Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Lead - RRISE Programme

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Location: Abuja, Nigeria, with regular travel to the NE and NW

Country: Nigeria

Category: Programs

Employee Category: Proposal

Job Type: Full Time

Work Arrangement: In-person, with field travel

Open To Expatriates: Yes , however Qualified Nationals are strongly encouraged to apply

IRC has operated in Nigeria since 2012, responding to the protracted humanitarian crisis in the Northeast and, more recently, growing needs in the Northwest. Programming addresses conflict, displacement, acute malnutrition, food insecurity and climate-related shocks, and spans food security, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), protection and resilience. IRC Nigeria works closely with national and community-based organizations (CBOs) and has long-standing experience operating in the BAY states (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe) and has also expanded its footprint in the Northwest states (Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina). Within the humanitarian space, IRC’s SAP 2026-2028 further envisions expanded presence in Kebbi State and Benue State in response to the growing humanitarian situation.

FCDO is designing a new Nigeria humanitarian program, Responding to and Reducing Humanitarian Need through Investment in Systems & Resilience (RRISE), to replace the current Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience Program (HARP). RRISE is expected to be delivered through a Locally Led Response Intermediary Model (LLRIM), in which a lead organization - an INGO or consortium - holds the FCDO grant and works through national and local NGOs and CSOs to deliver the response directly to communities. FCDO RRISE remains at design and consultation stage. IRC's internal planning assumption for bid purposes is a complex program valued GBP 30 to 40 million over approximately 4 to 5 years; FCDO has confirmed that final budget and duration will be set through the Business Case and Call for Proposals process.

SCOPE OF WORK

The IRC is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Lead for the upcoming FCDO Nigeria RRISE program. This program is expected to be delivered through a LLRIM, under which the IRC, as lead organization, would hold the FCDO grant and work through national and local NGOs and CSOs to deliver food security, protection, nutrition, WASH, health and shelter assistance across the NE and NW of Nigeria, alongside a funded capacity strengthening component for national and local partners.

The MEAL Lead will provide technical leadership and direction across all aspects of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning for the lead organization's RRISE program activities, including performance monitoring, data management, quality assurance, targeting and reporting across all sectors and both the Northeast and Northwest. S/he will develop and implement the program's MEAL strategy and performance monitoring plan in accordance with IRC, FCDO, and best international practices, ensuring it draws on and triangulates with the independent needs and sector data function that informs targeting. Given the LLRIM's emphasis on independent verification, the MEAL Lead will manage the lead organization's relationship with, and ensure appropriate separation from, the independent monitoring and learning function and the independent accountability partner (Accountability to Affected Populations, AAP), so that performance verification and community feedback remain demand-side and independent of delivery, while ensuring their findings are systematically consolidated into program learning, adaptive management and donor reporting. S/he will also lead the program's Value for Money (VfM) monitoring, reporting and adaptive management in line with FCDO's VfM framework (the 5Es: economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and cost-effectiveness), ensuring MEAL data captures cost and efficiency evidence alongside performance and accountability data. S/he will also support national and local NGO and CSO partners to strengthen their own MEAL systems and capacity as part of the program's funded capacity-strengthening component, consistent with RRISE's locally led approach.

The MEAL Lead will work closely with IRC Senior MEAL Coordinator, consortium partners MEAL focal persons, the Regional METAL Lead, technical staff, the independent monitoring and learning function, the independent accountability partner, FCDO's Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) entity, and government and donor counterparts to ensure that relevant data is collected, stored, analyzed, and used to inform management and design decisions and to provide program updates, evaluations, and reports, as required. The MEAL Lead will directly oversee the consortium-based research, data and knowledge management staff in delivering research and learning activities, including engagement with IRC's global research (Airbel) team to deliver program research, as necessary, and will have line management responsibilities for relevant MEAL staff. S/he will directly report to the consortium Team Lead.

Please note that recruitment is contingent upon the successful award of the project, and the selection of final applicants is subject to FCDO’s approval.

RESPONSIBILITIES

‐          Develop, manage, and implement a MEAL system (performance monitoring plan) across all RRISE program components and sectors – food security, protection, nutrition, WASH, health and shelter – that leverages qualitative and quantitative methods and a variety of data sources to measure progress, inform program management and decision-making, evaluate impact, and support collaboration, learning and adaptation across the consortium;

‐          Design and oversee a centralized MEAL information management system for the consortium, ensuring standardized data collection tools, unified indicators (including GEDSI-disaggregated data), supporting equity analysis consistent with FCDO's Inclusive Data Charter commitment to disaggregate beneficiary data by sex, age, disability and geography, harmonized MEAL reporting templates and a consolidated MEAL database/dashboard that supports accurate, timely reporting and decision-making across the Northeast and Northwest;

‐          Ensure the lead organization's MEAL system draws on and triangulates with the independent needs and sector data function that informs targeting and geographic/partner prioritization;

‐          Manage the lead organization's relationship with, and maintain appropriate separation from, the independent monitoring and learning function and the independent accountability partner, ensuring that performance verification and community feedback remain independent of delivery while their findings are systematically fed into program learning and adaptive management;

‐          Ensure the independent accountability partner's AAP mechanisms meet IRC and FCDO standards for safe, accessible and responsive feedback and complaints handling, and represent the lead organization in relevant inter-agency AAP coordination forum to maintain alignment with national and inter-agency AAP standards;

‐          Lead the program's VfM monitoring and reporting in line with FCDO's VfM framework, including developing VfM metrics alongside the results framework, tracking unit and cost-per-beneficiary data, and benchmarking performance against comparable programs;

‐          Support a structured adaptive management protocol for addressing MEAL and VfM underperformance, including timely root cause analysis, improvement plans, and escalation to the Team Lead and Steering Committee where performance falls below agreed thresholds;

