Burundi: Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator for the programme Building Bridges Burundi

On behalf of the BBB consortium Stichting Red een Kind (Foundation Help a Child) is looking for a

Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator for the programme Building Bridges Burundi

Organisation

Help a Child (HaC) is a Christian international NGO specialised in community development with its headquarters in the Netherlands. Founded in 1968, HaC’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of children through supportive communities. Our main sources of income are child sponsorship, foundations and institutional donors, while other main activities are focussed on education, vocational training, work and income, with special attention for the position of girls and women, and child’s rights. HaC’s strategy is to empower marginalised children, youth, parents and the broader community, and other stakeholders to grow out of poverty. This is also reflected in the anticipated changes:

A. Children are able to overcome barriers to participate successfully in life;

B. Parents are able to take care of themselves and their children;

C. Youth are self-reliant and ready for work;

D. Communities are able to link to and make use of economic opportunities and services and gradually take full ownership of their own development.

For more information, please visit www.helpachild.org.

For the implementation of the new programme Building Bridges in Burundi (BBB), financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Addressing Root Causes fund (ARC), Help a Child collaborates in a consortium with three other consortium members: Mensen met een Missie, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Cord.

Mensen met een Missie (People with a Mission) is a Catholic organization for international cooperation, which feels at home in the church of the poor. Mensen met een Missie collaborates with local partner organizations in 15 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin-America who fight for social justice and peace, and who do not give up when the going gets tough. Mensen met een Missie builds on a long tradition of missionary work, based on faith and social justice. The organization believes in the social and connective power of religion. Mensen met een Missie has been working in Burundi since 2007, collaborating with ten local faith-based organizations on a range of peace, justice, and reconciliation oriented interventions. The organization is experienced in working with communities on social cohesion, tolerance and dialogue, promotion of non-violence, alongside civic education efforts and working to establish committees of grassroots level conflict mediators.

The American Friends Service Committee, AFSC, is a Quaker International organization that includes people of various faiths and backgrounds who are committed to social justice, peace, and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the principles of the Religious Society of Friends, the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. AFSC was founded by Quakers in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian victims of war and its work attracts the support and partnership of people of many races, religions, and cultures. The organization's mission and achievements won worldwide recognition in 1947 when AFSC and the British Friends Service Council (now Quaker Peace and Social Witness) accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all Quakers. AFSC has been working in Burundi since 2004.

Cord is an international peacebuilding organisation inspired by the Christian faith and based in the United Kingdom. Formed in 1967, the organisation has long term country programmes established in Burundi, Chad, Cambodia, Lao, and Myanmar. The organisation’s mission is to work in partnership with communities, civil society, and government in post-conflict and conflict-affected societies where relationships have broken down and poverty and inequality are chronic, where the organisation works to build inclusive and sustainable peace, protect and defend human rights, and support sustainable development efforts. Cord achieves this by addressing economic, social, cultural and service delivery barriers to inclusion, with the aim of contributing to environments where everyone is able to flourish. Cord’s strategic priorities are embodied in the Peacebuilding model, which embraces the need to build capacity, conditions and relationships for peace.

The four consortium partners collaborate with 10 local Burundian implementing partners on the promotion of social cohesion, human security, and resilience for Burundian youth and local communities.

Position

HaC has decided to open a local office in Burundi, and is currently recruiting staff for the implementation of the new programme Building Bridges in Burundi, financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Addressing Root Causes fund (ARC).

The MEAL coordinator will be fulltime and responsible for the operational success of the consortium’s activities regarding Monitoring, Evaluations, Accountability and Learning of the Building Bridges in Burundi programme. He/she is responsible for overseeing all activities on MEAL of the implementing partners, coordinating their work, training & coaching them and consolidating their MEAL input for planning, evaluation and reporting requirements of the back donor.

The MEAL coordinator is a coordinator, a facilitator, a trainer and a lead in analysis and reflection.

The MEAL coordinator reports directly to the Help a Child Programme Manager, who is responsible for the overall coordination of the BBB consortium. He/she will work in close contact with in-country MEAL Focal Points representing the consortium members.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Responsible for the fine-tuning and operationalisation of developed MEAL framework together with the MEAL Focal Points of the consortium partners.
• Facilitation of the in-country MEAL platform, which consists of the MEAL Focal Points of the of implementing and consortium partners.
• Responsible for the coordination of MEAL framework related activities of implementing partners.
• Responsible for the training and coaching of the implementing partners, to ensure that they build capacity to collect, analyse, reflect and use the monitoring data for quality improvement of the programme.
• Responsible for aggregating the monitoring data and reporting to the HaC Programme Manager and the BBB Steering Committee consisting of representatives of all consortium members.
• Responsible for facilitation of use of monitoring information and evaluations for learning and accountability on consortium level in learning events.
• In collaboration with the HaC Programme Manager, responsible for the coordination of the work of both internal consortium staff and external consultants involved in the baseline, mid-term and final evaluations, to ensure consistent, high-quality monitoring and evaluation that enables learning, accountability and visibility.
• Responsible for making MEAL results visible via brochures, consortium members’ websites, stakeholder meetings, and other relevant visibility/communication channels.
• Represent Help a Child and the BBB consortium partners at key (inter)national events as appropriate.

We offer an attractive financial package and a challenging working environment in an international setting. You will be offered a fixed term contract for the first year with a probation period of 3 months. Depending on your performance and fit with the programme and staff involved, this first year contract will be extended for another 4 years.

Qualifications

This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with MEAL experience to grow and develop the programme. The successful candidate will facilitate MEAL activities in the BBB programmes and partner with the consortium members of the Building Bridges in Burundi programme. Specific requirements include:

• Be a Burundi national;
• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in Development Studies, Research Methods, Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Management or other relevant field;
• At least 5 years of experience in Monitoring, Evaluations, Accountability and Learning;
• Experience in working in a fragile context, ideally in Burundi;
• Experience in working with a Theory of Change and Result Based Management as frame work, and developing indicator frameworks based on it;
• Ability to coordinate a large group of persons, motivating them and setting clear roles and responsibilities;
• Ability to facilitate training and provide coaching on MEAL to implementing partners;
• Strong MEAL management skills to manage complex, multifaceted projects aggregating results in measurable successes and programme development;
• Strong skills in analysing and reflecting on M&E results, making sure that learning on various levels takes place in the consortium;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention for details;
• Fluency in English and French;
• Excellent MS Excel skills;
• Capacity to propose a Data Management Information System for the BBB Programme;
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, interpersonal and cross cultural sensitivity;
• Adhering to the Christian character of the organizations in the consortium;
• Full support for the vision and mission of Help a Child, Mensen met een Missie, AFSC, and Cord;

Place of work: Bujumbura

Starting date: as soon as possible.

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to send a cover letter and resume before September 29^th, 2016 to vacancies@hacburundi.org. For more information please contact Mr. David Karelse at info@hacburundi.org.