Senior MEAL Manager

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.
Program Brief
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 solution driven, passionate changemaker, come join us positively impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide for a better future.
Since 2017, IRC has supported Rohingya Refugees and Bangladeshi nationalities communities in Cox's Bazar, Khulna, Barisal, and Chittagong with integrated services. The organization also addresses climate change impacts by building resilience and promoting economic recovery, education, and protection.
Purpose of the role:
The Senior MEAL Manager leads all MEAL work for the consortium. This is a full-time, hands-on role in the Program Management Unit (PMU), which manages day-to-day delivery of the project.
In this role, the post holder will:
* Set the MEAL framework and standards for the whole consortium.
* Collect, check and combine indicator data from IRC and all Bangladeshi Partners.
* Make sure DFAT-funded results are clearly attributed and that each client is counted only once.
* Build the MEAL skills of partner organizations.
Partners differ widely in capacity and resources, so the role works with a good degree of independence day to day. The aim is high-quality results, not just compliance. The post holder is supported by the Assessment and Learning (A&L) Manager, the Management Information System (MIS) Manager and IRC sector MEAL Managers and receives technical oversight from the Head of MEAL & Program Quality.
Work Location: IRC Bangladesh, Cox’s Bazar Office
Contract Length: 31st October 2027 (with possibility of extension subject to funding, program needs and performance of incumbent)
Major Responsibilities:
Consortium MEAL framework and strategic ownership:
* Design, maintain and regularly update the consortium-wide MEAL framework and MEAL Plan, including the Program Logic, log frame, MEL framework, Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (PIRS) and Indicator Tracking Table (ITT), in line with DFAT’s Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Standards (February 2026) and Development Evaluation Policy (2026), IRC MEAL policies and IRC’s global strategy, Strategy100. Ensure the framework, MEAL Plan, PIRS and standardized tools are approved and used by all partners.
* Own the consortium’s MEAL standard and practice. Contextualize existing IRC tools, standards and MEAL systems for the consortium rather than building parallel systems. Lead the standard MEAL methods, tools and reporting system, and strengthen partners’ capacity to use them.
* Agree with all partners how each indicator is defined and calculated, what data is collected, which tools are used, how often and with what sampling, and who is responsible. Ensure every partner applies the same definitions and protocols and understands the PIRS.
* Lead the annual Program Logic review and monitoring of key assumptions and risks with partners and contribute monitoring evidence to the consortium risk register.
Data collection, consolidation, analysis and reporting:
* Collect, clean, validate, analyze and compile project data for all indicators across IRC and all Bangladeshi Partners, for both monitoring and reporting.
* Ensure all partners collect data using CommCare-based tools and upload it daily to one central server and check the data routinely on dashboards.
* Maintain one common ITT for all partners (used for annual reporting) and analyze CommCare MIS data and the Program Indicator Dashboard (PID) monthly to assess progress and identify priority areas for targeted monitoring. Update the ITT and performance dashboards every month.
* Ensure data is consistently broken down by sex, age, gender, disability and location on every record (using the Washington Group Short Set on Functioning to identify persons with disabilities), and clear attribution of DFAT-funded results through project-specific codes in the MIS, addressing any attribution gaps through agreed data-sharing protocols and monthly data quality reviews.
* Apply DFAT’s unique client counting approach across all partners, using the program-specific client identifier in CommCare to count each individual once at service, sector and program level, and report unique reach against the target of 210,841 individuals by sector, sex, age, gender and disability. Ensure program data reported to DFAT is accurate, complete and donor compliant.
* Set and enforce common data management rules for all partners, covering file naming, storage, version control and data sharing.
* Ensure sensitive GBV and child protection case data remain within GBVIMS+ and CPIMS+ and agreed information-sharing protocols, with only aggregated, anonymized data used in consortium and DFAT reporting.
* Run routine consortium-wide analysis to identify programmatic, geographic, thematic and capacity gaps, including gaps in reaching the most at-risk groups (women and girls, children, adolescents and persons with disabilities) in line with JRP Priority 1 criteria, and flag them promptly to the PMU, outside the regular reporting cycle were urgent.
* Develop and monitor Value for Money (VfM) indicators aligned with DFAT’s 4Es framework (economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity), including cost per client, cost per output and service utilization rates, working with Finance and sector leads and comparing results across delivery models and against sector benchmarks, and review the results with partners at program performance reviews.
* Prepare quarterly narrative and monitoring reports in consortium-agreed formats, and the MEAL inputs for DFAT annual performance reporting (led by the Program Coordinator, in the 8+3 format and aligned with DFAT’s whole-of-program indicators), with dashboards developed together with the MIS Manager. Submit reports on time and provide the DFAT inputs on schedule.
Routine and process monitoring:
* Lead a standardized process monitoring approach with tools and checklists for health and nutrition, protection, child protection and GBV, WASH, education, livelihoods, and emergency preparedness and response, covering quality, whether services are delivered as designed, inclusiveness, timeliness and the functioning of cross-sectoral referral pathways, with safeguarding, AAP and GEDSI built in.
* Monitor service quality, continuity, client access and satisfaction during the phased transition of services to Bangladeshi Partners, in line with the Partner Capacity building and Handover Plan, and report findings and corrective actions to the PMU and DFAT.
* Select activities for monthly spot checks based on MIS analysi