Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Director

Near East Foundation (NEF)

Title: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Director

Reports to: Regional Director  

Eligible Locations: Amman, Jordan; Baghdad, Iraq; Erbil, Iraq; or Beirut, Lebanon.

Travel:  up to 30%

Eligibility:  This is not an expatriate position.  Candidates must be
legally authorized to live and work in Amman, Jordan; Baghdad, Iraq; Erbil,
Iraq; or Beirut, Lebanon without company sponsorship now or in the future.

**this position is cross posted. 
Please ensure you select the appropriate work location based on your workplace
authorization**

Position Description 

The MEAL Director is part of the MEAL
regional team within the global Program & Impact team. This new position
will have a particular focus on 1) accountable and objective monitoring systems
and processes, 2) timely and objective feedback and complaints mechanisms, 3)
participatory monitoring, and 4) adaptive management contribution and capture.
The MEAL Director will contribute to or lead on the upgrade and strengthening
of regional MEAL systems and processes, coordination and delivery functions, and
quality assurance processes.

It is important to note that for the first 6 to 8 months,
the holder of this position will exceptionally allocate 30% of their time to
the regional MEAL responsibilities outlined in this Terms of Reference and 70%
to remotely leading the MEAL department and activities for the Syria program
until a permanent MEAL team is established for the Syria program. After this
period, the position will fully focus (100% level of effort) on the regional
MEAL responsibilities listed below.

Responsibilities

Strengthening regional capacity and
provision of technical support to NEF country teams to build a robust accountability
mechanism within MEAL processes (including downward, upward, and horizontal
accountability): 

·       
Review, upgrade, build capacity/systems, and continuously assess and
improve feedback mechanisms, complaint and response mechanisms, or other forms
of reporting as well as other effective accountability systems that
ensure programs are carried out in an ethical, transparent, and
participatory manner, with the involvement of stakeholders and the communities
we serve.

·       
Implement accountable and efficient monitoring processes to ensure that
activities are implemented in compliant manner and according to plans and to
identify areas for improvement.

·       
Foster a culture of accountability by promoting awareness and
understanding of accountability mechanisms among project staff and partners.

·       
Conduct regular trainings and capacity-building sessions for project
staff and partners on effective communication, conflict resolution, and
handling complaints.

·       
Ensure that accountability mechanisms are applied consistently across all
projects, countries, and partners, emphasizing adherence to ethical and
transparency standards.

·       
Analyze feedback and data to identify trends, patterns, and areas for
improvement, and share findings with relevant stakeholders to inform
decision-making.

·       
Regularly report on the effectiveness and impact of accountability
mechanisms to senior management and program teams, suggesting improvements and
corrective actions where necessary.

·       
Collaborate with program and MEAL teams to design and implement robust
activity monitoring tools aimed at ensuring activities are transparently
managed and documented, delivered in a fair and equitable manner, and aligned
with program objectives and indicators.

·       
Work closely with the MEAL team to develop and maintain project databases
for storing and analyzing monitoring data and ensure its accessibility to
relevant stakeholders.

Supporting regional monitoring,
evaluation and learning systems and processes:

·       
Collaborate with the MEAL global leadership and country teams to upgrade
and strengthen regional MEAL systems, coordination and support functions, and
ensure value for money considerations are considered and monitored.

·       
Work with MEAL teams to regularly review and update monitoring tools and
guidelines to ensure compliance with donor guidelines, best practices and
industry standards.

·       
Provide support on the execution of quality assurance assessments to
ensure that data is high quality and collection methods are robust,
consistently applied, and in alignment with donor requirements and
expectations.

·       
Identify bottlenecks or areas of inefficiency through monitoring
processes.

·       
Capture appropriate cost and financial information to track money
indicators, including benchmarking information to analyse program effectiveness
and cost-effective inputs.

·       
Support and foster a culture of continuous improvement, where data is
regularly collected, analysed, and used to inform adaptive management and
program evolution.

·       
Lead on or support the delivery of program-embedded knowledge and action
research products.

MEAL broader engagement:

·       
Participate in the development of project proposals, including log
frames, indicators, and MEL plans.

·       
Support periodic regional or local program portfolio reviews.

·       
Identify, join and actively participate in relevant communities of
practice/ networks; internal or external.

Management and recruitment:

·       
Functional management of country-based MEL staff, ensuring accountability
and segregation of responsibilities, and conducting regular supervision and
performance check-ins.

·       
Support professional development opportunities and help to identify
capacity development opportunities for managed staff.

·       
Participate in the recruitment of local MEL staff.

Key Internal Contacts:

·       
Country Program: Senior Management Team members, program staff

·       
Global NEF: Executive Team, Business Development, Finance, Grants and
Contracts, Human Resources, Program Quality and Technical Units, Strategy,
Communications

Key External Contacts:

·       
Public and private donor agencies

·       
Private sector

·       
International and national NGOs

·       
UN agencies

·       
Partner organizations

Essential Qualifications

We encourage all individuals who
believe they have the skills necessary to succeed within this position and
thrive at NEF to apply for this role, even if you do not meet 100% of the
qualifications.

·       
A university degree in a relevant subject.

·       
Proven experience devising MEAL platforms or systems.

·       
Direct professional experience in MEAL in the international development
or humanitarian response field.

·       
Experience with USAID, EU, and BPRM projects among other donors.

·       
Proven experience designing rigorous methodologies for monitoring,
evaluation or impact assessments.

·       
Proven experience designing qualitative and quantitative data
collection tools and survey instruments.

·       
Working knowledge of database and smartphone-based data collection
applications.

·       
Proven experience in organizational learning and knowledge
production.

·       
Proven experience leading or facilitating trainings, learning events etc.
with field teams.

·       
Demonstrated experience supporting multiple projects simultaneously.

·       
Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables and descriptive statistics.

·       
Applicable knowledge working with statistic software such as SPSS, SAS,
STATA.

·       
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and the
ability to clearly articulate key messages for multiple audiences and
stakeholders.

·       
Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office suite.

·       
Candidates must be legally authorized to live and work in Amman, Jordan; Baghdad,
Iraq; Erbil, Iraq; or Beirut, Lebanon without company sponsorship now or in the
future.

Additional Desired Qualifaications

·       
Experience in MEAL programming in fragile settings.

·       
Experience in third-party MEAL programming.

·       
Thematic experience in programmatic areas relevant to NEF.

·       
Experience in MEAL for innovate finance programming.

·       
Experience and success with proposal development and fundraising for
NGOs.

·       
Previous field experience in one or more countries in an NEF region of
interest is a plus. understanding of context and operating environment.

·       
Arabic language skills are a plus.

Position Criteria:

·       
Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English.

·       
High degree of flexibility and adaptability with a willingness to travel
to countries where NEF works.

·       
Ability to work effectively across a wide variety of cultural contexts.

·       
Ability to communicate with colleagues and partners at a distance.

·       
Understanding of effective and values-based partnership work.

·       
Strong relationship building skills, particularly at a distance;
effective team player; able to develop and maintain working relationships
within a disperse and dynamic team.

·       
Creative thinker; display solutions-oriented approaches in an innovative
and frequently high-pressure environment.