Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager

TITLE: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager

TEAM/PROGRAM : Program

Development & Quality

LOCATION: Cairo, Egypt GRADE: 2 CONTRACT LENGTH: Fixed term till December 2027.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING: (select only one)

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

ROLE PURPOSE:

Save the Children International (SCI) has been active in Egypt since 1982, where it implements

development and humanitarian programs in Greater Cairo, Upper and Lower Egypt. Highly experienced operational and technical teams operate out of the Country Office in Cairo; field offices in Alexandria, Assiut and Minya.

The MEAL Manager is a key position within the Country Office. Under the leadership of the Program Development and Quality Director, s/he oversees the design and implementation of a quality, comprehensive and integrated MEAL system that meets SCI standards; MEAL staff management, mentorship, and development; strategic and annual planning, internal reporting, as well as program and project development. The MEAL Manager will ensure that a robust MEAL system is in place that the Country Office engages in the collection and use of participatory and gender-sensitive evidence and that robust analysis and learning is used to inform decision-making at project and country levels and shared where appropriate across the organization. The MEAL Manager will also engage in project development processes by contributing to shaping evidence-based, innovative and high-quality designs that contribute to Save the Children’s global Breakthroughs: Learn, Survive, Be Protected.

S/he directly supervises 3-5 MEAL Officers and 1 Accountability and Learning Specialist. The overall CO MEAL team consists of 10-15 staff, spread between Cairo and Field Offices.

S/he is a member of the Program Development and Quality (PDQ) department and Extended Senior Management Team.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: Program Development and Quality Director.

Staff directly reporting to this role: 5 MEAL Officers, 1 Learning and Evidence Specialist, 1 Accountability Officer; including responsibility for managing team members based outside Cairo in Field Offices.

Budget Responsibilities: Overseeing the budgeting and expenditure of MEAL interventions closely with MEAL Officers and budget holders from various projects.

Role Dimensions: The role is expected to foster relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including the Country Office Program Development & Quality department, Program Operations department, advocacy colleagues, Save the Children members, Regional Advisors, technical counterparts in Country Offices, donors, etc. The role is also expected to engage with internal technical working groups and communities of practice.

Context: Humanitarian and development

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive MEAL System that meets SCI standards

· Lead and oversee the development and implementation of a CO-wide MEAL System for humanitarian and development program and may include local implementation partners as well. This system requires close collaboration with the Program Operation and TAs and must be in line with SCI’s Quality Framework. Project-specific MEAL systems need to meet demands and standards of different donors.

· Ensure that the projects are well set up and regularly have updated MEAL data in Project Reporting Information Management and Evidence (PRIME) system.

· Support the MEAL team to update the Lofgrame, which feeds into IPTT for all projects implemented in Egypt.

· Coordinate with project and communications staff to ensure that success stories and lessons learned are properly documented and shared with the project teams and implementing partners.

· Provide ongoing feedback to New Business Development (NBD) TAs, project staff and stakeholders to ensure that the data that is generated is extensively used among project stakeholders.

· Lead use of monitoring frameworks, tools and processes to measure performance and quality.

· This includes supporting thematic and operation staff to develop and monitor Quality Benchmarks.

· Lead routine collection, analysis and use of evidence, including disaggregation for gender, disability and the most marginalised and deprived, to document impact, innovate and learn what work for children, and inform management, policy and program solutions. This includes needs and baseline assessments, feasibility studies, evaluations and research.

· Lead use of systems that safely and appropriately ensure accountability to children and communities with whom we work by building trusting and collaborative relationships through information sharing and two-way communication, participation, and feedback and reporting mechanisms.

· Systematically identify, document, share and use learning from Save the Children and others’ work, in order to continuously adapt and improve our programming. This includes learning agendas, learning workshops and after-action review, action planning and tracking of learning uptake.

· Lead MEAL emergency preparedness and response within existing country MEAL frameworks, systems, tools and processes, adhering to the Core Humanitarian Standards, Sphere Charter and Red Cross Code of Conduct.

· Champion knowledge management through the development and use of platforms that store and display evidence and learning that is made accessible and actively used between countries, regions, and the Centre.

· Work with New Business Development, the Program Operations Department, and PDQ Thematic Sector teams to ensure that all projects have quality assurance mechanisms integrated into their design and implementation.

· Ensure that Key Performance Indicators related to MEAL activities are regularly met through institutionalization of robust systems for tracking, reporting and following up improvement actions.

· Foster innovation by identifying opportunities to pilot new approaches and to upgrade tools, systems and process based on advances in the aid sector.

· Work closely with the PRIME MEAL lead at the CO to promote the update of PRIME in all projects.

MEAL Structure and Capacity

· Review the country’s MEAL structure and ensure it is fit for purpose.

· Ensure MEAL, Program and PDQ staff have and understand clearly defined roles and responsibilities that are also understood by Program Ops and PDQ teams.

· Identify capacity gaps and design and deliver MEAL capacity building for MEAL, program and partner staff and foster an organisational culture which prioritises MEAL, leading to quality programming.

· Manage the performance of MEAL staff (direct reports and matrix managed) by clearly setting objectives, assessing performance, and providing coaching, mentoring, and training that aligns with SCI’s Global MEAL Capacity Building Strategic Workplan.

Strategic and Annual Planning

· Oversee the design and implementation of the Country Office (CO) learning strategy agenda and the generation of evidence of impact to support fund raising and advocacy.

