MEAL Assistant at Save the Children Nigeria

Save the Children is the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in over 120 countries. We save children’s lives. We fight for their rights. We help them fulfil their potential. Save the Children is working in Nigeria because one in five children in Nigeria dies before their fifth birthday. About 40% of children miss out on school and have to work to survive while nearly 2 million children have lost one or both parents to an AIDS-related disease.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: MEAL Assistant

Job Identification: 2104
Location: Yobe, Nigeria
Job Schedule Full time
Team/Programme: MEAL
Grade:  5   
Contract Length: Fixed term
Job Category: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning

Child Safeguarding

• Level 3: The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting the country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

Role Purpose

• The MEAL Assistant will be a part of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team, supporting implementation of the overall MEAL system.
• She/He will be responsible for conducting quality monitoring visits against Quality Benchmarks mainly in Nutrition, FSL, Protection, WASH and Health sectors;
• Support the program team to appropriately report on indicators  Output Tracker (OT) and Indicator Performance Tracking Table (IPTTs) of projects in the designated area;
• Support the programme team to ensure learning and accountability systems are working effectively in the areas of operation including a routine collection of feedback from beneficiaries.
• The assistant will be responsible for ensuring data is stored appropriately in a central location accessible to the program and MEAL staff.

Scope of Role:

• Reports to: MEAL Project Officer
• Staff reporting to this post: Closely work with the Sectoral MEAL and Accountability team and relevant programme staff
• Role Dimensions: Field office-based position with at least 80% field visit

Key Areas of Accountability
Monitoring:

• Assist in programme updates for programme management and internal information sharing
• Assist with data collection processes as necessary
• Conduct field monitoring visits (including the use of the quality benchmarks/ monitoring checklist) and facilitate focus group discussions
• Assist with the implementation of programme evaluations (data collection)
• Support MEAL in conducting assessments as needed
• Assist in raising PRs and planning training for enumerators
• Any other duties as assigned.

Quality Benchmarks:

• To conduct quality monitoring of programme activities, measured against international standards and using participatory methodologies (including child-friendly methodologies) and quality benchmarks

Evaluation:

• Provide support to the evaluation team while conducting periodic evaluations of project interventions at the field level, if required.
• Assist in capturing quality case studies from the program team.   

Accountability:

• Support in facilitating focus groups and other qualitative and qualitative data collection exercises.
• Support the MEAL Project Officer, programming and field staff to ensure that projects are carried out with participation from all affected communities (including children) and that information is shared with affected communities.
• Responsible for handling, documenting, confidentiality and security of all informational resources related to feedback and complaints from beneficiaries.
• Support Complaints and Feedback Mechanism, including communicating responses to complainants; liaise with programmes and operations to ensure prompt follow-up on feedback and complaints received.

Learning and project quality:

• Assist in developing quality reports and findings.
• Support in generating key learnings from reports/evaluations.
• Support learning events
• Participate in the Review meetings and Close-out meetings in order to highlight cross-project components aimed at replicating good practices and strengthening synergies between projects or programmes.
• Perform other duties as directed by the MEAL sector lead.

Others:
Documentation and Dissemination:

• Contribute to preparing weekly, monthly and quarterly reports on MEAL.
• Prepare field visit reports and do debriefing and action planning with relevant staff.

Coordination:

• Coordinate and communicate with MEAL and relevant programme staff regarding feedback and complaints.
• Maintain liaison with MEAL unit and programme, particularly field coordination/community mobilization team.

Behaviours (Values in Practice):
Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same.
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others.
• Future-orientated thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters.
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity.

Additional job responsibilities:

• The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities:

• The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Safeguarding our Staff:

• The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety:

• The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Qualifications  

• A Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in a relevant field such as Statistics, Economics, Information Technology, Sociology, Community and Rural Development, Business Administration, Public health and MEAL other courses on social research preferable with a focus on monitoring and evaluation as well as compliance issues).
• At least a minimum of 2-years previous MEAL relevant experience with implementation of MEAL systems for emergency, recovery and development program under Health, Nutrition, Protection, FSL and WASH, such as data collection and analysis, reporting for Health, Nutrition, Protection, FSL and WASH beneficiaries and baseline, midline, or Endline KAP Survey, PDM, monthly beneficiary data validation and determination and beneficiary verification.

Experience and Skills:

• Verbal and written communication skills
• Listening skills
• Problem analysis and problem-solving
• Proficient in relevant computer applications
• Ability to work in a team with flexibility to undertake challenging task and adapt to different working conditions.
• Good spoken, reading and writing skills in English with the ability to produce quality reports

Application Closing Date
7th July, 2023 at 10:48 AM