MEAL Manager

Job Title: MEAL Manager

Location: Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (KRI), with occasional travel to other areas of KRI.

Type of position: Full-Time Employment contract

Length of Contract: 12 months

Compensation and Benefits: Competitive salary and benefits commensurate with skills and experience. Expatriate/National Compensation Package: includes local transportation allowances, Medical insurance and Life insurance.

About SEED: SEED is a women-led, local NGO in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, working to create a future where everyone can thrive by protecting rights, empowering communities, and strengthening systems. We promote gender equality and work to end gender-based violence; protect children and promote the healthy development of children, adolescents, and youth; combat human trafficking and uphold survivor rights; and improve mental health and well-being. Through transformational services, community development, capacity building, and policy and advocacy, we support individuals, communities, and institutions to create sustainable impact.

Role of the MEAL Manager: 

The MEAL Manager leads SEED’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) functions, ensuring the organization has robust, integrated systems to generate high-quality data, measure performance and impact, uphold accountability and safeguarding standards, and drive continuous learning and evidence-based decision-making. The MEAL Manager is responsible for designing and overseeing systems that monitor program performance, evaluate outcomes and impact, and translate evidence into strategic insights, donor reporting, and compelling storytelling and external communications. The role ensures that SEED’s programs are accountable to participants and communities, grounded in data and participant and community feedback, and continuously improving to deliver effective, equitable, and sustainable results.

Working closely with the President, senior management, program teams, and technical staff, the MEAL Manager provides organization-wide leadership on MEAL systems, builds staff capacity, and ensures alignment between data, evaluations, participant feedback, safeguarding and accountability frameworks, and program strategy. The role also contributes to external engagement, donor communication, and representation through high-quality evidence, reporting, and learning outputs. The MEAL manager manages the MEAL staff, reports to the President, and works closely with the Programs Department.

Specific Tasks:

Data Management Systems, Monitoring, and Performance Management (20%)

• Lead the design and continuous strengthening of SEED’s MEAL systems, data management and information systems (including CommCare), ensuring data integrity, consistency, and accessibility across all programs and are integrated with service delivery platforms and trackers (e.g., training, and policy/advocacy systems).
• Oversee program data collection and enforce robust data quality assurance processes (verification, validation, audits).
• Work collaboratively with program and technical teams to develop MEAL frameworks, logframes, and PITT documents, and define what and how to measure in alignment with program objectives and theories of change.
• Ensure data collection tools are designed/in place prior to program implementation.
• Ensure timely and accurate data collection, analysis, and reporting, including baseline, midline, and endline processes.
• Develop and maintain SEED’s standardized indicators, dashboards, and KPIs to enable performance tracking across programs, projects, locations, and time.
• Ensure alignment with donor requirements, national and international standards.
• Strengthen staff capacity to effectively collect, manage, analyze, and use data for program improvement and decision-making.
• Oversee quantitative reporting across programs, contributing to donor reporting, organizational reporting, and communications.

Evaluation, Impact, and Results (20%)

• Lead the development and application of clear theories of change across all SEED programs and projects.
• Ensure programs have measurable outcome and impact indicators aligned with organizational strategy.
• Lead and manage internal and external evaluations, including commissioning and oversight of independent evaluators.
• Promote participatory evaluation approaches that actively involve participants and communities.
• Ensure evaluation findings are systematically analyzed and translated into strategic and programmatic recommendations.
• Oversee development of high-quality results reports, impact summaries, and learning briefs for donors, partners, and external audiences.
• Design and oversee rigorous evaluation approaches, including mixed-methods and, where feasible, quasi-experimental methodologies, in line with standard evaluation frameworks.
• Support the use of evidence to strengthen fundraising, advocacy, and policy engagement and work with program and communications teams to translate data into clear, compelling narratives and visualizations that demonstrate SEED’s impact.
• Strengthen staff and partner capacity in evaluation and use of findings.

