Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer at DanChurchAid (DCA)

The MEAL Officer will be responsible for ensuring quality assurance for the EU-funded project titled Strengthening integrated Peace, Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction for cross-border communities in the in the border region of South Omo/Ethiopia, Turkana/Kenya and Eastern Equatoria/South Sudan (SPREAD)."

The main responsibilities of the MEAL Officer are: 

The MEAL Officer will be responsible for ensuring effective and routine monitoring of SPREAD project activities, with a strong emphasis on timely data collection, management, and analysis to support informed decision-making and enhance programme performance. Under the supervision of the Consortium Project Manager, the MEAL Officer will contribute to the development and implementation of project-specific MEAL plans, working collaboratively with implementing partners, project teams, and relevant government departments to track outputs and outcomes across target communities. Additionally, the MEAL Officer will lead the consortium-wide MEAL function, coordinating closely with Country Office MEAL Managers and partner MEAL focal points to ensure harmonized approaches to monitoring, reporting, and learning across all project components.

MEAL Tool Development and Data Management 

• Ensure the integration of the already developed database of all project areas. 
• Ensure accountability through regular data updates, data integrity and working in collaboration with the project and partner staff.
• Work with DCA and partner programme staff to ensure the collection of relevant and appropriate data needed for an effective MEAL system which will be utilized in monitoring progress, strengths, weaknesses and gaps in existing projects and services and for reporting on donor commitments. 
• Review and update existing data collection tools 
• Facilitate bi-annual outcome harvesting workshops and regular project reviews.

Monitoring and Reporting 

• Maintain and update the master list SPREAD project. 
• Ensure implementation of Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) plans for all consortium locations and partners. 
• Carry out regular data quality assessments/audits for MEAL data based on agreed indicators to guide decision making. 
• Provide alert to the respective staff on corrective actions required to avoid delays in implementation, including flagging operational issues and risks requiring timely actions. 
• Review progress reports from DCA staff/partners and ensure they have evidence to back-up and provide feedback to the respective staff. 
• Support donor reporting during interim and annual reporting periods. 
• Ensure that cross-cutting issues such as participation, gender, age and disability are effectively addressed/ mainstreamed in all project data.

Assessments, Surveys, Research and Evaluation 

• Adhere to accountability requirements by initiating surveys for SPREAD projects and conducting relevant evaluations for the project to meet DCA and donor standards. 
• Lead the midterm review in collaboration with consultancy company.
• Ensure that DCA and partners learn from project implementation for decision making and improvement of future project designs. 
• Coordinate all project assessments, evaluations, research, and performance evaluation tasks including planning and reporting on the same. 
• Assist in the development of Terms of Reference (TOR) for external surveys and consultant recruitment and selection. 
• Coordinate the review of all survey reports prepared to ensure quality and accurate reporting. 

Learning, Accountability and Capacity Building 

• Informed by monitoring, review and evaluation activities, provide relevant evidence for learning from projects to DCA staff, partners, and the donor. 
• Share learning and provide constructive comments to colleagues in order to ensure programme quality. Ensure Sex, Age, Disaggregated data, Accountability and Gender standards are consistently adhered in programme delivery. 
• Build capacity of DCA and partner staff through training to ensure adoption of new data monitoring tools and quality of data collected. 
• Keep abreast of new approaches and tools on MEAL and provide training to DCA and partner staff as requested. Enable staff to monitor and evaluate their own efforts, gather relevant data and produce required progress reports. 
• Ensure regular and effective partner communication and follow up on project cycle management related aspects.
• Engage with consortium partners to understand and support them in their own growth trajectory, tailoring the support DCA provides with the needs and request for support from partners.
• Facilitate, monitor and follow up on partner programmatic implementation.
• Analyse partner project data and reports to draw lessons learned and work with the partner to propose corrective measures where necessary.

Required Education and Experience 

Education: 

• A holder of a degree in Statistics, Social Sciences, ICT, Development Studies, Project Management or other relevant field. A master’s degree would be an added advantage. 

Experience: 

• A minimum of five years of professional experience in monitoring and evaluation, preferably with INGOs. 
• Experience in the usage of Digital Data Collection software such as Kobo, etc.  
• Strong skills in qualitative and quantitative data analysis and visualisation using at least three softwares: MS-Excel, STATA, SPSS, Power Bi, NVIVO and other data management software. 
• Experience in various approaches to project monitoring and evaluation approaches such as Outcome Harvesting, etc. 
• Familiarity with coordination mechanisms, reporting structures, and MEAL harmonization across consortium partners.
• Experience in setting up and maintaining a complex MEAL system that can be used by multiple organisations, across multiple countries. 
• Experience with implementing EU funded projects.
• Knowledge of the rights-based approach & the international standards for working with humanitarian response such as SPHERE, Code of Conduct, & Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) is an added advantage.
• Good interpersonal skills and a proven team player. Self-driven and results orientated in challenging working environments.
• Experience in designing and managing logical frameworks, results frameworks, indicator performance tracking tools, and data quality assessments.

The desired candidate should have: 

• Ability to work independently to troubleshoot, perform root cause analysis, identify and isolate technical issues. 
• Strong interpersonal skills. 
• Self-motivation, creativity, and should perform without close supervision. 
• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply via the Link https://dca.career.emply.com/en/national-positions. 

The deadline for applications is 22nd August 2025. 

Any published closing dates are estimated. We aim to fill this vacancy as quickly as possible. This means that we will close adverts as soon as we have found the right candidate, and this may be before the published closing date. We would therefore advise interested applicants to apply as early as possible.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

DCA offers: The position is for a period of 15 months. DCA offers a competitive salary package (salary, insurance, and benefits) in accordance to experience and DCA Kenya HR Manual. 

DCA is an equal opportunity employer, and all interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply regardless of race, gender, marital status and religious, political, or ethnic affiliation. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 

DCA conducts a thorough anti-terror check as part of the recruitment process. It is a prerequisite that you pass this check and maintain this status throughout your employment period.