About CRS:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners, people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.
CRS has worked in Kenya since 1965. Over the years, CRS’ focus shifted from direct relief and food distributions to a comprehensive development program that works with partners and enhances local capacity. CRS Kenya programs now support children affected by HIV, and community-based efforts to increase household incomes, improve family health and sanitation, and enhance agriculture livelihoods.

Background:
CRS is implementing a 5 year OVC program Mwendo which seeks to empower local and county-level OVC stakeholders to strengthen the formal and informal HIV and child protection systems and services and the linkages between them, including cross-sectoral service referrals and coordination to ensure quality service delivery for OVC and their HHs.

Job Summary:
Reporting to the Chief of Party, the M&E Specialist will lead all monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning activities under the award including baseline, midterm and finally evaluation reports. The M&E Specialist will develop and maintain a database to collect and analyze information on inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact of the program.
S/he is also responsible for facilitating the work of external evaluators and ensuring community feedback mechanisms are established and gender responsive programming is mainstreamed. S/he conducts supportive supervisory visits to sub-grantees to observe, monitor, provide guidance and quality feedback on the use of data and indicators; analyzes monthly data; and supports the capacity building of MEAL project staff in MEAL and quality assurance methods.

Specific Responsibilities:
MEAL Strategy and design
• Lead the development and coordination of the MEAL activities within the project
• Provide strategic direction for the development and maintenance of OVC project MEAL systems, and ensure are in compliance with CRS’ global MEAL policies and procedures and regional standard practices.
• Support to review and refine project-level Theory of Change (ToC), Results Frameworks, Logical Framework, M&E Plans, and Analysis Plans
• Support CRS project teams and partners in the development of DIPs and MEAL components (IPTT, PMP) in alignment with CRS MEAL policies and procedures and donor requirements.
• Collaborate with Project managers and partners to identify their MEAL related needs and allocate resources accordingly.
• Support Project Managers and MEAL team/working group members in the design and implementation of assessments, gender analysis, stakeholder analysis, organizational capacity assessments, and other data collection and analysis
• Ensure the consistency of tools and indicators across all implementing partners as appropriate, maintaining a bank of key project indicators
• Support project staff to incorporate participatory methods into community level M&E systems and tools
• Actively contribute to the recruitment process through participation in job description development, short-listing candidates, interviews and the development of written tests for all new MEAL project staff to ensure effective integration of MEAL competencies.
• Directly supervises OVC project MEAL staff and provides mentoring support to all OVC project MEAL staff and will review their annual performance appraisals
MEAL Implementation
• Provide guidance to project staff in the design and enhancement of MEAL tools, protocols, surveys and evaluation events to strengthen quality data collection, analysis and reporting on projects indicators in adherence to CRS MEAL policies and procedures.
• Develop MEAL operation manual using CRS’ SMILER coaching to ensure that they are complete, up-to-date, high quality, and contain tools, data flow maps, and analysis plans that address all information needed for program quality and donor reporting
• Ensure the conduct and implementation of periodic data quality assessments
• Lead mandated evaluations, needs assessments, annual surveys, case studies, and other evaluation efforts
• Develop terms of reference (TOR) for studies and scope of work (SOW) for consultants to conduct external special studies, reviews and project evaluations, review evaluation tools and methodology and ensure the necessary level of technical rigor as per donor and MEAL policies and Procedures.
• Manage agency driven MEAL inquiries, requirements i.e. end of year beneficiary counts, Annual MEAL policies and procedures self-assessments, etc.
• Contribute to donor reports, through high quality analysis of reports and interpretation of data
• Leverage lessons learned, best practices, program data, evaluations, and other information to generate donor communication pieces, proposal annexes, success stories, case studies, and other high-quality, results-based documentation
• Input project data into the CRS online Gateway system
• Work with the OVC project team to establish reporting processes to ensure that all information and data is collected, documented, and collated in an accurate and timely manner
Accountability and Learning
• Lead the development of transparent high quality accountability mechanisms, including beneficiary feedback and response mechanisms, and ensure they are regularly monitored and evaluated
• Helps identify and respond to key stakeholders’ specific information needs, especially those of beneficiaries, using a range of appropriate communication methods.
• Helps CRS staff to document and respond to all community feedback received from the accountability system.
• Support active participation of partners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the design and implementation of MEAL.
• Develop systems and guidelines for CRS staff to consult with male and female beneficiaries to define indicators for project success. Lead the development and implementation of project learning agenda
• Prepare and lead learning activities within the project to ensure promising practices, lessons learned, and recommendations are identified, documented, disseminated, and used to improve program quality
• Work with project manager to organize quarterly learning events with partners
• Support development and implementation of effective project knowledge management systems in line with agency guidance.
• Work with other component leads to support relationships, networks and synergies within and outside the organization to promote the use of information and evidence for strategic decision-making.
• Work with OVC Manager to generate communication products for different audiences that disseminate learning and evidence to influence key internal and external interest groups.
• Facilitate the use of OVC project data with partners, staff, and other stakeholders to inform decision-making and to identify lessons learned and promising practices
Capacity Strengthening
• Develop and co-facilitate MEAL workshops and modules for staff and partners to share country program, regional, and global MEAL tools, processes, and best practices to cultivate a culture of learning
• Conduct orientations for new MEAL project staff on CRS systems and key MEAL resources
• Provide mentoring/accompaniment to CRS and implementing partner staff to increase capacity and to achieve annual performance and development plans
• Remain updated with developments among the CRS MEAL community and worldwide MEAL trends and resources, and ensure that the OVC MEAL team is applying CRS MEAL guidance and policies appropriately and in a timely manner
• Conduct field monitoring visits events frequently with project teams and implementing partners
• Provide feedback to senior project and MEAL staff to improve the overall MEAL system and ensure quality implementation of MEAL activities
ICT for MEAL
• Coordinate the integration of ICT4D in project MEAL activities to optimize programmatic efficiency and effectiveness through data collection and management, and to take advantage of complementary efficiencies gained in program implementation.
• Work with MEAL and IT staff to maximize the value and utility of ICT4MEAL initiatives.
Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff):
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.
• Serves with Integrity
• Models Stewardship
• Cultivates Constructive Relationships
• Promotes Learning
Competencies Relevant for the Specific Position:
These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by the M&E Specialist to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results:
1. Sets clear goals and manages toward them
2. Collaborates effectively with staff and stakeholders
3. Manages financial resources with integrity
4. Applies program quality standards to project design and organizational learning

