (preferably Kobo ToolBox).

·         Experience with GIS and spatial analysis

·         Familiarity with Management Information Systems (Databases)