MEAL Coordinator

Job Title:  MEAL Coordinator Location:  Global Team – Brussels Duration:  1 year fix-term contract Starting date: ASAP Line manager: Executive Director

About PI

Protection International (PI) is an International NGO that contributes to the improvement of the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) throughout the world. PI provides tools to develop HRDs’ capacities to manage their own security as their struggle against impunity and work in favour of human rights and democracy in their respective countries or regions. PI seeks to contribute to a situation where HRDs are recognised as legitimate actors for social change and to an environment where they can exercise their right to defend universally accepted human rights.

Protection International has its global office in Brussels, but primarily works where protection of HRDs is needed. PI has long-term presence in several countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Job Background and General Objective

PI aims to cultivate a culture of knowledge and learning within the organisation with the ability to capture our impacts on the ground and assess our progress towards our 5-year Global Strategy Framework and our Theory of Change. Currently, PI has had various ways in informally and formally identifying key performance indicators in order to measure our successes and to hold ourselves accountable with each other, with our HRD partners, and to our supporters and donors. We are now moving towards formalising processes and tools in order to have a more systematic and organised way of programming, capturing impacts, and learning, while at the same time continue to demonstrate accountability.

The MEAL Coordinator is a post with high level expertise and will be responsible for the development and design of two areas: (1) PI’s Human Rights Defenders Based Approach (HRDBA) putting together principles and positions from our various position papers including on Collective Protection and on Enabling Environment for the Right to Defend Human Rights; and (2) PI’s HRDBA – Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Framework. Consequently, s/he has the remit to lead, coordinate, develop systems and tools applicable across regions and country offices, and to maintain PI’s HRDBA MEAL Framework globally.

The MEAL Coordinator will provide senior level guidance and expertise and ensures that quality benchmarks are used during programme implementation of activities and puts in place a tailor made documentation strategy for impact stories, reports, and best practices shared between offices, partners and with key stakeholders. S/he will cultivate a culture of knowledge and learning, and will aim to elevate programme quality, performance and accountability, and in measuring our impact.

Duties & Responsibilities

1.Leads the development of PI’s Human Rights Defenders Based Approach (HRDBA) and PI’s HRDBA MEAL Framework

• Lead in the consultation, design, drafting, and finalisation of PI’s HRDBA;
• Complementary to the HRDBA, develop PI’s MEAL Framework with agreed principles, proposed test pilot of KPIs and tools (e.g. processes, templates, training tools for LERNI, etc);
• Design a HRDBA MEAL app/online tool that will be the knowledge and learning library where all grant projects and reports are stored in a systematic and organised manner including a section on stories for external use (e.g. for funders, for the website, for social media); and
• Test pilot, train PI staff, and roll-out HRDBA MEAL Framework globally.

2. Coordinate and support the ED, management/leadership, and governance bodies on MEAL programme and strategy development and accountability

• Support the Executive Director in the development of Board, Management, and Leadership Objectives Setting, and MEAL programming;
• Under the supervision of the ED, design and coordinate planning sessions, and MEAL programming instructions for each office/unit;
• Support management and leadership in the rapid assessments of contexts in-country and globally that will impact our strategy and programmes with prompt analysis and dissemination across PI offices; and
• Provide expert advice to management and leadership on MEAL application and alignment of funding applications, services, and plans with PI’s 5-year Global Strategy Framework in order to make informed decisions (with high level and quality of reports, capturing success stories, challenges, lessons learned, data for infographics, and information sharing both for internal and external communications).

3. Coordinate planning and ensure MEAL programming application across offices and bodies from conceptual to implementation stages

• Initiate streamlining grant proposals and logical frameworks with PI’s 5-year Global Strategy Framework to ensure and tighten coherence across offices and work towards achieving our Strategic Objectives;
• Ensure that monitoring and evaluations and related exercises are timely, useful, and ethical, and with high quality standards with lessons learned and recommendations from external and internal evaluations integrated in programmatic phases;
• Develop a HRDs monitoring, communication, complaints, and feedback mechanism to strengthen internal accountability mechanisms in line with PI’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) policy; and
• Ensure that all units and country offices are aware, trained, and are enabled to implement MEAL tools such as work programmes and plans, Gantt charts, indicator tracking tables, baseline–end line studies, matrixes to monitor objectives, indicators, activities and other MEAL tools, as per PI guidelines.

