MEAL Manager

Job Summary As a monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) lead for the project team covering Guatemala and El Salvador, the MEAL Manager will facilitate the achievement of project objectives by coordinating and reporting on all project MEAL activities and providing MEAL-related technical guidance and advice to staff and implementing partner(s) advancing Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) work serving the poor and vulnerable. The incumbent’s coordination and relationship management skills will ensure that the project applies best practices in MEAL and constantly works towards improving the impact of its benefits to those we serve.
Roles and Key Responsibilities
•Organize and lead the implementation of all assigned project MEAL activities in both countries as outlined in the Work/Detailed Implementation Plan, in line with CRS program quality principles, standards and MEAL policies, procedures, and practices; donor MEAL requirements, and industry good practices.
•Ensure learning properly accompanies project activities throughout the project cycle. Support accountability through coordinating project reflection and learning activities and guiding partners in their efforts to reflect on project experiences. Analyze implementation challenges and report any inconsistencies and gaps to inform adjustments to plans and implementation schedules.
•Lead the roll-out and implementation of the project’s feedback and response mechanism (FRM). Support actively seeking and responding to feedback from all members of targeted communities and other stakeholders as defined by the FRM.
•Support the collection, analysis, validation, and reporting of project and milestone data through national information systems as feasible, working with government counterparts to improve data quality, completeness, timeliness, and use for decision-making.
• Coordinate and facilitate national and sub-national consultations with government and key stakeholders to identify MEAL system strengths, gaps, priorities, and opportunities for strengthening, and support the development and implementation of agreed capacity strengthening plans.
• Provide technical assistance and mentoring to government MEAL personnel and local partners to strengthen data collection, reporting, analysis, learning, and use, while promoting the integration of project-supported tools and processes into national systems over time.
• Coordinate and oversee MEAL-related working relationships with all local project stakeholders and serve as the liaison between them and the project team to mobilize local actors and promote project activities and impact. Identify and respond to key stakeholders’ information needs in MEAL activities, using a range of appropriate communication methods.
• Supervise and perform ad hoc inspections of various MEAL processes and resources at project sites to ensure timely project activities implementation and adherence to established process standards and procedures. Ensure proper tracking of resource use for project MEAL activities through periodic budget reviews and follow-up with and assistance to implementing partner.
• Support and coordinate MEAL capacity building and technical support activities to ensure assigned project MEAL activities are implemented per project guidelines and standards. Optimize partner and government participation and capacity development in the implementation of MEAL systems.
• Coordinate provision of any MEAL-related logistical and administrative support to staff and partners.
• Ensure timely, project documentation for assigned MEAL activities is complete with all required documents and is filed per agency and donor requirements. Assist with preparation of trend analysis reports and documentation of case studies and promising practices.
Learning, Knowledge Management and Cross-Country Integration
• Facilitate systematic learning and knowledge exchange between project teams, partners, and government counterparts in Guatemala and El Salvador to promote continuous improvement and adaptive management.
• Coordinate regular cross-country learning forums, communities of practice, peer-to-peer exchanges, and reflection sessions to share lessons learned, implementation experiences, innovations, and promising practices.
• Promote harmonization of MEAL approaches, tools, indicators, reporting processes, and data quality standards across countries to ensure consistency and comparability of project results.
• Identify, document, and disseminate successful practices, case studies, implementation models, and lessons learned that can be adapted and replicated across project locations and national systems.
• Support the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of regional evidence and learning products that inform project decision-making, program improvement, and external engagement with donors, government counterparts, and other stakeholders.
•Conduct comparative analyses of project performance, trends, outcomes, and implementation challenges across countries to identify opportunities for improvement, innovation, and scale-up.
•Collaborate with technical and program teams to ensure that learning from assessments, evaluations, monitoring data, and feedback mechanisms is systematically shared and incorporated into project planning and implementation across both countries.
•Facilitate cross-country technical assistance, mentoring, and peer support among project staff, partners, and government stakeholders to strengthen MEAL capacities and promote collective problem-solving.
• Support the development and implementation of a cross-country learning agenda that identifies priority learning questions, evidence gaps, and opportunities to strengthen child protection, family-based care, social service systems, and early childhood development programming.
• Contribute to the development of regional knowledge products, presentations, donor reports, and learning briefs that showcase project achievements, innovations, and evidence generated across Guatemala and El Salvador

Internal

External

Basic Qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree in International Relations, International Development, Economics, Statistics, Systems Engineer or Information systems, Data analytics.
• Studies in the field of MEAL and ICT4D would be a plus.
• Master in related areas.
• Minimum of 5 years of work experience in project support, ideally in the field of MEAL and for an NGO.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience working with partners, participatory action planning and community engagement.
• Staff supervision experience.
• Experience monitoring projects and collecting relevant data.
• Experience with child protection, family strengthening, family-based care, social service systems, and/or early childhood development programs and the associated monitoring, information management, reporting, and learning requirements.
• Experience with government-led monitoring and information systems and experience identifying practical approaches to strengthen system functionality, institutional capacity, data quality, and data use in low-resource settings.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Analysis and problem-solving skills with ability to make sound judgments.
• Good relationship management skills and the ability to work closely with local partners.
• Proactive, results-oriented and service-oriented mindset.
• Attention to detail, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities.
• Strong understanding of child protection, family strengthening, family-based care, social service systems, and/or early childhood development programs and the associated monitoring, information management, reporting, and learning requirements.
• Demonstrated understanding of government-led monitoring and information systems and experience identifying practical approaches to strengthen system functionality, institutional capacity, data quality, and data use in low-resource settings.
• Ability to effectively use MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Good communication skills and ability to teach others.