Country MEAL Manager

ABOUT ACTED PAKISTAN:

ACTED is a non-governmental organization with headquarters in Paris, founded in 1993. Independent, private and not-for-profit, ACTED respects a strict political and religious impartiality and operates according to principles of non-discrimination and transparency. ACTED has been present in Pakistan since 1993 and currently supports communities in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu Kashmir. ACTED Pakistan programmes range from short-term emergency responses to recovery and rehabilitation, as well as longer-term development initiatives. ACTED strategy is to target vulnerable communities affected by natural and conflict-related disasters as well as lack of socio-economic development.

Assignment

The Country MEAL manager is responsible for:

• Management and coordination of MEAL team and departments.
• Developing tools for appraisal, monitoring, and evaluation in-country for all current and potential ACTED programmes, as well as for ACTED partners where relevant.
• Regular communication, management, and technical support to MIS teams countrywide.
• Facilitation of coordination and information sharing between other departments, particularly project development, and coordination.
• He/she works under the direct supervision of the Country Director for Project Development and Information Management and is responsible for all matters related to the MEAL & MIS work, both in the Islamabad office and in field offices.

Responsibilities

A.     Tracking and oversight of all MEAL and MIS requirements related to Project Cycle Management

• Ensure the development of MEAL frameworks for all ACTED projects, in close coordination with program teams and coordination to ensure that these frameworks are integrated in the project cycle management.
• Oversee and support the development of necessary tools for monitoring and evaluation of all ongoing ACTED activities, in coordination with technical teams and coordination.
• Ensure the timely and effective implementation of all MEAL exercises, in coordination with MEAL field teams.
• Provide adequate reports to coordination and program teams on the findings of these MEAL exercises, both to improve the quality of ACTED programming and to ensure that its contractual obligations are met.
• Provide adapted and flexible information gathering support to meet the needs of program teams and coordination regarding ACTED’s activities.
• For consortium and consortium projects, as well as all relevant partnerships, liaise with counterparts within ACTED’s partner organizations to ensure the harmonization and quality of MEAL frameworks implemented.
• Ensure that sensitive or key issues related to transparency and accountability revealed through M&E exercises are treated confidentially and referred to coordination in an appropriate and timely manner.
• Preparation, conception, and production of maps, including the supervision and monitoring of mapping related data collection and ensuring dynamic linkage.
• Supporting the development of ACTED’s MIS Department externally in close consultation with the Deputy Country Director for Project Development and Information Management, notably by co-developing MIS components in proposals to support ACTED field activities, supervising the implementation of these components in approved projects, and supporting the establishment new partnerships with relevant institutions in Pakistan.
• Liaising closely with other ACTED Departments, and particularly field project teams, to ensure dynamic linkages with the MIS Department, so that the technical support provided effectively contributed to increasing the effectiveness of ACTED’s and its partners’ projects.
• Management and supervision of all MIS teams in country, through the use of standard ACTED management tools, ensuring that all department outputs are of high-quality standards, and delivered in a timely manner.
• Maintain the strictest confidentiality and protection of data and data collection processes, actively taking measures to prevent the unauthorized sharing of information and data.

B. Support the strengthening and development of ACTED internal practices and processes

• Develop, implement, and draw regular lessons from an effective accountability and complaints management mechanism to support coordination on ensuring transparency and accountability.
• Draw lessons learnt and recommendations from MEAL exercises in the field to ensure and improve the quality and relevance of ACTED programming.
• Liaise closely with MIS and project development/reporting teams to ensure the capitalization of data collected by MEAL, as well as to support the analysis of this data.
• Strengthen and implement internal processes and guidelines to ensure the effective implementation of and capitalization on MEAL work in Pakistan, in close contact with coordination.
• Ensure the timely submission of all internal reporting documents regarding MEAL work.

C. Support ACTED’s institutional positioning and project development

• Conduct fact-finding missions and field assessments in line with the priorities identified jointly with project development teams and coordination.
• Produce high quality reports on the information collected through these assessments and MEAL exercises, for external dissemination purposes.
• Contribute to the development of ACTED’s understanding of the local context for project implementation, through data collection and analysis, as well as participatory and desk research.
• Provide recommendations and guidance on the development of innovative MEAL tools relevant to ACTED’s work in Pakistan, notably through self-learning and follow up of best practices in country.

D. Coordination and management of MEAL and MIS country teams and department follow-up.

• Management and oversight of the work of all MEAL and MIS staff in country in cooperation with field-level coordination and HR/Admin department.
• Follow up on work plans, activities, and output quality.
• Ensure that administrative procedures are respected and implemented throughout the Department.
• Solve problems and provide professional guidance to staff and Provide technical support, training, and backstopping to MEAL and MIS country teams to ensure the provision of quality and timely outputs.

Qualifications

The Country MEAL Manager will be appraised on his/her demonstration of the qualities and competencies listed below as well as on his/her demonstrated ability to fulfill the responsibilities outlined above.

• University Degree in Public Administration, International Affairs, Social Sciences, or a related field preferable.
• Previous experience with community development, economic/agricultural development, and/or Participatory Rural Appraisal methodology.
• Knowledge of and experience in field-based data collection methods, as well as in the design and implementation of MEAL tools in humanitarian/development settings.
• Experience and skills to analyze data and prepare reports for internal and external use. Previous experience dealing with cross sectoral data presentation will be an additional value. Good command of MIS/MIS software (especially those used by ACTED), Excel, Word and Database software such as Access, SQL or FoxPro. Familiarity with other information and data sources related to MIS to be recommended to ACTED would be an asset.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Flexibility and adaptability, as well as the ability to plan, take initiative and organize work independently.
• Impartiality, objectivity, and high level of integrity.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• Understanding of the nature of work carried out by ACTED program teams in the field, as well as a proactive and self-motivated attitude towards improving this understanding.
• Willingness to learn and ability to improve own skills, and be capable to adapt, shape and develop tools best suited for ACTED’s activities.
• Ability to travel to the field to oversee the work of field teams.
• Good organizational, management, leadership and communication skills with international and national staff and rural communities.

Note: “ACTED is committed to protecting beneficiaries and staff within our programs from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). ACTED has a Code of Conduct and organizational policies, which outline the expected behavior of all staff, consultants and other stakeholders and remind ACTED’s zero-tolerance approach. Any candidate offered a job with ACTED will sign those documents as part of their work contract and is expected to abide by them.” “ACTED is a commitment to zero tolerance to all forms of violence against children, beneficiaries and staff. ACTED is equal opportunity, employers. Females and minorities are encouraged to apply. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Final selection will be based on security clearance of the candidate.”