MEAL and KM Officer

Job Description

Title: MEAL and KM Officer

Company Name: Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO)

Vacancy: 01

Age: At most 45 years

Job Location: Cox`s Bazar

Salary: Tk. 65000 (Monthly)

Experience:

• At least 5 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): NGO

Master’s Degree, preferably in statistics, social science, or development studies

• At least 5 years
• The applicants should have experience in the following business area(s): NGO

• Age At most 45 years

• Both males and females are allowed to apply

• Accountability: Self-accountable for achieving results and role-modeling ethical data management.

• Collaboration: Builds and maintains effective relationships with team members, colleagues from ESDO and Light of Hope, and community members.

• Creativity: Develops and encourages innovative solutions for data collection, analysis, and knowledge sharing.

• Integrity: Honest and transparent in all aspects of work, ensuring the ethical handling of beneficiary data.

Job Context

• Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO) started its journey in 1988 with a noble vision to stand in solidarity with the poor and marginalized. Being a peoples` centered organization, ESDO envisioned for a society which will be free from inequality and injustice, a society where no child will cry from hunger and no life will be ruined by poverty. Near about three decades of relentless efforts to make this happen, ESDO has embraced new grounds and opened up new horizons to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable people to bring meaningful and lasting changes in their lives. During this long span, ESDO has adapted with the changing situation and provided the most time-bound services especially for the poor and disadvantaged. A community focused and people centered approach has been adapted by ESDO while consideration was given to the national policy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its guiding principle. ESDO is one of the most dynamic organizations expanding its development interventions across 422 upazilas under 56 districts of Bangladesh covering over 10 million poor and vulnerable people.

• ESDO, in partnership with Light of Hope Ltd., is implementing the pilot project "Production and Marketing of Eco-friendly Handicrafts and Toys" within the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus in Cox’s Bazar. Funded by FCDO/IOM and led by the ILO, the project aims to enhance skills, generate income, and foster social cohesion for 400 Rohingya refugee and host community artisans (50% women from each group) by developing a sustainable, market-driven value chain for eco-friendly products. This position is critical for ensuring the project's quality, accountability, and evidence-based impact. The MEAL and KM Officer will be responsible for establishing and managing a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) system tailored to this innovative value-chain project, tracking progress against specific outputs and outcomes, and capturing learning to demonstrate the project's contribution to livelihoods and social cohesion.

Job Purpose

The MEAL and KM Officer will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of the project's comprehensive MEAL framework. The purpose is to ensure systematic tracking of project performance against the log-frame indicators, facilitate accountability to beneficiaries and donors, and generate high-quality evidence and learning on the effectiveness of the value-chain approach in building economic resilience and social cohesion. The position will ensure that data and learning directly inform adaptive management and decision-making by the project team and partners.

Reporting to: Project Manager (with technical reporting to Head of KM and PDQ)

Job Responsibilities:

1. MEAL System Strengthening and Management

• Lead the development and roll-out of a project-specific MEAL plan, aligned with the project's log-frame and results framework.

• Design and implement digital data collection tools (using platforms like Kobo/CommCare) for efficient and real-time tracking of key indicators, including artisan participation (disaggregated by gender, refugee/host status), production volume, sales data, and income changes.

• Actively manage data flow between field teams (ESDO) and the technical partner (Light of Hope), ensuring the system supports results-based management and meets the reporting needs of all stakeholders, including ILO and IOM.

• Oversee the project's data-driven monitoring system to track monthly progress on training, production, and market linkages as outlined in the project proposal.

2. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Lead the conduct of the project Baseline and Endline Assessments, measuring initial conditions and final outcomes related to artisans' skills, income levels, production capacity, market access, and perceptions of social cohesion.

• Perform regular field monitoring visits to the four production centres (two in camps, two in host communities) to verify data, observe training and production quality, and ensure accountability mechanisms are functional.

• Track progress against the project's key outputs and outcomes, including the training of 400 artisans, establishment of production hubs, development of market linkages, and improvements in social cohesion.

• Consolidate and analyze monitoring data to produce high-quality monthly, quarterly, and final reports for project management and donors, ensuring they clearly illustrate progress, impact, and evidence of good practices.

3. Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and Feedback Mechanisms

• In line with Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and IASC commitments, establish and manage a functional and accessible Complaints and Feedback Mechanism (CFM) for all project beneficiaries.

• Ensure information about the CFM, safeguarding, and expected staff behaviour is disseminated within Rohingya camps and host communities.

• Analyze feedback trends and share reports with the project team to facilitate timely responses and program adaptation.

• Promote meaningful community participation in all stages of the project cycle.

4. Learning and Knowledge Management

• Document and synthesize project learning on the innovative value-chain model.

• Collaborate with the communications team and partners to produce high-quality, evidence-based case studies, success stories, and impact reports that showcase the journey and achievements of the artisans.

• Develop and maintain a project "knowledge hub" to centralize key documents, training materials, assessment reports, and learning briefs.

5. Capacity Building and Coordination

• Build the capacity of project staff and community-based facilitators on MEAL tools, concepts, and the use of digital data collection systems.

• Provide technical support to ensure data quality and the effective operation of the MEAL system across all project locations.

Contract Duration: (5.5 months) May have the possibility to extend based on Donor confirmation)

As per project allocation