MEAL Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Reporting directly to the County Area Coordinator, the MEAL Officer will lead day-to-day Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) for IRC's Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) preparedness program among refugees and host communities in high-risk areas of Kenya. You will strengthen data collection, quality assurance, accountability and reporting across the program's target counties and refugee settlements, working closely with County Departments of Health, sub-county coordination structures, health facilities, points of entry, and community health teams to help the program meet its results framework targets and demonstrate that EVD preparedness capacities are functional and improving.

JOB OVERVIEW:

Reporting directly to the County Area Coordinator, the MEAL Officer will lead day-to-day Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) for IRC's Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) preparedness program among refugees and host communities in high-risk areas of Kenya. You will strengthen data collection, quality assurance, accountability and reporting across the program's target counties and refugee settlements, working closely with County Departments of Health, sub-county coordination structures, health facilities, points of entry, and community health teams to help the program meet its results framework targets and demonstrate that EVD preparedness capacities are functional and improving.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Leadership and Partnership

• Support the roll-out of MEAL systems and approaches for the EVD preparedness program at county and settlement level, in line with the overall program strategy;
• Build and maintain productive working relationships with County Departments of Health, sub-county coordination forums, health facility staff, point-of-entry teams and community health promoters to support data quality, use and joint problem-solving;
• Represent IRC at county-level technical and coordination meetings, including relevant Health and WASH cluster or information-management forums, as delegated;
• Support county leaders and program staff in accessing and using data for evidence-based decision-making and real-time program adaptation.

Technical Implementation

• Operationalise the program MEAL plan, results framework, indicator tracking table (ITT) and means-of-verification systems, keeping targets aligned with the approved logframe;
• Develop and maintain data collection tools and support routine data collection across target counties and refugee settlements, including WASH/IPC readiness checklists at points of entry, facility and screening-point functionality assessments, IPC/PPE distribution and receipt records, training pre and post assessments, and community engagement (RCCE) reach data;
• Set up and manage digital data collection tools (such as Kobo, CommCare or ODK) and data flow processes at county, facility and community level;
• Track progress against all outcome and output indicators, ensuring correct sex- and age-disaggregation (women, men, girls, boys) and consistent counting rules to avoid double counting;
• Conduct or support routine data quality checks, audits and verification visits at health facilities, screening points and community units, and document and follow up on data quality action points;
• Maintain a clear audit trail linking reported results to their stated means of verification, including delivery notes, goods received notes, stock cards, registers, attendance sheets and supervision reports;
• Compile and share county-level data summaries, dashboards and progress reports for inclusion in project cycle management meetings and program reporting;
• Establish, operationalise and manage accessible community-based complaints, feedback and response mechanisms for EVD preparedness, including maintaining a rumour and community-concern log and ensuring concerns and misinformation are recorded, verified, referred and addressed in a timely way;
• Support the design, roll-out and data collection for county-level assessments, surveys and evaluations (such as baseline, midline and endline) and functionality assessments of points of entry, facilities and screening points;
• Identify and document lessons learned and good practices from county-level implementation and share these to inform program adaptation.

Capacity Building

• Provide on-the-job coaching and mentorship to community health promoters, data clerks, enumerators and other county-level staff on MEAL tools, data collection and data quality standards;
• Support the onboarding and training of county-level data collectors and facility focal points, where applicable.

Client Responsiveness

• Sensitize community members, health facility staff and county stakeholders on IRC's complaints and feedback channels to strengthen client responsiveness and accountability;
• Conduct regular focus group discussions and meetings with different stakeholders, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons and refugees, to solicit feedback on IRC's work and ensure sensitive concerns are referred confidentially through established pathways.

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Position reports directly to: County Area Coordinator

Technical guidance from: MEAL / Measurement Lead (as relevant)

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: County-level program staff, technical coordinators, and other IRC county and field teams.

External: County Departments of Health, sub-county coordination structures, health facility staff, point-of-entry and screening-point teams, community health promoters, and partner organizations.

REQUIREMENTS

MEAL Officers have:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (such as public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics, health informatics, monitoring and evaluation, or a related subject area);
• A minimum of 3 to 4 years of working experience in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning-related functions, preferably within public health, humanitarian health or emergency preparedness and response programs;
• Demonstrated experience operationalising results frameworks, indicator tracking tables and means-of-verification systems;
• Proficiency in mobile data collection tools such as Kobo, CommCare or ODK Collect, and Microsoft Excel; familiarity with EPI Info, STATA, Power BI or similar software is an asset;
• Demonstrated data quality assurance and analytical skills, with strong attention to detail;
• Experience setting up and managing community feedback and complaints mechanisms and applying accountability to affected populations (AAP) standards;
• Good communication, interpersonal and organizational skills, including the ability to work with diverse county-level stakeholders and to train and support non-specialist data collectors;
• Working knowledge of data protection principles, including safeguarding of personally identifiable information (PII) and de-identification of public health data;
• Willingness to travel extensively within the allocated counties and refugee settlements to support field-level and health facility data collection;
• Fluency in English and Kiswahili.

Important Notice: Recruitment for these positions is subject to the approval of the proposal and the availability of funding.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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