· Ensure that evidence and learning brought together across thematic and operational regions to develop a Country Strategic Plan including leading on updating Child Rights Situational Analysis (CRSA).

· Support the development of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) Report

· Ensure CSP Power BI dashboard is regularly monitored and troubleshoot

· Support TAs to analyse progress against organisational objectives and strategies.

Internal and External Reporting

· Ensure accurate data collection and processing for all regular reporting, including internal reports such as the Country Annual Report, the Program Quality KPIs, categorised emergency sit-reps, and “Total Reach”.

· Ensure all the program data for all projects is captured and reported using SC Project Reporting, Information Management & Evidence (PRIME) System.

· Support MEAL aspects of donor reporting, including review of baseline, mid-term, endline or any other donor/project-specific studies.

· Respond to any internal or SC member request for specific information, including production of geographic, thematic or program -specific data.

· Ensure that regularly updated MEAL mechanisms are in place for each project, including technical reports and MEAL tracking tools that identify necessary future actions.

· Ensure data quality and accuracy (including for external reporting as needed).

Program Development and Partnerships

· Ensure MEAL team plays an integral role at every stage of the project lifecycle, leading to enhanced quality, accountability, management, and impact.

· As a contributor to proposal development, ensure development of strong logical frameworks and review and improve MEAL technical narrative and budgets within proposals, support development of SMART indicators, identification of the Global indicators to be included in proposal with technical teams, ensure quality mechanisms are in place, and ensure consistency with the CO and SCI MEAL strategies.

· Ensure that adequate MEAL resources are included in proposals and work creatively to secure sufficient funding from diverse sources to ensure capacity to deliver MEAL according to SCI quality standards.

· Build effective partnerships with research institutions and MEAL partners and identify opportunities for collaboration, including in new bid development, to have MEAL/research capacity incorporated in program design.

· Ensure accurate use of global indicators and the standardized use of all indicators across all projects.

Advocacy & Representation:

· Support CO advocacy efforts by providing evidence-based data in line with identified priority advocacy objectives and assist in identifying key opportunities for country office to position itself as the leading organisation for championing children’s rights in both countries.

· Represent SC in the donor community as requested and /or assigned by the Director of Program Development and Quality and ensure maintenance of a good flow of information and knowledge on MEAL among relevant stakeholders. This could include, but not be limited to, monitoring and evaluation, program reporting, advocacy issues, and contextual information across the country office.

Child Safeguarding:

· Ensure that child safeguarding mainstreaming is integrated into all MEAL frameworks through measurable output and outcome indicators

· Ensure fit for purpose accountability systems and mechanisms are in place and accessible to stakeholders

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

· Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values

· Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

· Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same

· Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others

· Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

· Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters

· Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength

· Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

· Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions

· Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

· Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

The post holder must commit to work in an international agency that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion and fights racism, gender inequality and discrimination in all forms; and to model positive behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to equality and respect to all colleagues, partners and communities.

QUALIFICATIONS

· BA degree in social science, economics, statistics or relevant field; MA is an asset, or an equivalent compilation of qualification and experience.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

· 5 -7 years of experience working in similar role.

· Experience with Save the Children’s priority technical sectors including Child Poverty, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Education, Health & Nutrition, MHPSS, Gender Equality), and with the majority of that time focused on MEAL systems that ensure program quality.

· Understanding of both emergency and development contexts, with a preference for experience in both contexts.

· Experience adhering to international quality standards (Red Cross Code of Conduct, Sphere, CHS) or equivalent.

· Experience and knowledge of monitoring systems, including robust and responsible data collection and use.

· Experience and knowledge of evidence generation and learning on what works (and does not work) for children, including designing/commissioning, implementing and applying: needs assessments, baseline studies, evaluations and research, learning workshops and learning agendas.

· Experience and knowledge of systems for accountability to children and communities, including information sharing, participation of adults and children, and feedback and reporting mechanisms. Ability to prepare and facilitate technical MEAL training and workshops. Direct experience working with communities in participatory activities.

· Proven success in building and managing a team and dedication to developing staff capacity through training, supervising, coaching and mentoring.

· Skilled at communicating and influencing across relevant teams and offices.

· Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets

· Demonstrable analytical and problem-solving skills.

· Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, defining and planning a clear way forward and ensuring buy-in.

· Ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner.

· Ability and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure contexts, including flexibility to work with incoming emergency response teams.

· Proficiency in relevant data collection and analysis software.

· Willingness to travel to field sites.

· Fluency in English and Arabic.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Technical competencies:

· Ensures linkages across portfolio ensuring quality and coherence of MEAL systems and evidence gathering

· Manages resources and capacities to develop and maintain quality MEAL systems

· Facilitates strategic alignment of data to global priorities

Generic Competencies

· Child Rights: Promotes an enabling environment for participation, and accountability to children

· Be the Innovator: Promotes innovation to find new and better approaches to driving progress for children

· Deliver Results at Scale: Promotes a clear focus on impact in project and program design, management and oversight

Additional job responsibilities

· The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

· The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI’s global Diversity, Equity and

· Inclusion and Gender Equality Policies, supported by relevant procedures.

· We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

· The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

· The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

JD written by: Program Development & Quality

Director

Date: 07/11/2023 JD agreed by: Date: Updated By: Program Development & Quality Director Date: 10/09/2026 Evaluated: Date: