MEAL Coordinator – Karabo ea Bophelo

About the Christian Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services is an official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

About the Role

Karabo ea Bophelo (KB) is a five-year USAID-funded activity to prevent new HIV infections and reduce vulnerability among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Lesotho. The MEAL Coordinator – KB will support Strategic Information (SI) activities for the project including developing and implementing robust and cost-efficient Monitoring Evaluation Accountability Learning (MEAL) systems and procedures which incorporate ICT4D and improve program quality. You will also lead relevant capacity building activities though trainings and mentorship based on identified needs. S/he will ensure strong linkages with other components of the project to advance the delivery of high-quality MEAL systems and programming to OVC, AGYW and their households.

Key Performance Areas

  • Provide high level expertise to support the coordination, implementation, and monitoring of relevant KB SI/MEAL activities, including ICT4D, in line with CRS program quality principles and standards, donor requirements, and good practices.
  • Support KB Project SI and local partner staff by providing expertise in MEAL design, development, planning, and implementation of project evaluation activities. This includes development and dissemination of tools, materials, reports, Standard Operating Procedures, and intervention linked research..
  • Regularly disseminate and communicate data and analysis in a clear comprehensible manner to technical and other stakeholders within the KB project, and support the effective use of data for decision making
  • Support capacity strengthening initiatives in SI/MEAL activities for local partners through helping develop learning and training strategies and agendas/curriculums, conducting trainings and workshops, and coaching/mentoring/accompaniment to ensure donor requirements are met
  • Develop and lead the implementation of robust feedback and response mechanisms for continuous learning, collaboration, and adaptation
  • Collect and analyze program data, capture and share lessons learned and best practices for the KB project to facilitate improvements in decision-making and contribute to the project’s learning agenda.
  • Support the effective roll out of the SAVIX MIS in a cost-effective manner
  • Ensure accurate and timely reporting of all assigned project activities as per donor and CRS standards and established schedules
  • Coach and mentor KB partner staff in M&E design, development, planning, and implementation of project evaluation activities.
  • Guide analyses and reflective discussions on ongoing data monitoring

Qualifications and Experience

  • A Bachelor’s degree is required. The degree should be in Public Health, Demography, Epidemiology, Sociology, Biostatistics, Statistics or a related field
  • Minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience in implementing MEAL & SI activities in Lesotho
  • Additional experience may substitute for some education
  • Demonstrated experience in design and implementation of OVC MEAL/SI systems for USG-funded projects
  • Strong knowledge and understanding of Lesotho OVC Programming 
  • Sound understanding of relevant indicators, data collection methodology, data quality issues; ability to develop indicators and data collection tools and assess data quality
  • Strong ability to present data clearly for M&E and non-M&E audiences
  • Experience in strengthening the demand for data and facilitating the use of information in the decision-making process at different levels to improve program quality
  • Demonstrated skills in training and capacity building through technical assistance and mentoring. This includes strong skills in public speaking, curriculum development, delivering trainings and workshops, and day-to-day coaching and mentoring
  •  Strong writing and presentation skills for reporting to program country teams, stakeholders, and donors
  • Ability to work independently and with flexibility to manage high volume workflow and concurrent activities/deliverables
  • Strong quantitative and analytical skills and ability to articulate technical information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, knowledge-sharing networks, data management applications, statistical packages and relevant computer software skills, including statistical analysis programs. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

  • Experience in participatory action planning and community engagement
  • Excellent relationship management skills with ability to influence and get buy-in from people not under direct supervision and to work with local partners and community members in diverse geographical settings.
  • Attention to details, accuracy and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities 
  • Proactive, resourceful, results-oriented and service-oriented
  • Strong written and oral communication skills
  • Strong presentation, facilitation, training, mentoring, and coaching skills
  • Strategic, analytical, problem-solving and systems thinking capacity and skills 
  • Demonstrated ability to implement projects with rigorous timelines and deliverables and to track program quality through donor approved monitoring and evaluation systems
  • Understanding of CRS partnership principles a plus. 

How to Apply

All applications must be sent directly to info@kmglobalconsult.com stating CRS-MEAL-LSO in the subject line.