Technical Leadership and Capacity Building (20%)

• Provide technical leadership on all MEAL and strategic aspects of SEED’s programs.
• Manage the MEAL unit and supervise MEAL staff. 
• Strengthen existing MEAL strategies, policies, guidance, and tools and develop and roll out new MEAL strategies, policies, guidance, and tools as required to ensure quality MEAL, and build capacity of staff accordingly through training.
• Develop a detailed work plan to ensure timely data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as baseline, midline and final evaluations across all programming.
• Lead recruitment and onboarding of MEAL staff.
• Monitor and coach MEAL staff to strengthen their capacity on MEAL, and support them to enhance their training and coaching sessions with SEED staff.
• Provide technical input on MEAL to project and program proposals.
• Prepare methodologies and guidance for MEAL plans, data collection tools and their implementation. 
• Provide content and input on communications materials including website, promotional materials, and social media, and ensure it complies with SEED's storytelling policy.

Lead the Organizational and Programmatic Learning Processes (20%) 

• Promote and institutionalize a strong culture of learning, reflection, and adaptive management across SEED.
• Lead the implementation and continuous strengthening of SEED’s Program Learning Package, ensuring consistent application across all pilots, projects, and programs undergo structured internal review processes, including after-action reviews and periodic learning exercises.
• Ensure participant and community feedback is incorporated into learning processes.
• Facilitate cross-program learning and ensure lessons learned and best practices are: documented, shared across teams, integrated into new program design and strategic planning. 
• Ensure MEAL processes are collaborative and embedded across departments, strengthening shared ownership of results and learning.
• Oversee systems to ensure learning is captured, stored, and accessible as required, ensuring required systems and tools are in place and making recommendations for strengthening systems as required. 
• Strengthen staff capacity in learning practices.
• Produce and disseminate learning products and insights to inform internal decision-making and external engagement.
• Ensure learning feeds into organizational strategy and decision-making.

Accountability and Safeguarding (ACCSAF) (20%)

• Lead the implementation and continuous strengthening of SEED’s Accountability Framework and associated policies.
• Serve as the central focal point for integration of MEAL systems with safeguarding and accountability mechanisms, serve on the ACCSAF inter-departmental committee, and the Complaints and Grievances Committee (CGC)
• Work collaboratively with the Complaints and Grievances Committee to review and analyze complaints and feedback data; support investigation processes as needed; identify trends and systemic risks; provide recommendations to strengthen accountability and program quality
• Ensure all programs and projects integrate robust ACCSAF measures consistent with SEED’s ACCSAF framework.
• Working closely with program colleagues, ensure safe, confidential, and accessible complaints and reporting mechanisms exist for all participants and community members, including children and people with disabilities.
• Support strengthening of community awareness and understanding of safeguarding, rights, and reporting mechanisms.
• Ensure strong data protection and confidentiality provisions are in place for all complaints and safeguarding information.
• Assess the effectiveness and accessibility of ACCSAF systems and make recommendations for strengthening systems as required.
• Lead and support training, awareness, and ongoing reinforcement for staff on safeguarding, PSEAH, accountability, and ethical standards.
• Oversee and support the functioning of SEED’s ACCSAF Committee, ensuring coordination, follow-up, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure complaints, feedback, and safeguarding data are systematically used to inform program design, risk mitigation, and organizational decision-making.

Essential Criteria: 

• Master's degree in Economics, Political or Social Sciences, Statistical Analysis, International Development, Psychology, or related field.
• Ten+ years experience within the international development / humanitarian sector. 
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in MEAL leadership of multi-sectoral programming in emergency, early recovery and development setting; Iraq or Middle East experience strongly preferred.
• Experience designing and implementing MEAL systems. 
• Excellent technical understanding of contemporary MEAL methods and practices, with hands-on experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis; research experience desirable.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering capacity-building activities, with remote capacity building and follow-up is an advantage.
• Strong belief in human rights and gender equality. 
• Good interpersonal skills including the ability to gain trust and build relationships.
• Good diplomatic and persuasion skills, strong ability to work independently.
• High standard of spoken and written English;  Kurdish or Arabic a plus. 
• Good computer skills, experience with Google Drive. 
• Ability to work in a stressful setting and adapt quickly to changing environments.

To Apply:  

• Interested candidates are invited to submit their cover letter and resume via LINK no later than May 31, 2026.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Safeguarding Statement 

SEED staff are expected to perform job duties and responsibilities professionally, respecting SEED’s Code of Conduct and Policies. SEED is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants, or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members as part of our commitment to a safe and harmonious work environment.