Project MEAL Lead

Organizational Overview

ORDA Ethiopia is a national non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 1984 and duly registered by the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (Registration in 2019 with registration No. 0607. ORDA Ethiopia has over 42 years of humanitarian and development experience, which applies a humanitarian-development nexus approach, seamlessly integrating emergency response with sustainable, long-term interventions.

Tthe organization is deeply rooted in the Amhara Region and has expanded its geographic reach to neighbouring regions, including Tigray, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz.

ORDA Ethiopia is currently preparing to implement five years’ project titled "Sustainable Transformation through Resilient WASH and Private Sector Engagement for Conflict-Affected areas with Integrated Natural Resource Management" (STREAM) funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN).

The STREAM project is designed to achieve a sustainable and climate-resilient transformation of WASH systems. It ensures inclusive, community-owned, and market-supported access to safe WASH services and livelihood opportunities, ultimately benefiting over 500,000 people across 20 conflict- and climate-affected woredas in four regions of Ethiopia: Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, and Benishangul-Gumuz.

To ensure the successful, high-impact implementation of the STREAM project across all four regions, ORDA Ethiopia is seeking a competent, and committed professional for the role of MEAL Lead

Job Description and Job-holder Attributes

1. Position Summary:

The MEAL Lead will design, coordinate, and oversee the STREAM Project's monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning systems to ensure effective results-based management, reliable data, evidence-based decision-making, adaptive programming, and timely reporting. The MEAL Lead will ensure that project performance is measured against the approved results framework, Theory of Change, indicators, targets, and donor requirements, while strengthening accountability to affected populations and the learning capacity of ORDA Ethiopia and its implementing partners.

The M&E Lead will be responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing the project's overall M&E framework, ensuring data-driven decision-making, results-based management, and transparent reporting to the donor and key stakeholders.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

M&E System Design and Management

• Lead the finalization and implementation of the project’s Results-Based Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning framework, aligned with Dutch government reporting standards and Theory of Change (ToC).
• Develop and maintain the Project Performance Measurement Framework with clear indicators, baselines, targets, and means of verification.
• Coordinate baseline, mid-term, end-line, outcome monitoring and other assessments in collaboration with project partners and relevant stakeholders.
• Oversee data collection, validation, analysis, and storage using robust digital data gathering tools such as Kobo Tool Box and others.
• Ensure regular data verification, quality assessments, analysis, and secure storage of project information.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

• Prepare and implement the project monitoring and evaluation plan, including monitoring schedules, assessment methodologies and reporting timelines.
• Conduct field monitoring visits to verify implementation progress, output delivery, outcome achievement and compliance with agreed standards.
• Produce timely, accurate and evidence-based MEAL reports, analytical briefs and performance updates for project management, implementation partners and the donor.
• Identify implementation gaps, emerging risks and deviations from targets, and recommend corrective actions.
• Support evaluations, reviews, audits and donor monitoring missions by providing reliable data and supporting documentation.

Learning, Accountability, and Knowledge Management

• Facilitate regular learning cycles, reflection sessions, with project teams and local partners to adapt implementation strategies based on evidence.
• Ensure compliance with donor standards regarding Accountability to Affected Populations and gender equality/social inclusion mainstreaming in data collection.
• Document best practices, lessons learned, and human-interest stories for communication products and donor reporting.
• Improve quality of data through data verification procedures, including routine data quality audit.
• Support the documentation and dissemination of lessons and good practices and facilitate the use of such data for project improvement.

Capacity Building and Team Leadership/Quality Assurance

• Supervise, mentor, and build the capacity of project M&E staff, field officers, and implementing partner organizations.
• Conduct regular data quality assessments to ensure accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of reported data.
• Ensure the PMEL staff good understanding of feedback mechanism to spot and cases with in the existing system as well as clear understanding of data protection.
• Developing the beneficiary data base for the STREAM project in consultation with the national hub and IPs.
• Ensure that a robust risk identification and management framework for the project is built and monitored.
• Report safeguarding concerns through designated organizational channels in accordance with ORDA Ethiopia's policies and procedures.
• Ensure Organization Safeguarding policy is effectively implemented and report any form of abuse to the safeguarding officer.