MEAL Specialist

The MEAL Specialist provides technical leadership for the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning system of the Kinga Maisha project implemented by a consortium in Ituri province. The role ensures a harmonized, proportionate, and operational MEAL system to measure results, ensure data quality and protection, report to affected populations and donors, and inform program adaptation.

Responsibilities

• Develop, validate, and update the MEAL strategy and plan, results framework, indicator tracking table, indicator reference sheets, DQA plan, learning plan, accountability mechanism, data flows, and SOPs in line with Save the Children standards, consortium commitments, and donor requirements.
• Lead the consortium MEAL technical working group: define roles, agree on work and reporting schedules, organize technical meetings, document decisions, and monitor implementation of agreed actions.
• Harmonize indicator definitions, methods, tools, disaggregations, schedules, calculation rules, and documentation requirements among consortium members.
• Advise project management and governance bodies on performance, data risks, deviations from targets, and corrective measures.
• Develop, test, deploy, and maintain harmonized tools for data collection, activity tracking, quality monitoring, and results verification with strict version control.
• Establish and coordinate a risk-based field monitoring plan including quality observation, document verification, and follow-up of corrective actions with program and technical teams.
• Consolidate and validate data from consortium members; monitor progress against targets, timelines, intervention zones, and population groups; analyze gaps and formulate actionable recommendations.
• Maintain dashboards and analytical products accessible to project management, consortium members, and steering bodies.
• Coordinate MEAL contributions to internal and donor reports ensuring timeliness and consistency between quantitative data, narrative, verification sources, and reported results.
• Ensure structured, traceable, and secure archiving of tools, databases, analyses, reports, and project evidence.
• Design and administer a secure data management system with consistent identifiers, access rights, backups, version control, and data retention and sharing rules.
• Configure and improve digital data collection and management tools such as Kobo/ODK, Excel, and visualization solutions ensuring documentation and ease of use.
• Plan and conduct regular data quality checks on completeness, timeliness, validity, consistency, integrity, duplicates, and traceability; document findings and follow up improvement plans with each member.
• Supervise cleaning, consolidation, analysis, and visualization of quantitative and qualitative data with relevant disaggregations without compromising confidentiality or security.
• Ensure application of data protection principles, informed consent, data minimization, confidentiality, and responsible sharing especially for children and sensitive information.
• Lead technical direction of project studies and evaluations including baseline, reviews, and final evaluation in coordination with consortium members and technical leads.
• Contribute to terms of reference, protocols, sampling plans, tools, ethical procedures, training, pilot testing, supervision of data collection, analysis, validation, and dissemination of results.
• Ensure data collection approaches with children and communities respect safeguarding, consent/assent, accessibility, confidentiality, and safe referral of concerns.
• Coordinate preparation and monitoring of third-party monitoring, facilitate access to verifiable information, and lead response to findings and recommendations with project management and members.
• Support consortium members to establish harmonized, safe, confidential, accessible feedback and complaints mechanisms adapted to children, women, elderly, and persons with disabilities.
• Ensure timely recording, categorization, referral, handling, and closure of feedback and complaints, including immediate confidential escalation of sensitive safeguarding, PSEA, and protection reports.
• Analyze feedback trends, monitor response commitments, and document how community concerns influence decisions and program adaptations.
• Promote meaningful and safe participation of children and communities in design, monitoring, review, and communication of results in accessible and appropriate formats.
• Implement the project learning agenda and facilitate periodic reviews, after-action reviews, and reflection moments with consortium members and stakeholders.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned, good practices, case studies, and knowledge products based on verified data respecting consent and dignity of persons concerned.
• Maintain a register of recommendations from monitoring, DQA, feedback, studies, and evaluations and track their translation into decisions and adaptation measures.
• Support use of MEAL results for advocacy, communication, and resource mobilization respecting consortium validation protocols.
• Assess MEAL capacities of teams and partners, develop tailored capacity building plans, and provide training, coaching, practical support, and follow-up.
• Provide ongoing technical support to MEAL and implementation teams on indicators, tools, analysis, data quality, accountability, learning, and use of results.
• Collaborate closely with program and technical leads, Information Management, AAP, Safeguarding, and other support functions to integrate MEAL into project management cycle.
• Represent the project or consortium, as delegated, in MEAL technical groups, communities of practice, and relevant coordination mechanisms sharing validated information according to established protocols.

Requirements

• University degree at Bac+5 level in monitoring and evaluation, statistics, economics, social sciences, public health, information management or related discipline; relevant combination of education and experience may be considered according to recruitment policies.
• Excellent command of French, both oral and written; professional proficiency in English is desirable. Knowledge of local languages in intervention areas is an asset.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and mobile data collection tools such as KoboToolbox/ODK; experience with visualization tools, notably Power BI, is highly desirable. Knowledge of statistical or qualitative analysis software is an asset.
• At least five years of progressive professional experience in MEAL within humanitarian or development programs of comparable complexity, with demonstrated coordination experience in a consortium or multi-partner setting.
• Experience with projects funded by institutional donors and good understanding of their requirements for monitoring, data quality, accountability, and reporting.
• Relevant experience in one or more of the following sectors: health, nutrition, WASH, child protection, gender, emergency or epidemic response, ideally in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.
• Strong mastery of results frameworks, theories of change, indicators, quantitative and qualitative methods, sampling plans, evaluations, data quality controls, and program quality monitoring.
• Demonstrated ability to manage databases, analyze and interpret complex data, produce clear visualizations, and translate findings into actionable recommendations for decision-making.
• Good knowledge of accountability principles to affected populations, child participation, Safeguarding/PSEA, protection, and responsible data management.
• Experience in drafting analytical reports, briefing notes, learning products, and presentations for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering training, coaching, and capacity building for teams and partners.
• Excellent coordination, facilitation, negotiation, and relationship management skills; ability to build consensus without direct hierarchical authority.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, and deliver under tight deadlines, solve complex problems, and work autonomously with rigor and discernment.
• Ability and availability to regularly travel to intervention areas, including demanding operational environments, subject to safety and security procedures.

Skills

• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Data Quality Assurance
• Results Frameworks
• Theories of Change
• Quantitative Methods
• Qualitative Methods
• Sampling Plans
• Program Quality Management
• Database Management
• Data Analysis
• Data Visualization
• MS Excel
• KoboToolbox
• ODK
• Power BI
• Data Analysis Software
• Qualitative Data Software
• Donor Reporting
• Accountability to Affected Populations
• Child Participation
• Safeguarding/PSEA
• Protection
• Responsible Data Management
• Analytical Report Production
• Training Design
• Capacity Building
• Consortium Management
• Multi-Partner Coordination
• Negotiation
• Facilitation
• Relationship Management
• Project Planning
• Travel to Operational Areas

Languages

French, English