MEAL Manager

Save the Children’s vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Our mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Save the Children started our work in Vietnam in 1990, and implements programs in the key thematic areas: Education, Health and Nutrition, Child Protection, Child Rights and Governance, Child Poverty, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Emergency Response. At present, Vietnam Country Office has programs in 22 out of 63 provinces in Vietnam.

Save the Children in Vietnam continues to develop innovative programming that reflects the overall strategic goal of measurably improving the survival, health, protection and development of Vietnam’s poorest children by strengthening the capacity of women and children, caring adults, communities and partner organizations.

Save the Children is committed to ensuring that all our personnel and programmes are absolutely safe for children.

Child Safeguarding positioning statement:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

We are looking for a Vietnamese national for:

• Vacancy: MEAL Manager
• Based in: Ha Noi

Main Responsibilities:

The main purpose of this role is to lead the process of strengthening MEAL systems and approaches and the application of these for continual programme learning and quality improvement. The position will provide an overall strategic and operational MEAL framework for the Vietnam Country Office, as well as leading on annual planning and reporting and monitoring of the country strategy plan roll out.

• Strategic:
  
  • Participate in the country strategic and annual planning process, ensuring that MEAL aspects of our work are incorporated
  • Maintain a strategic overview of funding gaps in MEAL activities and ensure that MEAL resources, both financial and human, are included in proposal development.
  • Strengthen MEAL systems and processes to support measurement of achievement and progress of program/project effectiveness and quality.
  • Bring together data and findings from across programs and projects to form a coherent basis for analysis of impact which promotes learning and strategy development.
  • Produce high quality analysis reports to illustrate Save the Children’s impact and assessment findings.
  • Make recommendations on changes in program activities or management based on evidence based findings from MEAL and analysis of trends.
  • Ensure that the organisation delivers on all internal and external MEAL requirements including SCI Quality Framework in a timely manner and with high quality information.
  • Build capacity of relevant staff, as well as implementing partners, in ensuring MEAL is consistently and systematically applied and integrated in all projects.
  • Ensure alignment of CO priorities with Save the Children’s global and regional MEAL priorities and guidance
  • Support PDQA Director in development of CO level tools and processes for achievement of program KPIs.

• Monitoring & Evaluation:
  
  • Support thematic teams in strengthening/ developing monitoring tools during program design
  • Undertake regular independent “program reviews” against set standards/ quality benchmarks to validate data/information and accuracy of reporting from the field and make recommendations on any changes to be made.
  • Bring together data and findings from thematic-based MEAL systems to form a coherent basis for analysis of what works, what does not and why which promotes
  • learning for program design and strategy development, including improved measurement and quality of work on the ground.
  • Keep track of all project evaluations and, in coordination with Program and Project Managers, provide input in designing evaluation TORs, and ensure evaluations are in line with Save the Children’s and donors’ standards.
  • Ensure that CSP Progress Monitoring report is produced and widely disseminated.

• Learning & Knowledge Management:
  
  • Ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place so that MEAL enables learning & knowledge management, and informs adaptive implementation and strategic direction.
  • Ensure the production of technical briefing papers on quarterly basis outlying programs/projects effectiveness, including recommendations on how learning will be
  • taken forward.
  • Ensure joint annual review, learning and evaluation meetings for different programs to share and reflect on effective approaches, lessons learned and fine-tune the MEAL design to reflect on changes in the rapidly evolving environment.
  • Promote learning & knowledge management throughout the organisation, particularly on issues of program quality, policy analysis and advocacy, and effective use of operational research in conjunction with program teams.
  • Promote and support program teams in effective use of ICT in MEAL (design and implementation).

• Accountability:
  
  • Ensure that all staff at all levels, including senior managers and directors, fully understand and promote accountability in general and to children in particular, through training and coaching.
  • Ensure that accountability to beneficiaries becomes a core element and success indicator for all program activities.
  • Support the design and implementation of appropriate complaints and feedback mechanisms as per current guidance, tools and SOP that are contextual, effective, accessible and safe for beneficiaries, and that ensure that complaints and feedback from beneficiaries, communities and NGO partners are recorded, reviewed, acted upon and shared widely across the country programme.
  • Build on progress to date on integrating accountability to beneficiaries (and particularly children) and partners within programmes through securing funds, hiring staff and establishing feedback mechanisms and producing information materials in a way which mainstreams accountability across all programmes.
  • Develop and report against accountability-related indicators and issues.

• Staff Management
  
  • Line manage the MEAL Officer and dotted line management with Project MEAL Offices, making sure that each staff has clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and there is synergy among members of the team.
  • In coordination with DPI and PMs, support program staff in implementing MEAL in their projects and guarantee program quality.
  • Work together with line managed staff to identify clear performance objectives and capacity building plan. Support and motivate staff to achieve their performance objectives and with support from HR team undertake the periodic performance review
  • Provide direct coaching or mentoring to staff and facilitate their technical capacity building.

• Representation
  
  • Participate in internal and external meetings, workshops, capacity building initiatives and seminars as and when agreed.
  • Coordinate with Asia Regional Office with regards to regional and global MEAL priorities.
  • Participate in Asia MEAL Practitioner calls on a regular basis.

The job duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience, including adjustment on job description.

Key Competencies:

Essential

• Good analytical skills, effective negotiator, with the ability to proactively influence cross sectoral and departmental buy-in.
• Previous experience of successfully securing MEAL resources.
• Experience of conducting and/or commissioning evaluations.
• Solid understanding of quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation methodologies, including skills in analysis, documentation and presentation of complex
• data/information.
• Good organisational skills, the ability to pay close attention to detail and capable of reporting in a timely manner.
• Ability to analyse information, evaluate options and to think and plan strategically.
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner, and to use innovative forms of communication.
• Proven capacity to train and coach staff.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Vietnamese.
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy; capacity and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in difficult working circumstances.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children's aims, values and principles, including rights based approaches.

Desirable

• Graduate degree in Statistics/Social Science/ Social work or related field
• 3-5 years of proven experience developing, implementing and reviewing MEAL systems/strategies
• Ability to work with MS Excel; MS Access and SPSS: Familiarity with ICT advantageous
• NGOs networks and knowledge

Please send (in English):

• Curriculum Vitae updated
• Completed Application form (template attached)
• Contact of three referees
• Covering letter addressing the list of competencies

to:

Save the Children International in Vietnam,
4th Floor, Machinco Building, No. 444 Hoang Hoa Tham street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi
or by Email: [email protected]

The SC’s application form and full job description are attached.

The closing date for application is 5 pm on Sunday, 10th June 2018.

Applications will be treated in confidence. Due to the volume of applications we receive, only short-listed candidates will be contacted and CVs cannot be returned.

Save the Children is an equal opportunities employer. Our selection processes reflect our commitment to the protection of children from abuse, and our people are as diverse as the challenge we face. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of age, disability, HIV/AIDS status, race, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation.