MEARL Coordinator-Advocacy at Save the Children

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: MEARL Manager, with a dotted accountability to  Team Lead - LEGO

Staff reporting to this post: None

Role Dimensions: The role is expected to foster relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders including  GoK, Save the Children members, the Country Office Programme Development & Quality team, advocacy colleagues, donors etc.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY :

Program Design and Adaptation

• Continuously assess policy, legislative, institutional and stakeholder dynamics to inform adaptive programming and advocacy.
• Engage stakeholders, and partners in participatory problem analysis to ensure project strategies align with their priorities and strengthen policy influence.
• Lead and coordinate relevant assessments to inform the programmes and projects’ theory of change and evidence needs for progamming and policy engagement.

Establish and Operationalize a Strong MEARL and MIS System (Evidence Generation) 

• Implement a harmonized MEARL plan with the Project Manager and partners to track progress toward the project’s outcomes and advocacy engagements.
• Lead MEARL planning and reflection sessions with staff, partners, and government stakeholders to align evidence needs and advocacy priorities.
• Oversee results monitoring, policy tracking, evaluations, and research, and use the IPTT and other tools to guide adaptive decision-making.
• Generate strategic analysis to inform project management, advocacy briefs and policy influencing materials.
• Maintain high-quality data systems by refining data collection tools, conducting routine data quality assurance, and leading monthly Quality Benchmark monitoring and follow-up.
• Promote and support digital data collection platforms (Kobo, ODK) to enhance timely, reliable evidence generation for programming, advocacy and reporting.

Accountability and Stakeholder Engagement

• Implement a harmonized MEARL plan with the Project Manager and partners to track progress toward the project’s outcomes and advocacy engagements.
• Lead MEARL planning and reflection sessions with staff, partners, and government stakeholders to align evidence needs and advocacy priorities.
• Oversee results monitoring, policy tracking, evaluations, and research, and use the IPTT and other tools to guide adaptive decision-making.
• Generate strategic analysis to inform project management, advocacy briefs and policy influencing materials.
• Maintain high-quality data systems by refining data collection tools, conducting routine data quality assurance, and leading monthly Quality Benchmark monitoring and follow-up.
• Promote and support digital data collection platforms (Kobo, ODK) to enhance timely, reliable evidence generation for programming, advocacy and reporting.
• Support review the country office accountability function, and implement the accountability priority actions and improvement plan in line with the 10-Point Accountability Systems Uplift plan.
• Support development and dissemination of information products (briefs, policy summaries, evidence snapshots) tailored to diverse audiences and community.
• Facilitate the establishment of context-specific feedback and complaints mechanisms, ensuring feedback informs advocacy and programme adaptation.
• Manage the complaints and feedback database, ensuring timely, quality responses and analysis that strengthens the programme.

Learning, Knowledge Management

• Lead in the review of the country office learning and knowledge management systems and implement the KM and Learning Uplift plan for the country office.
• Document and disseminate evidence, success stories, outcome-level changes, and Most Significant Change stories that highlight the impact of policy shifts.
• Systematically capture, package, and share learning and best practices to inform programme adaptations. Further, lead to conceptualize and facilitate learning events to reflect on evidence and co-create policy solutions.

Planning, Budgeting and Reporting

• Coordinate with project teams to ensure MEARL resource and budget allocations adequately support evidence generation, accountability, and learning.
• Provide support in preparing and reviewing annual and quarterly project plans and reports, ensuring MEARL sections clearly demonstrate advocacy progress and influence.
• Oversee MEARL budget utilization and ensure timely implementation of MEARL activities aligned with programmatic milestones.

MEARL Engagements and Coordination

• Represent Save the Children in relevant MEARL coordination platforms to share evidence and strengthen key systems focused on MEARL.
• Facilitate key strategic monitoring initiatives on advocacy including the implementation of the Advocacy and Political Will Monitoring.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant sector, Statistics, Public Policy, Sociology or Development Studies preferably with Post Graduate training in M&E or Project planning and Management.
• Minimum of 5 years working experience in monitoring and evaluation working experience (preferably in a policy influence or advocacy environment focused organization).
• Proven experience in Political Will Monitoring and Advocacy Monitoring.
• Proficient in both quantitative and qualitative data management methodologies with a focus on advocacy process and impact measurement.
• Skills in data analysis and visualization principles and software (STATA, SPSS, Advanced Ms Excel, NVivo, ATLAS.ti, Power Bi etc.).
• Experience promoting participation of children, community members and leaders and/or facilitating focus group discussions (especially with beneficiaries including children).
• Familiarity with mobile data collection platforms (i.e. CommCare, Kobo Collect, ODK etc).
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation techniques to assess the quality and effectiveness of program strategies for program learning.
• Strong understanding and exoerince in process monitoring for adoovacy and policy change measurement.
• Child Rights: Promotes an enabling environment for participation, and accountability to children 
• Excellent communication skills, results oriented and self-driven.
• Proficient in speaking and writing English.