MEAL Program Manager

Background

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works in a wide variety of areas within the humanitarian and development fields, regardless of race, creed, religion, or gender, to advance our mission to assist the poor and vulnerable. Our team reflects this diversity. The CRS Egypt country program began in 1956 at the invitation of the Egyptian president Nasser by providing relief assistance to the victims of the Suez War. Over the following few decades, CRS Egypt moved from large-scale food relief to long-term poverty alleviation and development programs.
• Currently, CRS Egypt has three main programs: livelihoods, interfaith peacebuilding, and education assistance for refugees. Projects under these programs range from the provision of technical assistance and capacity building of partners, to the promotion of peace and tolerance, the provision of grants for refugees, and the protection and safeguarding of children.
• CRS Egypt currently holds a main office in Cairo, and the refugee support sub-office in Maadi with activities in Greater Cairo, Upper Egypt and the North Coast.
• CRS’s Peacebuilding and Partnership program is currently funded by the US Government through the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) to promote peaceful coexistence in targeted areas stricken with sectarian violence in Upper Egypt as well as to support building the capacity of community-based organizations in the sector of women social empowerment.

Job Summary:

• The Program Manager (PM) for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) will lead a highly effective team to ensure high-quality monitoring, evaluation, and accountability practices across CRS Egypt’s programs, and that learning is incorporated into all stages of the program cycle.
• Under the guidance of the Head of Programs, the PM for MEAL will coordinate the overall strategic development of MEAL for the country program (CP) in line with the agency MEAL policies and procedures, as well as industry standards and best practices. The PM for MEAL will also be responsible for investing heavily in building the MEAL capacity of CRS and partner staff to achieve quality and coordinated approaches across all programs. She or he will oversee a team of approximately seven staff across three technical areas.

Job Responsibilities:

• Manage and further develop a high functioning MEAL team using CRS Performance Management system.
• Manage recruitment of qualified and competent staff, and provide quality on-boarding training and standard setting.
• Lead continuous coaching to all MEAL team members on CRS, agency, and international standards, practices, and resources.
• Provide strategic input throughout the proposal development process, incorporating lessons learned and best practices generated from previous and ongoing programs.
• Develops log frames and MEAL narratives that identify key indicators of change and appropriate methods for data collection and use.
• Lead quality MEAL system design, budgeting, and management of MEAL implementation at CP-level, involving tools and methods, appropriate to scope, context, and technical requirements of a project, and review in line with donor and CRS guidance.
• Ensure quality data capture, input and management, qualitative and quantitative analysis, reflection, and ongoing use of MEAL data results through effective management of agreed processes.
• Facilitates the use of evaluation and review results with partners and other stakeholders to inform decision-making and to identify lessons learned and promising practices.
• Lead compliance with agency and donor MEAL requirements, including project-specific MEAL Detailed Implementation Plan activities.
• Support Technical Area Program Managers in timely and high quality preparation of projects’ MEAL- related reporting requirements.
• Document and disseminate agency approach to MEAL and project learning among CP colleagues and partners, and in broader regional discussions.
• Support the Safeguarding Unit to document, learn, and adapt from CP accountability and feedback mechanisms. Contribute to respectful relationships and dialogue regarding ongoing project interventions and results with partners, community members and stakeholders.
• Oversee capacity strengthening initiatives in conducting all MEAL activities for CRS MEAL staff and partners to address their job requirements.
• Lead the training and utilization of ICT4D tools to improve data collection, management, and analysis.