About the Context

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been operating in Mali since 2013 and has a coordination office in Bamako and four field offices: Gao, Menaka, Tombouctou, and Mopti.

In the areas of operation, NRC provides interventions in Core Competences such as : Education; Protection from Violence; Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA); Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); Shelter and Settlements.  NRC Mali also has an Emergency Response Mechanism that allows to rapidly address the multi-sectoral needs of people newly affected by displacement.

NRC’s operations in Mali is guided by a strategic framework; the current cycle covering 2022 to 2026 and is reviewed annually. The next cycle of country strategy will be concluded in 2026 for future years. One of NRC’s strategic objectives in Mali is to increase our localization footprint through mutually reinforcing partnerships and approaches are being devised in this sense to have a significant fraction of our core competences delivered in partnership with local and national NGOs

Find out more about NRC https://www.nrc.no/  and Watch this short video to see NRC in action https://vimeo.com/736782633

What we are looking for 

The role of the Monitoring, Evidence, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager is to lead the strategic direction and quality assurance of MEAL components across the entire NRC mission in Mali.

You will be responsible for development and implementation of the strategy, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), and an adequate budget for MEAL, which ensures the country office is meeting and exceeding  MEAL minimum standards.

You will also be responsible for leading Country Office learning agenda and evaluation planning required to inform program and strategic decision-making.

In addition, you will strengthen the Information Management (IM) strategy, develop procedures and strengthen practices around data protection and management within the organization in Mali, as well as oversee the use of specific digital solutions for managing project participant information.

What you will do 

• Ensure the development and follow-up of the Country Office’s MEAL strategy and SOPs, through capacity building and the production of tools and systems necessary for their operationalisation.

• Contribute to project design, ensuring that theories of change, monitoring and evaluation plans, logical frameworks, monitoring and evaluation activities, sufficient and relevant budgets and staffing are built into programme and project proposals.

• Ensure the deployment and use of global and regional MEAL developments in Mali, while promoting adaptations and developments to meet MEAL needs.

• Provide technical support and guidance to in-country MEAL teams, and capacity building in MEAL and IM across the entire NRC mission in Mali, including NRC’s local partners.

• Supervise the Country Office’s MEAL department staff and provide technical oversight and capacity building to all MEAL teams.

• Support the Partnership Coordinator in reviewing and advising on the strengthening of MEAL systems for local partners, including capacity building of MEAL staff of local partners

• Contribute to the Country and Core Competency / Programme strategy process as well as provide technical support and advice to programme staff on methods and tools for needs assessments, market assessments, conflict analysis and other contextual analysis. Ensure that learning moments are institutionalized within the mission, with systems in place to analyse and use MEAL data and support the program and Country Management Group in interpreting and using learning for strategic and programmatic decision-making.

• Support programme teams to develop data collection methodologies and tools, and systems for on-going data analysis and conduct outcome planning sessions every four months, reviewing outcome-monitoring reports produced by programme teams to improve quality, and mentor CC teams.

• Lead the Evaluation Plan development process and ensure that evaluations are carried out in accordance with NRC’s Evaluation Policy and support the Head of Programme in setting up and implementation of recommendation tracking systems.

• Ensure the Community Feedback Mechanism (CFM) is functioning and effective in all office locations, and that learning from the CFM is systematically fed into program development.

• Ensure the integration of NRC’s Safe and Inclusive Protection (SIP) standards into MEAL activities, tools and methodologies.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position JD_MEAL Manager Mali, Bamako.pdf

What you will bring 

1.Professional Competencies

• At least 5 years of demonstrated management experience in design, implementation, and oversight of monitoring, evaluation, and learning for large to mid-scale international projects or programmes

• Advanced degree in economics, research methods, social sciences or a related field

• Technical competency and prior experience implementing various programme evaluation methodologies and approaches

• Excellent analytical, communication, interpersonal, writing, collaboration, problem-solving, planning/organizing, and facilitation skills

• Demonstrated experience in capacity building on MEAL topics

• Advanced experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis and tools

• Fluency in spoken and written French and working knowledge of English

• Experience within supporting MEAL for NRC’s core competencies is an asset