Supervisory Responsibilities (if none, state none):
The M&E Specialist directly supervises OVC project MEAL staff and participate in the hiring and supervision either directly or indirectly of future OVC MEAL staff. Additionally, s/he will provide support in mentoring support to all OVC project MEAL staff and will review their annual performance appraisals
Key Working Relationships:
Internal: Chief of Party, Senior OVC Technical Advisor, other project directors, CRS Kenya Programming team, EARO Regional Technical Advisors, Headquarters technical staff.
External: Officials at USAID, Consortium members, representatives from government, CSO/CBOs, research institutions, relevant private sector entities, local communities, beneficiaries and stakeholders
Required Qualifications and Experience:
• Master’s Degree or higher in monitoring and evaluation, social science, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, statistics or a related field is required.
• 10 years’ experience working in a development setting preferably with an international NGO, with at least 7 years of experience working in MEAL and at least five years of experience as a supervisor. ICT4D and OVC program experience preferred.
• Experience working with large donors, including USAID
• Familiarity with principles and current approaches to MEAL of development programs using both quantitative and qualitative methods, especially those of USAID
• Significant experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods, survey design and implementation, and statistical data analysis required.
• Proven ability to establish, maintain and use MEAL systems from project design to implementation (including work with results frameworks and theories of change) as well as building staff capacity to utilize systems.
• Strong computer skills: Experience in using data analysis software (e.g. Zoho reports, SPSS, STATA)
• Skills in developing project M&E databases desired
• Experience with facilitation, capacity strengthening and partnership building, with the capacity to empower staff through opportunities for growth & development
• Strong oral and written communication skills with demonstrated ability to articulate technical information clearly and effectively.
• Demonstrated leadership, technical and management expertise and supervisory experience.
• Excellent diplomatic skills and proven ability to work in a cross-cultural, multi-partner setting
• Detail-oriented, excellent time management and team building skills
• Willingness to travel up to 30% of the time

Key MEAL Competencies (specific for this position):
• MEAL in Design: Developing project-level Theories of Change, Results Frameworks, Proframes, related MEAL system tools and components, and accompanying MEAL narratives.
• Monitoring: Implementing monitoring activities, including timely collection of quality data, set up and maintenance of databases, facilitation of participatory reflection on monitoring results, and submission of timely progress reports.
• Evaluation: Supporting project and program evaluations and reviews by ensuring the quality of evaluation methods, tools, and data and facilitating the use of evaluation results to inform decision-making and enhance learning
• Accountability: Improving our accountability to a range of stakeholders through increased participation, transparent communication, responsive feedback mechanisms and adherence to internal and external quality standards and requirements.
• Learning: Promoting excellent knowledge management and collaborative learning processes at the project, program and institutional levels, generating robust evidence for project and programmatic learning that leads to action, decision-making and influence.
• Analysis and Critical Thinking: Engaging with data, challenging biases and assumptions, posing thoughtful questions, pursuing deeper understanding of evidence through reflection and perspective-taking, and making informed programming decisions.
• ICT for MEAL: Applying knowledge on information and communication technologies (ICT), both hardware and software, for opportune and accurate data collection, database management, conducting
Required Foreign Language:
None
Required Travel:
The M&E Specialist will travel extensively in Kenya to support HES capacity strengthening activities with implementing partners, training, program planning and review meetings and partner monitoring, mentoring and accompaniment visits. There will also be occasional international travel to participate at relevant conferences, regional and global learning forums and conferences.

HOW TO APPLY:
Written applications indicating the reference number of position applied for and CV including day-time contact phone numbers, as well as names and contact information of three references should reach the below-mentioned by Close of Business Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
Human Resources Manager
Catholic Relief Services – Kenya Program
E-mail : hr@ke.earo.crs.org
Note: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) does not charge any fees from applicants for any recruitment. Further, CRS has not retained any agent in connection with this recruitment
CRS’ recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation