The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting refugees, vulnerable host communities and various institutions in the country notably the government, community-based organizations, civil society, and the private sector. Currently, the IRC in Uganda has a presence across six sub-regions and six refugee settlements, implementing programming in the sectors of health, protection, and rule of law (PRoL), women’s protection and empowerment (WPE), economic recovery and development (ERD), education and livelihoods . IRC Uganda also implements cross-cutting programming focused on systems strengthening and accountability to affected persons. As part of IRC Uganda’s strategic ambitions, the IRC works closely with local actors, including civil society organizations, local non-governmental organizations, local and national governments, among others, to strengthen their capacity and with intentions of transferring more resources for locally-led implementation and support to our clients.

JOB OVERVIEW:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has received a $10 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to implement a three-year project titled ‘Kulea Watoto’ – meaning ‘nurturing children.’ Kulea Watoto is an initiative aimed at improving early childhood development and transforming the livelihoods of refugees and host communities in Uganda by providing nurturing care and early childhood learning opportunities, and to build their own skills to generate income for their families. The project will use a unique two-generation approach to reach out to young children under five years of age and their caregivers in Yumbe, Kyegegwa , and Kampala districts, implemented in partnership with four local partners – the AfriChild Centre, Madrasa Early Childhood Program, Kabarole Research , and Resource Centre and Literacy and Adult Basic Education (LABE). To achieve this, the project will offer learning sessions for parents and caregivers on responsive caregiving and the provision of early learning opportunities, improved links to children’s services in local communities, livelihood training, and start-up funding for promising business ideas, and more.

Reporting to and technically being supported by the RMEL Manager -Kulea Watoto, the MEAL Officer works closely with program teams to optimize monitoring capabilities and opportunities, evaluation, accountability, and learning for Kulea Watoto project to ensure high-quality programming for the clients we serve and to support the overall ambitions of the of IRC's Strategy100 and the country's strategic action plan. The MEAL Officer supervises and implements MEAL project activities working with the project staff in Kyegegwa collecting routine data from ECD and livelihood interventions

Responsibilities:

Leadership and Partnership

Support all technical aspects and actions of MEAL regarding the Kulea Watoto project in Kyegegwa ; respond to program needs; foster high standards and practices for quality data collection, analysis, and reports. Enable accountability to clients, partners, and donors .
Implement and support MEAL system and approaches in your areas of expertise and foster learning ;

Represent IRC at technical meetings, forums, and other events & build partnerships within IRC and area of expertise .

Champion access and use of data for shared learning, sound decision-making, and data-informed programmatic adaptations.
Technical Oversight

Monitoring and Evaluation

Run the MEAL system and processes for Kulea Watoto project in Kyegegwa in harmony with the MEAL Country and Global Strategies throughout the project cycle which include:
Collaborate with MEAL and non-MEAL staff to ensure that data is collected, compiled, checked for its quality and completeness in compliance with IRC and donors’ standards for data quality.
Document and share learning, evidence, and data from previous projects to inform project proposal design.
Implement M&E/MEAL plans, revise (digital) data collection tools, follow-up on processes for online data management, quality checks, and audits, and updating of data visualization.
Undertake regular analysis of monitoring data and work closely with program officers and managers to facilitate decision-making for real-time program adaptation .
Produce quality reports and updating dashboards with key findings that foster learning and decision-making and share in project cycle management meetings and team meetings.
Identify, document, and share client feedback to improve services and results for our clients.
Support deployment of surveys such as baseline and end line, and the commission of evaluations in coordination with colleagues and partners.
Support the use of standard mobile data technology and online dashboard to enhance timeliness and quality of data collection, analysis, and visualization .
Join and contribute to IRC’s effort in meeting its internal and external accountability commitments through the implementation of sound accountability, client feedback, and response mechanisms.
Accountability and Learning.

Accountability