Afghanistan: MEAL Advisor – Consultancy

Feb 28, 2021 | Medair
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Medair implements emergency nutrition, health, WASH and food security projects targeting displaced, conflict- and drought-affected vulnerable populations in central and southern Afghanistan. Resilience and early recovery projects are aimed at long term and sustainable behaviour change in the general population to improve public health.

Purpose:

Lead on MEAL system design and implementation to enhance quality and accountability of Medair’s humanitarian intervention in Afghanistan.

The Advisor will be expected to improve the organisation of the MEAL department; strengthen existing MEAL strategy and protocols and ensure they are institutionalised; mentor, train and capacity build existing country programme staff; and orientate the MEAL department to actively use and promote data for learning and decision-making in collaboration with operational teams.

Objectives & Required Outputs:

  1. Finalize Medair Afghanistan Country MEAL strategy / framework and ensure that this is reflected in the Country Strategy and Sector Plans.
  2. Revise and support creation of MEAL SOPs and other MEAL tools
  3. Produce action plan for rolling out MEAL framework across field offices and begin the process if possible.
  4. Review MEAL staffing and provide recommendations for MEAL structure and MEAL budgeting needs
  5. Provide mentoring and conduct on-the-job MEAL training for Medair MEAL and programme staff as per programme priorities. Provide stand-alone training if possible.
  6. Support baseline and end-line surveys; conduct thorough analysis and produce timely reports.
  7. Support implementation of external evaluation by acting as liaison with external evaluator.
  8. Support Technical Advisors and programme staff on project MEAL plans.

Activities:

  • Gain understanding of the context, resources, current practices, strengths and weaknesses through the perspective of the different departments in order to produce focused, realistic, actionable outputs that have buy-in of those who will implement it.
  • Coordinate the development of a sound and adapted-to-context MEAL strategy, operational guidance (SOPs, staffing roles & responsibilities, etc.) – as well as action plan for their roll out. Utilize existing tools and the lessons learnt within the country and region
  • Identify innovations and improvements to enhance effectiveness of Medair’s M&E framework and systems
  • Review existing IM tools and processes, provide recommendations in order to make sure that data reported is ultimately reliable, timely and qualitative
  • Support the Programme teams in ensuring the review of MEAL plans for each project, as well as providing support to develop new log frames for new project proposals if applicable
  • Develop the mission’s capacity to undertake surveys and impact assessments.
  • Provide on-the-job training and coaching to MEAL staff on project baseline, end-line, and other surveys, including drafting of related reports.
  • Review and support development of accountability-related mechanisms and SOPs and support MEAL and programme teams in roll out of SOPs, including awareness raising on PSEA, harassment, other ethics-related/ serious complaints.
  • Develop training tools and provide MEAL training to the MEAL teams, and PMs – with a focus on SMART indicators, qualitative and quantitative collection and analysis of data, accountability principles and good practice.
  • Lead roll-out of MEAL systems (such as ensuring appropriate quality checklists, output trackers, and accountability mechanisms are in place).
  • Support the planning, implementation, and follow-up of evaluations (real time reviews, evaluations of humanitarian action, etc.). Participate in evaluations where required.
  • With support from other programme staff, identify MEAL activities procurement needs and coordinate with the logistics team to ensure materials arrive in good time.
  • Ensure that the minimum standards of humanitarian relief are maintained in accordance with the Sphere Charter and Core Humanitarian Standards. With support from senior colleagues, work with sector technical specialists to ensure quality monitoring systems are set up to ensure adherence of programmes to minimum standards.
  • Identify additional learning and training needs & opportunities for MEAL and programme staff

Timeframe /Schedule:

Travel to Kabul: 2-3 days

Carry out the consultancy tasks (this will include travel to Medair field bases in country, with dates TBC): 12-16 weeks

Travel from Kabul to home location: 2-3 days

Essential Qualifications:

  • Expert in MEAL in humanitarian contexts
  • Understanding of MEAL strategies and frameworks, SOPs, other foundational MEAL structures and processes
  • Bachelors’ degree in Economics, Political or Social Sciences, Statistical Analysis, International Development, or related field. Masters preferred.
  • Experience with R, SPSS, STATA, or other statistical software desired.
  • Experience of, and commitment to, working through systems of community participation and accountability.
  • Previous experience of managing a team and managing projects.
  • Demonstrated strong monitoring and evaluation skills, including design, planning / participating in evaluations, applied surveys, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
  • Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, coaching, and mentoring.
  • Proven capacity for analysing and synthetizing comprehensive information and technical data.
  • Ability to work both in an advisory and a hands-on implementation capacity.
  • Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports.
  • Ability to work on own initiative and collaboratively as part of a diverse team, and to manage a varied workload.
  • Self-motivated, flexible and adaptable to the needs of the team and organization.
  • Strong commitment to support/develop capacity of national staff and developing second layer of leadership.
  • Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact, and diplomacy.
  • Excellent written and spoken English, including editing documents in English.
  • The capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure working circumstances.
  • Commitment to the aims, vision, and principles of Medair.

