MEAL Officer at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC)Borno, Nigeria Data and Artificial Intelligence

Full Time

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries throughout the world. DRC fulfils its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations - refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities in the conflict areas of the world; and by advocating on behalf of conflict-affected populations internationally, and in Denmark, on the basis of humanitarian principles and the Human Rights Declaration. We understand "durable solutions" as any means by which the situation of refugees can be permanently and satisfactorily resolved, enabling them to live normal lives. Durable solutions can be voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement. In Denmark, DRC assists refugees in all aspects of integration as well as asylum procedures. Internationally, DRC actively participates in supporting the protection of refugees, and promoting durable solutions for conflict-affected populations. The DRC’s supreme authority is the Council, which consists of up to three representatives of each member organisation, six representatives of the voluntary groups and refugee counselling organisations cooperating with the Danish Refugee Council, and of the Executive Committee. DRC is an umbrella organisation and is currently consisting of 30 organisation members and voluntary groups, committed to the refugee cause. Membership of the DRC is open to non-party-political, voluntary, nationwide humanitarian and international organisations that work on a democratic basis, and whose aims conform to those of the DRC.

Purpose

The MEAL Officer is to ensure that all DRC projects and programs are effectively monitored, evaluated, and continuously improved. He should track progress, assess program impact, and ensure accountability to stakeholders by establishing feedback mechanisms. The role involves data collection, analysis, reporting, and the implementation of feedback and learning mechanisms to ensure accountability to stakeholders, including beneficiaries and donors. Overall, the MEAL Officer would play a crucial role in assisting the MEAL Team Leader, driven by evidence and feedback. To this end, the MEAL officer will liaise with DRC staff across departments to ensure compliance with DRC MEAL SOPs during programming as directed by the MEAL Team Leader. Additionally, he is responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning activities within the DRC implementation area.

Duties and Responsibilities:

General Programming & Operations

Collect, clean, manage, and analyze data related to project activities, using appropriate methods such as surveys, Household Survey, Baseline, PDM, MSNA, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs).
Ensure data quality and integrity through regular field visits and validation checks.
Design and conduct evaluations, including baseline, midline, and endline assessments.
Analyze evaluation results to assess the effectiveness and impact of programs.
Generate insights and recommendations for program improvement and share with the MEAL Team Leader.
Establish and manage feedback and complaints mechanisms to ensure that beneficiaries and stakeholders can easily provide input.
Monitor and respond to feedback and complaints in a timely and appropriate manner.
Ensure that accountability standards, such as the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), are integrated into project implementation.
Capture and document lessons learned, best practices, and success stories from projects and share with the MEAL Team Leader.
Assist the MEAL Team Leader in Facilitate learning sessions and workshops to share insights with the team and stakeholders.
Promote a culture of learning within the organization to drive continuous improvement.
Prepare detailed reports on monitoring, evaluation, and accountability activities, including data analysis, findings, and recommendations.
Assist the MEAL Team Leader in donor reports and proposals by providing relevant MEAL data and insights.
Ensure timely submission of all MEAL reports to relevant stakeholders.
Provide training and support to project staff on MEAL tools, processes, and best practices.
Build the capacity of partners and local stakeholders in MEAL-related activities.

Coordination and representation

Work closely with program teams to integrate MEAL activities into project design and implementation.
Collaborate with other departments, such as finance and logistics, to ensure that MEAL activities are well-coordinated.
Represent the organization in MEAL-related internal and external meetings, workshops, and networks.
Ensure integration and support of MEAL activities with other DRC sectors.
Coordinate with MEAL/AAP counterparts in other locations in the implementation of commonly funded projects.
Ensure good representation and reputation of the MEAL sector at all levels.

Project Development:

Assist in developing project plans and budgets for funding
Assist in the development of the projects’ MEAL tools
Assist in the management of MEAL activities
Ensure Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning for all Projects in the field level.
Ensure quality control during the implementation of all activities in accordance with Sphere and National standards.
Assist the MEAL Team Leader in preparing MEAL/AAP weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports to relevant authorities as per need.

Logistics / Finance:

Support the line Manager to monitor financial commitments and expenditures against budgets and provide timely feedback on budget follow-ups.
Support in initiating procurements and ensure their execution.
Contribute to grants management of all MEAL projects through management of day-to-day project expenditures with line manager.
Assist the MEAL Team Leader in developing a procurement plan at the start of the project cycle to forecast procurement needs.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Support the MEAL Team Leader in developing and implementing the project monitoring and evaluation plan, and timely submission of reports and other document requirements.
Provide weekly feedback on project implementation modality, assist in achieving maximum efficiency in project delivery, and inform the development/update of DRC’s MEAL strategy in Nigeria.
Support in developing appropriate MEAL tools and ensure their implementation.
The responsibilities listed in the JD are not exhaustive and may be readjusted according to operational needs but will remain in line with the overall purpose of the role.
Assist the MEAL Team Leader in Developing and implement monitoring tools and frameworks to track project progress and outcomes.

Experience and technical competencies:

Essential:

Minimum of 2-3 years of previous experience with implementing monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning and AAP of humanitarian programs.
Use of ODK and Kobo-Collect Toolbox Software of data collection
Knowledge of MEAL and AAP Approaches and SHERE Standard
Solid background on computer skills and competency in MS Word, MS PowerPoint, Excel, and SPSS as a minimum.

Desirable:

The position may require frequent travel to project sites in remote and sometimes challenging environments.
The role may involve working outside of regular office hours to meet deadlines or during emergency responses.
Excellent facilitation skills and a strong understanding of how to collect feedback safely and accurately from all members of a community regardless of their age, gender, or other diversity factors.
Experience working in emergency response with INGOs, preferably in a humanitarian context.
Fluency in written and spoken English. Fluency in local spoken languages (Hausa, etc).

Education: (include certificates, licenses etc.)

Bachelor’s degree in social science, business, development, or any related field.
Excellent communication, presentation, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.

We offer.