We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:

• No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday 
• All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
• Violence against children is no longer tolerated 

We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children.  We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued. 

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Save the Children International seeks to always be a child-safe organization by fulfilling its obligations to the community and through programme implementation carried out by the organization for safeguarding children and improve their living standards of the child.

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Position: MEAL Officer

Reports to:  MEAL Coordinator

Staff directly reporting to this Post:  MEAL Assistant & Accountability Assistant

Location: Aden 

ROLE PURPOSE:

The MEAL Officer is responsible for implementing and strengthening MEAL systems for Save the Children programs in Aden and Lahj. Under the guidance of the MEAL Coordinator, the role will:

• Lead field-level monitoring and accountability activities across projects.
• Support assessments, surveys, and evaluations, ensuring quality, ethical, and child-safe data collection.
• Ensure that feedback and complaints mechanisms are inclusive, accessible, and child-friendly, and that responses are timely and appropriate.
• Contribute to learning and continuous improvement by documenting and sharing findings, lessons learned, and good practices.

The MEAL Officer will line manage MEAL and Accountability Assistants and provide day-to-day technical support to field teams, partners, and enumerators.

Monitoring & Information Management

• Support the development and implementation of MEAL plans for all awards implemented in Aden and Lahj, in line with Country Office MEAL frameworks and donor requirements.
• Coordinate and conduct routine monitoring activities (e.g. activity monitoring, post-distribution monitoring, on-site observations, verification visits) across all sectors.
• Ensure timely and accurate data collection, entry, cleaning, and storage for all MEAL-related tools and databases at area level (e.g. IPTT, operational trackers, programme databases).
• Ensure monitoring data is properly disaggregated (sex, age, disability and other relevant variables) and meets minimum quality standards.
• Conduct basic data analysis (e.g. trends, comparisons, gaps) and prepare user-friendly summaries, dashboards, or briefing notes for programme teams.
• Support programme managers in tracking progress against indicators, logframes, and donor commitments at area level.

Accountability & Child Participation

In coordination with Accountability & Child Participation Officer, implement and maintain inclusive, accessible, and child-friendly Feedback and Response Mechanisms (FRM) at field level in line with SCI standards and SOPs.

• Raise awareness with communities, including children and caregivers, about their rights, available feedback channels, the right to complain, and SCI’s commitment to Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and safeguarding.
• Ensure sensitive feedback (e.g. safeguarding, fraud, serious misconduct) is handled safely and confidentially, and referred immediately to the appropriate focal points in line with SCI policies and SOPs.
• Support child participation by ensuring that children’s views, priorities, and suggestions are systematically considered in programme adaptations.

Assessments, Surveys & Evaluations

• Support the design and adaptation of data collection tools (questionnaires, FGD guides, KII guides) to the local context and ensure they are child-sensitive and inclusive.
• Contribute to sampling and fieldwork planning for baseline, endline, needs assessments, KAP surveys, and other MEAL exercises.
• Coordinate and supervise field data collection teams (enumerators, volunteers), ensuring adherence to quality standards, ethical principles, and child safeguarding procedures.
• Provide on-the-job coaching to data collectors to minimise bias, improve interviewing techniques, and ensure accurate and complete data.
• Support data quality assessments (DQAs) for both routine and survey data and contribute to analysis and reporting.
• Support documentation of findings and lessons learned, and contribute sections to assessment and evaluation reports as requested by the MEAL Coordinator.

Learning, Reporting & Programme Improvement

• Support periodic learning and reflection sessions with programme teams (e.g. quarterly review meetings, after-action reviews, learning workshops).
• Document lessons learned, case studies, and promising practices and share them with the MEAL Coordinator and programme teams to inform future design and adaptations.
• Support integration of MEAL learning into proposals, project revisions, and quality improvement plans.

Capacity Building & Coordination

• Line manage MEAL and Accountability Assistants, providing clear objectives, regular coaching, and performance feedback.
• Organise and deliver basic MEAL-related training for assistants, volunteers, enumerators, and partner staff (e.g. data collection, FRM, safeguarding in MEAL, informed consent/assent).
• Support induction of new staff in Aden and Lahj on MEAL and accountability requirements, including MEAL plans, indicators, FRM channels, and basic data protection principles.
• Participate in internal coordination meetings at field and area level and represent MEAL in relevant sector meetings as requested by the MEAL Coordinator.
• Liaise regularly with programme managers, safeguarding, fraud, and other relevant focal points to ensure MEAL findings and feedback are translated into concrete actions and follow-up.

Standards, Compliance & Safeguarding

• Ensure that MEAL activities are implemented in accordance with Save the Children’s policies, including Child Safeguarding, PSEA, Anti-Fraud, Gender Equality and Inclusion, and Data Protection.
• Contribute to ensuring that the minimum standards of humanitarian assistance are maintained in accordance with the Sphere Standards, Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), and Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct.
• Immediately report any Child Safeguarding or PSEA concerns in line with SCI reporting procedures.
• Ensure that all MEAL tools and practices respect the dignity, rights, and safety of children and adults, and do not expose them to harm.

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 

• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, development studies, statistics, public health, or a related field.
• Arabic speaker with very good knowledge of the local dialect(s) in Aden and Lahj.

Excellent command of English (written and spoken).

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• 3-4 years of relevant experience in MEAL, monitoring and evaluation, or a closely related field in humanitarian and/or development programmes.
• Experience implementing field-level monitoring activities (e.g. surveys, post-distribution monitoring, site visits, FGDs, KIIs).
• Experience in community participation and accountability, including handling feedback and complaints in a safe and respectful way.
• Experience supervising or providing guidance to assistants, volunteers, or enumerators.
• Strong data collection and basic data analysis skills, including experience using digital data collection tools (e.g. Kobo, ODK) and Excel (e.g. basic formulas, pivot tables, charts).
• Ability to write clear, concise monitoring summaries and contribute to assessment or project reports.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; able to build trust with community members, including children and caregivers.
• Capacity and willingness to work in challenging and sometimes insecure environments, and to travel frequently within Aden and Lahj.
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Save the Children, including a strong child-focused approach.
• Familiarity with international accountability and quality standards such as the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and Sphere.

Desirable

• Experience working specifically in conflict-affected or fragile contexts.
• Familiarity with donor reporting requirements (e.g. ECHO, FCDO, GiZ, UN agencies).

Experience contributing to learning products (case studies, lessons learned, good practices).

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

The Opportunity:

Application Information:

Please attach a copy of your CV and cover letter with your application, and include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations.  A copy of the full role profile can be found at www.savethechildren.net/careers/apply

“Save the Children is an equal opportunity employer. Women are strongly encouraged to apply”