arche noVa - Initiative for People in Need is a non-religious, independent non-profit and non-governmental organization (NGO) with Headquarters in Germany. We work in the field of humanitarian aid, rehabilitation and development and primarily focus on the WASH sector.

Globally, arche noVa currently works in twelve countries. Since 2013, we have been implementing projects for IDPs, returnees and host communities in Northern Iraq and Kurdistan (Diyala, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk Governorate).

arche noVa provides WASH services in IDP camps in Sulaymaniyah, Kalar and Khanaqeen. Over and above that, we also provide WASH services and support outside of camps by rehabilitating WASH facilities in schools and health centers, as well as improving water and sewerage systems in villages. arche noVa is further expanding on these WASH support activities through a more sustainable long-term and holistic approach focused on community engagement, capacity building and livelihood diversification in the agricultural sector, yet always continuing to keep WASH at its core.

arche noVa co-leads the WASH Sub-cluster in Sulaymaniyah Governorate and the WASH Working Group in Northern Diyala Governorate.

Objectives of the position:

The MEAL Assistant will be a member of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team, supporting implementation of the overall Iraq MEAL portfolio. The MEAL Assistant will assist the MEAL Coordinator with activities such as: data collection, database management, monitoring and evaluation, accountability management. The MEAL Assistant will support the promotion of a high level of beneficiary accountability and assist in managing the feedback mechanism. The MEAL Assistant will work closely with the MEAL Coordinator at the country office to support data entry and management as needed,  to conduct field level MEAL activities and to support the pre-testing of data collection tools, data collection, data entry cleaning and data analyzing. S/he will also support the MEAL Coordinator in drafting MEAL reports. 

Duties and Responsibilities:

Objective 1. General

• Provide feedback on LFA and MEAL plan to MEAL Coordinator to support them in understanding field context while developing plans;
• Support MEAL team in developing and monitoring of project implementation plans and report regular progress to MEAL Coordinator;
• Support MEAL Coordinator in developing and pre-testing MEAL tools;
• Contribute to timely and quality reporting on all the projects;
• Support project staff to ensure that projects are carried out with participation from all affected communities and that information is shared with affected communities;

Objective 2. Monitoring

• Collect data from the field as per the MEAL plan under guidance of MEAL Coordinator;
• Follow up proactively with the program team and management to ensure MEAL data is collected;
• Develop and submit weekly monitoring plans with consultation of MEAL Coordinator;
• Prepare regular monitoring reports against monitoring plan as per standard monitoring checklists developed by MEAL Coordinator;
• Support MEAL Coordinator in providing feedback on monitoring checklists or tools;
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in existing data collection and management systems and propose solutions along to support MEAL Coordinator;

Objective 3. Evaluation

• Assist in conducting surveys, observational monitoring, focus group discussions and key informant interviews;
• Supervise data collection process and conduct data cleaning, editing and analyzing;
• Enter gathered data in a prescribed format, provided by the MEAL Coordinator;
• Support MEAL Coordinator in analyses of quantitative and qualitative data, producing graphs, summaries, reports;
• Support MEAL Coordinator in preparing Project MEAL reports;
• Supervise project baselines, surveys and evaluations under supervision of MEAL Coordinator.

Objective 4. Learning

• Help MEAL Coordinator in assisting Programme team in documenting lessons learnt;
• Help MEAL Coordinator in establish learning and incorporation system/ mechanism considering program needs;
• Support the implementation of reviews and learning events at project locations as guided by MEAL Coordinator.

Objective 5. Accountability

• Manage the feedback systems and ensure a timely and appropriate follow-up if needed;
• Work closely with the field staff to collect data and implement activities to support beneficiaries’ accountability;
• Manage and report community complaints and feedback under supervision of MEAL Coordinator;
• Help MEAL Coordinator in establishing and managing the Complaint and Feedback Mechanism at field level with beneficiaries and stakeholders.

Objective 6. Communication

• To ensure field teams are following communication protocols of Arche noVa;
• Support MEAL Co/officer in preparing country level presentations by providing data and inputs;
• Provide MEAL data to MEAL Co/officer required in preparing MEAL reports of projects;
• Any other communication or reporting task assigned by MEAL Co/officer.

• relevant work experience in data collection, conducting surveys and data analysis;
• at least 3 years’ experience of working with international NGOs preferred, 1 of which in the MEAL sector;
• Experience in social and community engagement activities;
• Experience in WASH and livelihood sector preferred
• University degree in monitoring and evaluation/social sciences/systems science, and/or other relevant fields
• Excellent understanding and practical experience with MS Office application, especially MS Word and Excel;
• Technical understanding of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning;
• Proven skills in collection secondary and primary data using online and offline tools,
• Proven skills in conducting qualitative and quantitative data collection and editing, for example, FGDs, household interviews etc;
• Proven skills in database management and data analysis and drafting of MEAL reports.
• Planning, communication and organizational skills;
• Conflict resolution and negotiations skills;
• Interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity and experience;
• Ability to treat individuals with fairness and respect, demonstrating sensitivity for ethnic, cultural and gender differences;
• Ability to support team work and team mobilization on MEAL findings and actions;
• Demonstrate, honesty, transparency, professionalism and strong communication with program team;
• Ability to understand the importance of data produced in field and consecutive reporting to MEAL Coordinator;
• Strong sense to conduct de-brief sessions and follow chain of command while reporting findings;
• Fluency in Kurdish, Arabic and English is required;

*Female candidates are encouraged to apply 

Deadline for application: 24 January, 2022

Please send CVs and Cover Letters to: iraq.mission@arche-nova.org

Subject: Re-advertised MEAL Assistant

Duration of the Contract : 31 December, 2022, with possibility of extension

Further information: www.arche-nova.org

Please note, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and the interviews will be in rolling basis and arche noVa reserve the right to hire before the deadline. At the same time, AN reserve the right to not fill the position.