IUCN ROWA is currently implementing several projects in Jordan and the ROWA region that include gender and social inclusion components in addition to gender mainstreaming across project components in alignment with donor requirements and the IUCN’s program.
Jordan Integrated Landscape Management Initiative (JILMI project) is a GCF-funded project that is
executed by 1) IUCN as the lead executing entity with a consortium of technical partners; 2) Ministry of Environment, Government of Jordan, while United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the accredited entity of the project. Spanning along 8 years, the project has a total grant budget of $44.9 million (GCF) and another $15.6 million as in-kind contribution (co-finance). The project focuses on three target watersheds of the northern Jordan Valley – the Yarmouk, King Talal Dam and Kafrain watersheds.
Siltation reduction in King Talal Dam (KTD project) watershed for enhancing water security project is a four-year intervention funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Amman and is designed to reduce sediment inflows to King Talal Dam through upstream soil erosion and sediment control measures, landscape restoration, and strengthened institutional capacities for long-term sediment management.
The objective of this position is leading, coordinating, and implementing the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning functions for the two projects. The position ensures that both projects maintain robust MEAL systems, credible baselines, sound data management and verification processes, high-quality reporting, effective learning and adaptive management, and compliance with applicable donor requirements and IUCN policies and procedures.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
IUCN–ROWA is seeking the support of a Senior MEAL Officer with proven experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning for environmental and conservation projects, to ensure effective and successful delivery of the project(s) in line with donors and IUCN policies. The position involves regular interaction and coordination with project team members, and technical partners on technically complex issues.
The Senior MEAL Officer will support performance and accountability functions for the two projects across the full project cycle, including planning, baseline development, monitoring, reporting, learning, accountability, and evaluation management. The role will ensure that MEAL systems are practical, decision-oriented, and proportionate to the implementation needs of the two projects, while remaining aligned with donor commitments, safeguards requirements, and IUCN standards.
The incumbent will work closely with project managers, coordinators, technical staff, consultants, implementing partners, and relevant institutional stakeholders to strengthen data quality, improve evidence use, and support adaptive implementation across both projects.
Key tasks:
Under the supervision of the Programme Manager – Water and Climate Change, and in close coordination with the relevant project management, technical teams, and IUCN Regional/Global Monitoring & Evaluation teams, the Senior MEAL Officer will be responsible for the following duties and responsibilities:
A. Design and planning:
1. Lead the design, refinement, and operationalisation of the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) systems for JILMI and KTD projects, ensuring alignment with approved project documents, donor requirements, and IUCN policies and procedures.
2. Develop and/or refine theories of change, results frameworks, monitoring plans, baselines, milestones, and targets for JILMI and KTD during various phases of the project lifecycle.
3. Develop and/or strengthen quantitative and qualitative monitoring tools, indicator reference sheets, data collection tools, tracking templates, and reporting formats required for effective implementation of both projects.
4. Provide technical input to annual work planning and budgeting processes to ensure that MEAL, evaluation, learning, and accountability requirements are adequately reflected and resourced.
B. Monitoring, data quality, and reporting:
5. Coordinate the routine implementation of MEAL activities for both projects in a timely and efficient manner, ensuring that performance and accountability processes remain functional throughout the projects cycle.
6. Develop, strengthen, and manage practical systems for data collection, verification, analysis, storage, archiving, and retrieval to support implementation, reporting, evaluation, and audit readiness across the two projects.
7. Coordinate the collection, review, and synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data from project teams, partners, consultants, and field processes to ensure accurate tracking of results and timely identification of implementation issues requiring corrective action.
8. Review and verify monitoring data, partner submissions, consultant outputs, and means of verification to ensure completeness, consistency, traceability, and alignment with approved indicators and reporting requirements.
9. Manage monitoring and quality assurance of KTD results in line with the approved work plan and logframe, including activity-level as well as outcome-level progress.
10. Manage monitoring and quality assurance of JILMI results in line with the approved project monitoring framework, including support to partner reporting, indicator tracking, baseline follow-up, and alignment with GCF reporting requirements, ESMS commitments, and gender-related monitoring needs.
11. Support field monitoring and verification processes, including site visits, spot checks, documentation review, and validation of evidence related to project progress, beneficiary targeting, and site-level implementation where required.
12. Prepare periodic internal and donor reports, presentations, dashboards, and evidence-based communication products by consolidating, validating, and analysing performance data and developing documentation from both projects.
13. Maintain accurate and up?to?date project performance data and documentation in IUCN programme and project information systems (e.g. Project Portal) and any donor-required platforms, in line with IUCN and donor requirements.
C. Evaluation, learning, and accountability:
14. Facilitate the regular use of monitoring findings, stakeholder feedback, and implementation evidence to support adaptive management, periodic reflection, and results-based decision-making across JILMI and KTD projects.
15. Coordinate and support external and independent evaluation processes required under the two projects, including preparation of terms of reference, consolidation of relevant data and evidence, review of deliverables, and contribution to management responses.
16. Support the documentation, synthesis, and communication of lessons learned, good practices, and evidence generated through implementation, with particular attention to KTD learning products intended to inform maintenance, scaling, and replication.
17. Coordinate, as relevant to the two projects, with safeguards, ESMS, gender, and accountability processes to ensure that monitoring systems adequately capture cross-cutting commitments, stakeholder engagement processes, grievances or feedback, and key implementation risks.
18. Support project teams in tracking implementation risks, maintaining relevant risk-related information, and integrating key risk considerations into periodic performance review and reporting processes.
D. Other duties:
19. Build the capacity of project staff, consultants, partners, and relevant stakeholders on MEAL concepts, tools, data quality standards, reporting requirements, and practical use of evidence for implementation and decision-making.
20. Provide ongoing technical guidance to project teams on indicator interpretation, data collection methodologies, evidence requirements, and documentation standards to strengthen consistency and reporting quality.
21. Promote a results-oriented and learning-oriented implementation culture across JILMI and KTD by strengthening coordination on data use, documentation standards, performance review processes, and lessons capture.
22. Support project closure and finalisation processes by ensuring that indicator achievements, means of verification, lessons learned, and other required MEAL documentation are properly consolidated and archived in line with donor and IUCN requirements.
23. Contribute to the design of MEAL components for related follow-up concepts and new project proposals within the scope of water & climate change, including results frameworks, indicators, baseline approaches, and reporting arrangements.
24. Perform any other relevant duties reasonably assigned by the line manager, provided they remain consistent with the nature, level, and dedicated scope of the position across JILMI and KTD projects.