MEAL Lead

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The IRC has been operating in South Sudan since 1989 and is registered as an international NGO. IRC currently delivers multi sectoral programming directly and through partners across seven states and two administrative areas. These include Northern Bahr el Ghazal, covering Aweil East, Aweil West, and Aweil South counties, Unity State, covering Rubkona, Koch, and Panyijiar counties, Upper Nile State, covering Maban, Renk, Panyikang, Nasir, Ulang, and Panylgang counties, Lakes State, covering Rumbek Centre, Rumbek East, and Yirol West counties, Central Equatoria, covering Juba, Yei, and Kajokeji counties, Eastern Equatoria, covering Kapoeta East, Jonglei, covering Ayod, Twic East, Uror, Akobo counties, as well as Abyei Administrative Area and Ruweng Administrative Area, including Pariang County and Ajoung Thok and Pamir refugee camps.

Background and objectives of Education for all South Sudan(EFASS)
South Sudan has one of the world's most fragile education systems, with approximately 2.8 to 3 million children, representing around 60 to 70 percent of the school-age population, out of school. Foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes remain critically low, with less than 10 percent of children achieving minimum reading competency. Years of conflict, accelerating climate shocks, and government education expenditure under 3 percent of the national budget have created an entrenched crisis. Girls and children with disabilities are disproportionately affected by these barriers, with harmful gender norms and stigma further limiting their access to education.

EFASS is a £27 million, four-year programme (April 2026 to March 2030), designed to deliver five interlinked outcomes. These include improving access, retention, and progression for the most marginalised out-of-school children, particularly girls and children with disabilities in conflict and climate-affected areas. The programme also targets improved foundational learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy, strengthened delivery of inclusive and climate-adaptive education approaches by teachers and facilitators, improved education data and evidence for decision-making through a national Learning Outcomes and Quality Assessment, as well as strengthened pathways for system uptake and sustainability beyond EFASS.

Scope of Work
The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEAL) Lead serves as a member of the Programme's Senior Management Team and is responsible for developing and implementing the programme's MEAL strategy in accordance with organisational, FCDO, and international best-practice requirements. Working closely with the Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader, and technical staff, the MEAL Lead ensures that relevant data is collected, analysed, and used to inform management and design decisions.

The MEAL Lead develops and manages a monitoring and evaluation system across all programme components that leverages qualitative and quantitative methods to measure progress and evaluate impact against the programme's five interlinked outcomes. The postholder ensures that results from monitoring, the Learning Outcomes and Quality Assessment, and lesson learning systematically feed into programme implementation through adaptive management principles. This includes overseeing quarterly reviews to assess cost-effectiveness and learning outcomes, with underperforming models redesigned or discontinued through a fail-fast approach. The MEAL Lead ensures rigorous documentation of evidence on effective models for fragile and conflict-affected contexts to inform future pooled donor investments and national education recovery planning.

The MEAL Lead communicates information obtained through monitoring and evaluation activities to programme staff and external stakeholders, including FCDO, the Ministry of General Education and Instruction, and sector coordination bodies, to enable informed decision-making. The postholder ensures data collection processes function across all activity locations to provide quality, timely data, regularly performs data quality assessments, spearheading analysis of all datasets for effective tracking of planned activities by EFASS and conducts site visits to provide technical assistance to the downstream partners.

The MEAL Lead produces monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports as required and ensures all data is disaggregated by gender and disability status using the Washington Group set of questions in line with global best practice.
The MEAL Lead will provide strategic and technical leadership for Outcome 4, guiding the programme’s evidence agenda and ensuring the Research and MIS Data teams deliver high quality, decision ready outputs. The postholder will lead the design and delivery of the national LOQA and oversee the programme MIS and data governance, including partner data integration, validation, and development of practical dashboards and analysis products. The role will translate LOQA and pilot evidence into clear recommendations and learning products that shape implementation choices and system pathways, while strengthening evidence uptake with MoGEI and sector stakeholders, and ensuring alignment with wider sector priorities and financing initiatives such as GPE, ECW, and the World Bank.The MEAL Lead trains and supervises a team of MEAL staff to collect high-quality programme data and contributes to staff and partner capacity building on MEAL best practices. This is a senior position requiring outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, and organisational and team-building skills.

MEAL Leads Profile and Qualifications:

• Advanced degree (master's or doctorate) from an accredited university in social science, international development, evaluation research, statistics, education, or a related discipline. Equivalent experience may be substituted for graduate degree.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning for education programming in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. Experience with projects designed to improve education in South Sudan is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with adaptive management approaches and evidence-based programming, including use of data for programme decision-making and course correction.
• Significant previous experience carrying out monitoring and evaluation activities in hard-to-reach areas, preferably for FCDO-funded accountable grants or similar donor-funded programmes.
• Experience with learning assessments, education data systems, and national-level diagnostic studies such as learning outcomes assessments. Familiarity with foundational literacy and numeracy measurement is desirable.
• Experience ensuring data disaggregation by gender and disability status, including use of the Washington Group set of questions or similar tools for disability assessment.
• Experience monitoring programmes that include cash transfer interventions, accelerated education, catch-up learning methodologies, or teacher training components is preferred.
• Understanding of conflict-sensitive and climate-adaptive programming approaches and ability to integrate these considerations into monitoring frameworks.
• Strong negotiation skills and demonstrated ability to develop relationships with local counterparts, government ministries, donors, and sector coordination bodies.
• Experience training and supervising monitoring and evaluation staff and building capacity of partners on MEAL best practices.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and writing skills with ability to produce high-quality reports and present findings to diverse audiences. Fluency in English is required.

This position will be contingent on the outcome of the bid.

Safety & Security Situation: All staff must comply with all IRC South Sudan by security policies and procedures.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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