4. Act as point of contact and coordination between PI all offices, implementing partners, and other stakeholders

• Regularly submits a quarterly report to the ED for the HRDBA MEAL analysis to be shared with the governance bodies, and to the management and leadership bodies;
• Advise on and advance the understanding and use of a range of new approaches and methods for impact, contribution, and attribution analysis, e.g. realist evaluation and outcome harvesting;
• Network with like-minded and similarly structured organisations who have a MEAL Framework and application to compare and learn from;
• Assist in identifying and implementing training needs for PI staff, and where appropriate HRDs and partners;
• Coordinate with other units to ensure all potential data collection needs are addressed;
• Liaise with PI staff and where applicable with third party office partners across offices to brief them on upcoming activities, methodologies, and MEAL tools related to grants and projects; and
• Contribute to a culture of learning, performance, and accountability by identifying and sharing best practices and facilitate learning events, such as lessons learned workshops.

Job Requirements

Education

A relevant degree – preferably a Masters’ degree – in Social Sciences (political science, sociology, international relations, anthropology), educational sciences and similar fields. A demonstrable focus on human rights is desirable.

Experience

• Previous work experience: minimum 8 years of proven and comprehensive experience in participatory assessments, MEAL, and reporting.
• Delivered high quality design and guidelines for a MEAL Framework.
• Designed and/or implemented a MEAL Framework based on an organisation’s context and needs.
• Experience with surveys, mobile data collection, data based design and administration are assets
• Written and submitted analysis/reports on knowledge, learning, and impacts appropriate for various audiences (governing bodies, management, partners, funders and donors).
• Demonstrated understanding and sensitivity towards (contextual knowledge) HRD’s realities, local issues, community priorities, social and cultural constraints.
• Experience in team management and training/capacity-building.
• Experience in the implementation of feedback mechanisms and beneficiary complaint.
• Worked in high performing and high level of work in a complex and diverse environment with internal and external pressures.

Skills & Knowledge

• Skills in implementation of quantitative and qualitative surveys including data collection, training, supervision, sampling, analysis and sharing results (visualisation).
• Ability to analyse, report, and summarise complex concepts into clear and concise materials.
• Demonstrable capacity to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing in English to a wide range of – expert and non-expert – audiences.
• Full competence of tools for collection, data management, statistical analysis, and development  of tools (e.g. templates, apps).
• Familiarity with gender equality and intersectional issues (gender, age, social class issues) is a strong asset.
• Good contextual knowledge of HRDs’ local issues, community priorities, social and cultural constraints and realities.
• Able to work in teams as well as to take initiative and work autonomously.
• Training and facilitation skills.
• Attention to detail, ability to work under pressure and solution oriented.
• Able to work in teams as well as to take initiative and work autonomously.
• Excellent analytical and organizational skills.

Languages

• Fluency in English, both written and oral, is essential
• Capacity to work and communicate (orally and in written) in other regional languages, as well as Spanish and/or French is an asset.

Other requirements

• The MEAL Coordinator will be based in Brussels, Belgium for the first two years, with the possibility for the position to be stationed remotely in a country where there is a PI regional hub or office.
• We encourage global applications with a preference for candidates who have residency status in Belgium/EU.

What we offer

• The possibility to gain first-hand experience and knowledge on strategies to support human rights defenders and grassroots movements globally – and to contribute to these strategies.
• An open, friendly and multicultural work environment.
• Respect for autonomy, room for creativity, innovation, and learning.
• A people focused and collaborative way of working both within the unit the post sits under and with other teams.
• One year fix-term contract, renewable, for 38h/week (Full time)
• Depending on experience, an annual gross salary between €54,264 to €59,432 plus benefits: “pécule de vacances” (national holidays + 20 days of annual leaves + 8 days extra leaves + 2 weeks offered at the end of the year), health and hospitalisation insurance, lunch vouchers, reimbursement of home-work public transport.

Application process

If you meet the above skills requirements and are interested in applying for this position, please:

• Send your CV (without picture) and cover letter, in English, by 15 August 2024 recruitment@protectioninternational.org , mentioning “MEAL Coordinator” in the subject line. We aim to schedule first round of interviews during the 1^st week of September.
• Include your name in the file name of your application documents, e.g. Mary_ Smith_CV.docx.
• Submit names and contact details of two references together with your application. Do not attach any certificates or references at this stage of the recruitment process.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the position might remain posted until a qualified candidate is selected. We thank all candidates for their interest and we will aim to send feedback as much as we can, however, with the high volume of responses and our internal capacities, we may only be able to contact short-listed candidates.

Protection International is an equal opportunity employer. The organization shall not discriminate and will proactively apply affirmative action principles against discrimination in advertisements for employment, recruitment and other conditions of employment, preventing discrimination against any job applicant or employee on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, national origin, age, religion, creed, differently abled, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.  

PI promotes gender equality, diversity and inclusion. PI strongly encourages women applicants to apply for this position.

Adhering to Protection International means to comply with our Code of Conduct & Ethics, Anti-Corruption Policy, Security Policy, Whistleblowing Policy, Child Safeguarding Policy and Policy for Protection from Harassment, Abuse, Exploitation & Discrimination. 

Further information about Protection International is available on www.protectioninternational.org.