Consortium MEAL Coordinator (CASCADE) – 38 hours

We’re seeking an experienced and versatile MEAL professional with strong people skills and knowledge of African contexts to lead a multi-country consortium MEAL team.

Why CARE Nederland?

We are CARE Nederland, part of CARE, an international development organisation operating in more than 100 countries worldwide. Originating from US food aid to Europe after World War II, we have been committed to helping those who need it most for almost 80 years. 

CARE supports people in the world’s most difficult places to build better lives. We fight poverty by tackling inequality. We do this by providing emergency relief, working for equal rights for women and empowering communities against the effects of climate change and natural disasters by supporting them to build sustainable livelihoods. Our approach is characterised by customisation: in consultation with local partners and residents, we determine what is needed and what works. After all, only together can we achieve sustainable results.

The team for Sustainable Development is responsible for fundraising with institutional donors and ensuring good quality project cycle management. Its programming focusses on climate smart and resilient livelihoods as well as women’s rights. Part of the Sustainable Development team is the CASCADE team. The CASCADE Consortium team is responsible for leading the implementation of an ambitious, 4,5-year program focused on implementation of nutrition-related policies for healthy diets and resilience of women and children in six African countries.’

What will you be doing?

The Consortium MEAL Coordinator leads the CASCADE MEAL team and ensures that proper monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) systems are in place, operational, and up to standards, and that challenges and needs of country teams are addressed swiftly. The Consortium MEAL Coordinator keeps an overview of MEAL activities conducted at all levels and continuously connects the dots.

MEAL Team Coordination:

• Lead the design and implementation of MEAL systems, tools, and products to capture CASCADE’s impact and learning.
• Ensure that the CASCADE MEAL team functions well, with a one consortium approach to MEAL. Keep an overview of all MEAL areas and guide the work of assigned global staff, leveraging the strengths and expertise of different partners and staff members.
• Spearhead the planning and execution of MEAL activities across the six countries, ensuring comprehensive participation and preparation on global and country levels.

Monitoring and evaluation:

• Provide strategic oversight and support to country teams in the development and refinement of MEAL tracking tools and systems to ensure that they are adequate to provide needed information in a timely way for reporting on reach, outcome and impact.
• Lead the consortium’s efforts in integrating and linking various MEAL data types, ensuring coherence and synergy across different data streams.
• Lead the MEAL team in confirming and validating outcome indicators for each country.
• Ensure high quality data through regular data quality checks.

Learning:

• Drive the learning agenda by leading country teams in refining and finalizing critical learning questions, developing actionable plans, and providing high level support for learning-related activities and on development of learning products.
• Establish and manage a system to identify lessons learned and disseminate timely information.
• Ensure data collected is used to take appropriate operational decisions to improve the program.
• Act as an advisor to country teams, supporting them in interpreting and using data and implementation experience for adaptive management in a way that enhances internal collaboration and communication.

What do you bring to the table?

You are an experienced MEAL professional looking for your next challenge. You possess strong interpersonal, coaching, and project and team management skills and have substantial experience working in African countries.

• At least 5 years relevant experience with project cycle MEAL for community programming in a related sector – e.g. agriculture, food and nutrition security, public health, education, gender, etc.
• Strong listening, facilitation and project and team management skills (previous consortium experience would be an advantage).
• Ability to prioritize and distinguish between major and minor issues.
• Proven background and experience in promoting and building capacities in program learning and adaptation.
• Strong skills in pulling together different data sources, sense-making, and research methodologies.
• Ability to check the quality and the reasonableness of quantitative and qualitative analyses.
• Ability to critically assess and validate the quality of data collected.
• Experience with (the development of) MEAL tools and approaches, especially in the field of governance, policy, and/or advocacy.
• Detail-oriented, ability to be precise and SMART.
• Excellent knowledge of English; French and/or Portuguese would be an advantage.

CARE maintains a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and child abuse and takes all concerns and complaints about sexual exploitation and abuse and child abuse involving CARE staff and related personnel seriously.

What does CARE Nederland offer?

We offer a stimulating, international consortium working environment with the ambitious and innovative CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and resiliencE (CASCADE) program. CASCADE focuses on tackling malnutrition through strengthening the implementation of nutrition-related policies with two strategic objectives: (1) to increase access to and consumption of healthy diets and (2) to increase resilience to price and climate change related shocks, for households facing malnutrition, especially women of reproductive age and children. The program operates in Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Uganda and runs for 4,5 years, ending in December 2026.

Ready to apply?

Are you interested in this position and do you meet the profile sought? Please send your application using the button below. The deadline to respond to this vacancy is Sunday 1 December 2024.

For more information, please contact Sarah Harris, CASCADE Consortium Coordinator (harris@carenederland.org).

• EU work permit is a requirement for this position.
• We request two references as standard.
• We require a Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS) and, for some positions, a Certificate of Good Conduct (VOG).
• As long as the vacancy is still visible, responding remains possible.

Acquisition regarding this advertisement is not appreciated.