‐          Work closely with FCDO's commissioned TPM entity, supporting access, data-sharing and follow-up on TPM findings to inform program delivery and donor reporting;

‐          Provide training, guidance on all MEAL activities, mentoring and technical assistance to national and local NGO and CSO partners on MEAL systems, KPIs, data quality and data use, as part of the program's funded capacity-strengthening component, supporting a progressive strengthening of partners' own MEAL capacity in line with RRISE's locally led approach;

‐          Lead the collection, verification, consolidation and analysis of performance and accountability data from all consortium partners, ensuring timely response and follow-up in line with IRC's client responsiveness standards;

‐          Communicate information obtained through MEAL activities to program staff, consortium partners, downstream partners, FCDO and other external stakeholders to enable informed decision-making;

‐          Develop and ensure compliance with procedures for collecting and reporting program performance data, including safeguarding-, GEDSI- and protection-sensitive data, to ensure quality, timely and ethically collected data;

‐          Regularly review data collection processes, perform data quality assessments, and make adjustments as needed;

‐          Prepare the MEAL section of annual work plans and the overall programme results framework, and review or update these as needed;

‐          Participate in and provide input to program strategy, including necessary adjustments or refinements to the work plan and targeting, with particular attention to the Northeast given the severity of need;

‐          Oversee baseline surveys, assessments and the day-to-day implementation of the MEAL system, as well as mid-term and final evaluations to inform program and programming decisions;

‐          Lead consortium-wide learning and reflection processes, including quarterly program reviews, a mid-term review (MTR) and endline review, regular learning exercises, ensuring findings are documented, shared and used across all partners to inform adaptive management;

‐          Oversee and support research design and implementation, including rapid assessments, longitudinal assessments and impact evaluations, in partnership with IRC's Airbel Impact Lab and FCDO Communities of Expertise where relevant;

‐          Provide technical oversight on MEAL-related budgeting, supporting partners to plan and utilize MEAL budgets effectively, monitor MEAL budget absorption, and ensure financial resources align with consortium MEAL priorities, including evaluations, TPM engagement, learning and accountability systems;

‐          Conduct regular visits to program sites across the Northeast and Northwest, as access allows, to provide technical assistance to partners and support monitoring of program activities;

‐          Facilitate peer-learning exchanges between partners, produce learning briefs, analytical reports and the MEAL sections of donor reports, and ensure well-organized documentation and dissemination of learning across the IRC and consortium partners.

Other Internal and/or external stakeholders:

• Internal:
  • Consortium and downstream partners' MEAL focal points/Coordinators, Country Director, Deputy Director of Programs, and relevant Regional/HQ-based MEAL and technical colleagues;
  • Grants, Finance, Partnerships, Safety & Security, Safeguarding & GEDSI Coordinators and Managers, and the Team Lead (direct supervisor), and the Steering Committee (for VfM and KPIs reporting).
• External: national and local NGO and CSO delivery partners, FCDO, the independent monitoring and learning function, the independent accountability partner, TPM, Nigerian government counterparts (national, state and local government area level), other humanitarian actors and donors, and an inter-agency AAP Working Group.

REQUIREMENTS

‐          An advanced degree (Master's) from an accredited university in social science, international development, evaluation research, statistics, or related discipline is required; equivalent experience may be substituted for a graduate degree;

‐          A minimum of 7 years of experience in MEAL/MEL/MERL/M&E for large-scale, multi-sector humanitarian or FCDO-funded complex programming, ideally including intermediary or consortium-level roles;

‐          Experience with multi-sector humanitarian programs (e.g., food security, nutrition, WASH, health, protection, shelter) in Nigeria or comparable protracted-crisis, access-constrained contexts is preferred;

‐          Significant experience carrying out MEAL activities in hard-to-reach and insecure regions, preferably for FCDO or other multi-million-dollar, multi-partner funded programs;

‐          Experience supporting adaptive and agile management within locally led or intermediary delivery models;

‐          Strong understanding of localization and locally led MEAL approaches, including supporting national and local NGO/CSO partners to build their own MEAL systems and capacity, consistent with FCDO's Program Operating Framework (PrOF) ‘Locally led’ principle;

‐          Experience designing MEAL systems that incorporate independent verification functions (e.g., third-party monitoring, independent accountability mechanisms) while maintaining appropriate separation between delivery and verification;

‐          Experience designing and tracking VfM metrics and applying FCDO's 5Es framework, including cost-effectiveness analysis, to inform adaptive program management;

‐          Strong negotiation skills and the ability to develop relations with local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders;

• Leadership experience and proven technical skills in setting up quality M&E/MEAL systems that lead to evidence-based decision-making;
• Demonstrated experience ensuring GEDSI-disaggregated data and indicators are embedded in MEAL systems, and FCDO's Inclusive Data Charter in line with FCDO's gender equality commitments;
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods, together with strong presentation and reporting skills;
• Strong management and social skills and a proven track record working with diverse groups of people in a multicultural environment;
• Self-motivated with excellent organization, planning, and analytical skills, able to work without close supervision, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking;

‐          Proficiency and experience with mobile data collection tools such as Kobo, CommCare or ODK Collect, as well as proficiency with Microsoft Excel, SPSS, STATA or similar software;

‐          Knowledge of Tableau, Power BI or GIS software are additional assets;

‐          An understanding of accountability and proven ability to build independent or arm's-length client feedback systems is a distinct advantage;

‐          Fluency in English is required; knowledge of Hausa or other relevant local languages is an advantage.

Please note that the job description is high-level and indicative only at this stage and may be subject to change once the Terms of Reference for the project are released and as the opportunity develops. This position will be contingent on the outcome of the stage-1 process.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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