MEAL Advisor

Position Title: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor
TEAM/PROGRAMME: Humanitarian Response
LOCATION: Addis Ababa
GRADE: TBD
CONTRACT LENGTH: 24 Months

CHILD SAFEGUARDING

Level 3: The post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently or intensively due to their responsibilities in overseeing monitoring systems, evaluations, and community accountability mechanisms.

Risk and Compliance: 

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Fraud, Bribery, and Corruption policy and code of conduct. The key responsibilities include understanding and complying with the SCI policies and procedures, not committing any act of fraud, bribery, or corruption, understanding risks in their area/role, and implementing mitigation measures, report any suspected fraud, bribery, or corruption immediately, declare conflicts of interest in accordance with internal procedures and complete mandatory training related to ethics and anti-fraud measures

ROLE PURPOSE

The MEAL Advisor provides strategic leadership and technical oversight for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning across all sectors of the ABA response. The role will ensure the establishment and effective functioning of robust MEAL systems across consortium partners, enabling high-quality program monitoring, evidence generation, and adaptive management. The MEAL Advisor will ensure that program implementation is informed by reliable data, community feedback, and learning, while meeting donor accountability and reporting requirements.

The post holder will serve as the principal technical advisor on MEAL, supporting program leadership and partners in strengthening evidence-based programming, accountability to affected populations, and continuous learning to maximize program impact.

SCOPE OF ROLE

Reports to: Head of MEAL with dotted management relationship with Program Lead 

Staff reporting to this post:
MEAL Coordinators / Field MEAL Officers (as applicable)

Budget Responsibilities:
Provide technical oversight for MEAL budgets and ensure effective use of resources allocated for monitoring, evaluation, research, and accountability systems.

Key Internal Relationships:
Sr. Program Lead, Sr. ABA Coordination Manager, Technical Advisors, Finance and Operations Teams.

External Relationships:
Consortium partners, government stakeholders, humanitarian coordination mechanisms, and donors.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Strategic MEAL Leadership

• Provide strategic direction for the design and implementation of a comprehensive MEAL system that supports program quality, accountability, and learning.
• Ensure the integration of MEAL into all phases of the project cycle, including program design, implementation, review, and adaptation.
• Develop and oversee the implementation of MEAL frameworks, performance monitoring plans, and indicator tracking systems aligned with donor requirements and organizational standards.
• Support senior program leadership with evidence-based insights for strategic decision-making and adaptive management.

Monitoring Systems and Data Quality

• Ensure the establishment of robust monitoring systems to track program outputs, outcomes, and impact.
• Lead the development of monitoring tools, data collection methodologies, and reporting systems across consortium partners.
• Oversee data quality assurance processes, including data verification, validation, and periodic data quality assessments.
• Work closely with the Information Management team to ensure effective data management, visualization, and dissemination of findings.

Evaluation and Research

• Lead the design and management of baseline, mid-term, and end-line evaluations, as well as thematic studies, assessments, and learning reviews.
• Ensure evaluations adhere to international evaluation standards and ethical guidelines.
• Facilitate the dissemination and use of evaluation findings to strengthen program effectiveness and inform future humanitarian programming.
• Promote the generation and documentation of evidence and best practices from program implementation.

Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)

• Strengthen systems that ensure meaningful participation and inclusion of communities in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Establish and oversee accessible and responsive feedback and complaints mechanisms across program locations.
• Ensure that community feedback is systematically analyzed and used to improve program quality and responsiveness.
• Promote inclusive approaches that ensure the participation of women, children, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.

Learning and Adaptive Management

• Promote a strong culture of learning and reflection within the program and among consortium partners.
• Facilitate periodic learning events, after-action reviews, and reflection workshops.
• Ensure lessons learned and best practices are documented and integrated into program adaptation and strategic planning.
• Support the development of knowledge products and learning briefs for internal and external audiences.

Capacity Strengthening and Technical Support

• Provide technical support and mentoring to consortium partners and program teams to strengthen MEAL capacities.
• Lead the development and delivery of training on monitoring systems, evaluation methodologies, data management, and accountability mechanisms.
• Support partners in strengthening their institutional MEAL systems to ensure sustainability.

Reporting and Knowledge Management

• Ensure the timely production of high-quality analytical reports, dashboards, and learning products to inform program management and donor reporting.
• Support the development of donor reports and evidence-based communication materials.
• Ensure that MEAL findings are effectively communicated to key stakeholders and inform decision-making.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability
Holds self and partners accountable for delivering high-quality evidence, ensuring responsible data use, and promoting transparency.

Ambition
Drives innovation and excellence in monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices.

Collaboration
Builds strong partnerships with program teams, consortium partners, communities, and stakeholders.

Creativity
Encourages innovative approaches to monitoring, data analysis, and knowledge generation.

Integrity
Ensures ethical data collection, safeguarding of participants, and responsible management of information.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, Public Health, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or a related field.

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive experience in MEAL within humanitarian and development programs.
• Demonstrated experience in designing and managing MEAL systems for large, multi-sector humanitarian programs.
• Strong experience managing evaluations, research studies, and evidence generation processes.
• Proven experience in Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), community feedback systems, and participatory monitoring approaches.
• Strong analytical skills and experience using quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Experience working with multi-partner consortium programs and donor-funded humanitarian projects.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and report-writing skills.

Desirable

• Experience working in complex humanitarian contexts.
• Familiarity with the Ethiopian humanitarian and development context.
• Experience using digital data collection and information management platforms.
• Experience supporting capacity strengthening of local partners and national organizations.

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience. The program manager is expected to cover emerging assignments in the humanitarian program operations

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:        

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.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply