MEAL Officer at AVSI Rwanda: (Deadline 31 January 2024)

MEAL Officer at AVSI Rwanda: (Deadline 31 January 2024)

Job Description

Role: MEAL Officer

Department:  MEAL

Duration of contract: 1 year with the possibility to extend upon good performance.

Duty Station: Kigali  

Aim of the position: Overall Function

The MEAL Officer assists the MEAL coordinator, who oversees the development and operations of the MEAL department. He or she is responsible for providing additional human power, key notions, and overall guidance to project staff or other people responsible for the gathering of data about projects’ beneficiaries and activities.

The MEAL Officer plays a key role especially in the launching phase of new projects, during the identification of beneficiaries, and when new instruments for data gathering are put in place. The MEAL Officer addresses the need to put sufficient work into the establishment of new mechanisms of MEAL, which tend to take more effort than what is generally believed, and for which a minimal standard of data quality must be ensured.

The MEAL Officer provides support but does not substitute project staff, who are the ultimate responsible for the data gathering. This is aimed to ensure the project team’s ownership of MEAL activities, and that MEAL technical assistance is brought to all AVSI projects, at key strategic moments.

Main tasks and responsibilities:

• Provide support to the MEAL department, in particular by following up on MEAL coordinator’s instructions and ensuring data management related to project activities and surveying.
• Planning the logistical, recruiting and organizational aspects of surveys, and overseeing the execution.
• Development and fine-tuning of questionnaires to be used for rapid and standard assessments, project baseline/endline, and monitoring of good/service delivery.
• Identification and fine-tuning of project indicators to be used for project baseline/endline.
• Design and execution of key informant interviews and other data gathering based on semi structured questionnaires
• Data analysis and reporting and crafting of assessment. Revision and editing of reports based on the gathered data.
• Under each project and based on the project logical framework, support the MEAL team in designing and developing specific methodologies and tools for planning, monitoring, evaluation and capitalization of lesson learned;
• Ensure that all processes, methodologies and tools are age/gender sensitive;
• Support M&E staff assigned for each project in applying M&E standards around project planning meetings, baseline studies, data collection tools, monitoring missions and evaluations;
• Provide technical assistance and support M&E team to implement M&E plans/processes and to collect data particularly quantitative and qualitative information from various sources;
• Manage a clear data management system for tracking and verifying programmatic performance particularly against the targets and achievement on outputs and outcomes levels;
• Develop validation data process along with the Information System team to ensure accurate and reliable data collected and archived;
• Make sure reporting deadlines are respected and M&E teams reports are submitted timely.
• Ensure coaching and capacity building for the MEAL Team as well as their engaged participation in the relevant MEAL activities, as needed;
• Ensure the MEAL department conduct information delivery and feedback sessions with beneficiaries to guide them in expressing their needs and seeking help;
• Support the process of mid-term and/or final evaluation intervention under various projects, set up team reflection around evaluations results and how to communicate results effectively to project/program teams;
• Support recruitment and management of external consultants, and data collection teams for specific projects;
• Support the process that ensure that critical MEAL findings and recommendations are discussed and addressed by Program teams and management;
• Support the coordination with the Communication department to ensure data analyzed and results achieved are effectively communicated;
• Follow-up the yearly strategy implementation of the community liaison teams to make sure the outreach and other assessments and coordination activities are done timely and according to the projects needs under each geographical area;
• Provide grant proposals and reports with accurate and quantitative and qualitative data;
• Contribute to the development of new project proposals by helping the drafting of TOC and log frames, budgeting for MEAL activities etc. in coordination with the program and finance department;
• Ensure proper coordination within AVSI Mission departments and sectors;

When required, the MEAL officer will also:

• Provide support and training to AVSI staff
• Provide support to AVSI ESA (Eastern and Southern Africa) MEAL department and review in the design of data collection forms, tools and processes;
• Provide training to AVSI ESA MEAL team to leverage geographic data for map production and use in geographic information systems (GIS).

Essential requirements:

Education:

University Degree in Political Sciences, Public Administration, International Affairs, Economics or a related field (anthropology, sociology, statistics);

Work experience:

At least 2 years of professional experience in humanitarian and/or development organizations in a similar position;

Previous work experience in the ESA region represents an asset.

Language Proficiency:

Strong working knowledge of English (spoken and written)

Knowledge of French is an asset

Required skills and experiences:

Hard Skills:

Good level ability in quantitative as well as qualitative research methods;

Significant experience in designing and maintenance of management information systems and tools (a good knowledge of ActivityInfo represents an asset);

Good analytical skills and ability to effectively use different statistical packages;

Ability to coordinate and manage a team;

Experience in training/mentoring staff (capacity building to local staff is paramount for the position);

Experience in proposal writing (ToC, log frames) and strong knowledge of PCM;

Ability to communicate scientific data to communities, program staff, and partners in a simple and clear manner.

Soft Skills:

Teamwork and team building skills, capacity building skills;

Dynamic and mature personality, able to oversee multiple tasks, prioritizing and delegating as required;

Excellent communicator. Problem solving ability. Good inter-personal and conflict resolution skills;

Leadership and management skills; ability to build trust and enforce procedures;

Team-player with good inter-personal skills; committed to team-building.

Reporting structure:

Direct Supervisor: AVSI Rwanda MEAL coordinator

How to apply:

Deadline: until 31/01/2024

The AVSI Foundation hereby invites individual and eligible candidates to submit their applications by sending ONLY the following documents:

• Application letter;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Any proof of analytical work (reports, presentations, any analysis) authored by the candidate
• Extract from the criminal record

Please submit the required documents to the email address: kigali@avsi.org and copy to liberata.kanakuze@avsi.org  and consolee.bamurange@avsi.org

Please indicate the vacancy reference – “Rwanda MEAL Officer” — in the subject of the email. Applications without indicating at least two References, preferably including the last supervisors, will be disqualified. Reference will be contacted only in case of positive results of written test and oral examination. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

AVSI does not make any charge at any stage of the recruitment process. If anyone requests prices for vacancies, please contact us immediately at this address lorette.birara@avsi.org

We encourage to apply!

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