MEAL Specialist, AGREE - CARE International

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), Inc. doing business as CARE International in Ghana is seeking a talented, highly motivated, and resourceful, Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Specialist for the USAID/Feed the Future – Agriculture Governance Resilience and Economic Empowerment (AGREE) Activity.

The successful candidate will work closely with the CoP to provide technical support by developing a comprehensive MEAL system enabling CARE to demonstrate the impact of its response ensuring greater accountability. S/he will harmonize the MEAL approaches to ensure efficiency in implementation and ensure compliance with CARE’s MEAL minimum standards, guidelines and procedures.

The AGREE Activity is a multi-faceted and integrated programme of sub-initiatives implementing gender responsive approaches and initiatives in agricultural governance and value chain and contributing to conflict resolution and peace building in 31 districts of the 05 northern regions of Ghana.

The Activity began in March 2016 as the Northern Ghana Governance Project (NGGP) and is scheduled to end in February 2026.  The Activity aligns with the objectives of USAID’s Country Development and Cooperation Strategy for Ghana to ensure: 1) strengthened responsive, democratic governance; and 2) sustainable and broad economic growth.

Location

• The MEAL Specialist will be based in Tamale in the Northern Region and will be required to travel domestically at least 30%

Candidate Profile

The Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Specialist is a key position on the AGREE Activity and reports to the Chief of Party. The MEAL Specialist will be based in Tamale with oversight responsibility to provide leadership and strategic direction in the design, monitoring and evaluation of the performance monitoring plan (PMP), ensuring compliance with the USAID performance management requirements.

S/He will provide strong M&E leadership to the AGREE team in the development and implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy for the AGREE Activity. The MEAL specialist will provide supervision and technical input in the efficient management of the Performance Monitoring and will provide the lead in data collection, analysis, cleaning and reporting on AGREE Activity. She/He will employ all available techniques and tools in line with USAID data quality assessment criteria to ensure that data gathered for reporting are valid, precise, reliable, timely and have integrity.

The MEAL Specialist will ensure that the project is well monitored and is of excellent technical quality. The role holder will also play an important role in improving information management and data quality, and in strengthening knowledge sharing and learning across the project and key community structures.

Key Responsibilities of the role

• Reporting
  • Lead in the preparation of consolidated progress reports including identifying bottlenecks in program implementation for management advice
  • Lead in the collection of M&E data and provide updates to facilitate continuous improvement
  • Coordinate consortium partners MEAL Officers to ensure data quality and reporting
• Evaluations
  • Coordinate the design and implementation of evaluations in line with USAID guidelines.
  • Lead in the analysis of data collected under the strategy for assessment of program and areas for improvement
  • Undertake validation exercises as may be required by the project
  • Lead in the design and oversee evaluations, impact studies and research components related to project data needs

• Networking
  • Support dissemination of learning and best practices of outcomes of program and help staff to write up and/or share their experiences including providing data and information on the AGREE success and approaches.
• System management
  • Provide technical support by collating, analyzing, consolidating monitoring data and preparing reports for quarterly and annual progress performance reporting to USAID
  • Lead in the operationalization of all project MIS, Data cleaning editing and reporting into Global Food Security System and the Program Impact and Information Reporting Systems.
  • Lead in the design and implementation of the project Activity Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP) and information system to track delivery against project targets.

Required Skills or Experience

Knowledge

• Good knowledge in the use of Microsoft tools and familiarity with mobile data applications software (Kobo collect or ODK)
• Good knowledge of Gender Equity and climate change rural livelihoods and partnerships.
• Thorough knowledge of principles and current approaches to monitoring and evaluation in development programs
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring and other formal and non-formal methods

Experience

• At least five or more years of experience in M&E on donor-funded projects.
• Five or more years of experience on governance-related projects, part of which should have been obtained working on the development and implementation of civil society-led accountability programs.
• Proven experience with survey research, responsibility for research methods, program evaluation, qualitative and quantitative statistical sampling, information analysis, research techniques, methodologies and report writing.
• Experience in data processing & use of data visualization tools will be an added advantage
• Demonstrated experience in managing teams and building staff capacity within complex programming.
• Experience in managing teams and building staff capacity within complex programming.
• Experience with M&E approaches, database design and other tools for information management like DHIS2;
• A proven experience in the use of qualitative and quantitative software for data analysis.

Skills

• Excellent people management and team leadership skills; ability to get diverse groups of people to work effectively together with vision and purpose
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Excellent analysis and writing skills; concept notes and program design documents (including log frames)
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Ability to effectively work independently and outside of conventional office environments, if needed.
• Excellent report-writing skills
• Ability to multitask and work within deadlines
• Excellent communication skills and good team player

Education

• A minimum qualification of Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Science, Computer Science/Statistics/Information Management and another discipline relevant to rural development, Agriculture, and Gender.