MEAL, Research and Knowledge Management Manager – (Education and Gender Equality Program) Full Time

About CARE

CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. We seek a world of hope, inclusion and social justice, where poverty has been overcome, and all people live with dignity and security, with a specific focus on the empowerment of women and girls. CARE’s Vision 2030 strategy includes six broad impact areas, with specific impact targets and metrics aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. CARE anticipates its impact will increasingly be achieved at the systems level as part of its quest for sustainable impact at scale, achieved through local leadership in partnership with governments, the private sector and civil society actors.

Job Summary

In this critical role, the postholder supports Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) for CARE Education and Gender Equality programs across Somalia. As part of the Program Quality Development and Learning Team, s/he will lead MEAL/KM systems and processes, and help enhance capacity strengthening in CARE Somalia development programs. A key focus is to develop a strong evidence base for gender-focused, integrated development programmes and enhance response quality.

The role involves supporting CARE International in Somalia’s Education and Gender Equality programs with monitoring, data analysis, indicator measurement, Feedback and Reporting Mechanisms, MEAL/KM-related donor and CO deliverables and set up processes and standardisation to benchmark the quality of development programmes. Collaboration with the CARE Global teams is essential to contribute to global learning and strengthen CO MEAL approaches. In Somalia settings, s/he will adapt to changing needs, working flexibly to ensure effective responses and be comfortable working in a cross-functional way. This position is pivotal in enhancing programme improvements, learning, and technology use in MEAL, ensuring high standards of accountability and efficacy in the country.

Job Responsibilities:

Planning and Development of MEAL processes: (20%)

• Supports formulation of MEAL policies and guidelines applicable specifically to Education and Gender Equality programmes.
• Supports the PQDL unit and the Education and Gender Equality team and projects in the identification of strategic priorities in MEAL/KM for Education and Gender Equality and integrated programs.
• Support the development and enhancement of monitoring and evaluation systems and frameworks for CARE SOM Education and Gender Equality programmes, including to ensure strong data and evidence is collected, analysed and documented for accountability and learning purposes.
• Support annual planning cycles and periodic reviews of projects sitting under the Education and Gender Equality Pillar.

Technical Assistance: (40%)

• Provide support in ongoing monitoring and review of the Education and Gender Equality programme, assisting on quality assurance measures and ensuring that the programme stays relevant with national development needs and alignment with CARE, government as well as donor strategies.
• Provides technical input on MEAL to Education and Gender Equality project proposals.
• Support the use and roll out of CARE SOM and CI approved systems such as KoBo Toolbox, PIIRS, Performance Monitoring Tool (PMT), to make good use of data for decision making
• Provides support to designing and/or revising and implementing procedures for ensuring Accountability to Affected Populations (Community Feedback and Response Mechanisms, participatory needs assessments etc.).
• Supports implementation of CARE SOM MIS including beneficiary management systems.
• Support Senior Manager – MEAL/KM in conducting data quality assessments and MEAL system reviews for project under the Impact Area Pillar, collate trends and suggest system improvements.
• Take responsibility for reflecting and integrating protection and gender perspectives in all areas of work, to ensure equal participation of women and men.
• Build M&E capacity of CARE staff and partners through delivery of training and information sharing. support junior staff members and guide as required to enable high performance.

Awards Support and Donor Reporting and Compliance (20%)

• Provide guidance during the design and execution of MEAL activities for specific awards including baselines, endlines and evaluations where required.
• Ensure programme compliance with donor requirements including key donors MEAL guidelines.
• Contribute to streamlined MEAL approaches across the Education and GE awards to enhance Country Office MEAL resourcing and systems.
• Contribute to developing strong evidence for donor reports ensuring data quality and advanced analysis.

Knowledge sharing and organisational learning: (15%)

• Maps MEAL requirements of major Education and Gender Equality donors and shares them with relevant the PQ unit and the Education and Gender Equality pillar team.
• With the partnerships and communications team, produce factsheets/briefings, write stories and support events relating to the Education and Gender Equality programme for publication and resource mobilisation.
• Support CARE SOM’s knowledge management for building evidence and learning, with a focus on Education and Gender Equlaity programmes and related areas. This will include documentation and sharing of best practices and lessons learned for learning, programme adjustments and improvement of operations.
• Contribute to mid-term and thematic reviews and evaluations, which are intended for internal learning, strategic and operational decision-making.
• Support the management of decentralized evaluations related to the programme to ensure these are conducted in a timely, relevant way in line with CARE Evaluation Policy and Program Quality Standards. This entails the support to management of all evaluation phases: planning, preparing, inception report, data collection, data analysis and report, and dissemination and follow-up.

Other Responsibilities As Assigned: (5%)

QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and work experience. Professional qualification in M&E or related fields is an added advantage.

Experience and Skills

• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in MEAL/KM roles, with demonstrated experience managing MEAL and Knowledge Management systems for Education and gender-integrated programs.
• Experience in Managing Accountability Mechanisms for development and/or humanitarian programs
• Experience in working with international NGOs or development agencies.