Desirable:

  • Language skills in Dari or Pashtu.
  • Experience or knowledge of working and living in Afghanistan / South or Central Asia.
  • Specific experience of designing and managing USAID or ECHO projects.
  • Specific experience of working in consortia projects.

Security

All reasonable steps will be taken to provide safety and security for the Consultant; however, both Medair and Consultant are aware of and accept the inherent risks associated with work in humanitarian contexts. While Medair will strive to provide a safe and appropriate work environment, Medair will not be required to do more than what is reasonable and possible under the circumstances.

The consultant will receive an initial briefing from the Head of Country Programme at Medair’s Global Support Office, prior to deployment to Afghanistan. The consultant will subsequently receive a thorough security briefing on arrival at Medair’s office in Kabul from the Country Director/Deputy Country Director and the Security Officer.

Consultancy Fees and Terms of Payment

Medair does not pay the consultant for his/her time spent during travel to and from the country where the services are to be delivered.

Medair will cover the following expenses:

  • International return flight to/from Afghanistan
  • Travel within the country for professional purposes
  • Visas, work permits, and immigration expenses for Afghanistan
  • Accommodation and food within Afghanistan provided in shared housing, communal kitchen
  • Working facilities
  • Repatriation coverage, including evacuation and directly related medical care in the event of a serious medical condition
  • Health insurance for costs not covered by private health insurance
  • Cost of travel in the Consultant’s country of residency;
  • Meals while in transit (up to 3 meals per day, maximum 20 USD per meal, no alcohol, no snacks/drinks between meals).

Consultant Responsibilities

Within the necessary timeframes:

  • Obtain sufficient medical insurance coverage. Proof of adequate coverage must be submitted to Medair before the starting date of the contract.
  • Submit proof of registration as a Consultant to Medair.
  • All travel arrangements to and from the airport of departure in Consultant’s country of residence. (Medair will reimburse reasonable travel costs to and from the airport, including reasonable means of public transport and second-class travel. Transportation by taxi will only be reimbursed if no other options are available, or if traveling late at night).
  • Arrange for required visas for travel to Afghanistan, including transit visas if required. (Medair will reimburse Consultant for the cost of the visas.)
  • Obtain the necessary vaccinations before the start of the consultancy (not reimbursable by Medair).
  • Comply with Afghanistan security plan, and recommendations on dress and behaviour, as provided to expat staff.
  • Provide laptop, software, or any other relevant and necessary equipment for report writing and personal use (not chargeable to or reimbursable by Medair).
  • When requested, advise Medair line manager regarding the performance of Medair MEAL staff. Responsibility for line management (incl. hire/fire decisions) will always remain with Medair line manager.

Medair Responsibilities

  • Arrange flights to and from Afghanistan, and book accommodation while the Consultant is in transit if required.
  • Provide transport within Afghanistan.
  • Arrange for and cover the costs of in-country work permits and authorisations.
  • Provide food and accommodation in Afghanistan.
  • Provide translators for Consultant as needed.
  • Provide staff for data collection if required.
  • Provide staff for focus group discussions and other activities, if required.
  • Provide working facilities which are as secure as is practical under the circumstances.
  • Reimburse reasonable expenses with valid receipts.
  • Medair is responsible for line management of all Medair employees. This responsibility cannot and will not be transferred to the Consultant. However, in some cases Medair may hire casual labourers that may be managed by the Consultant.

Debriefing

Medair contracts for the provision of debriefing after any critical incident or assignment as needed.

At the end of the assignment, the consultant will have the opportunity to debrief with the Country Director in order to share any feedback about their deployment.

How to apply

Interested consultants are asked to provide a quotation for the services outlined in the Terms of Reference. They should include a description of their capacities in a CV, showing their experience and for whom they have done similar work; references; and indicate their fluency in English, Dari or Pashto. Quotations should be sent to procurement@medair.org by the 10th of March 2021.