Project Background

Aiming Change for Tomorrow (ACT) International, in partnership with UNICEF Punjab and in coordination with BISP/Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP), the Punjab Department of Health, Lady Health Worker Programme and relevant district stakeholders, will implement BNP 3.0 across ten districts of Punjab.

The programme aims to improve maternal, child and adolescent nutrition and strengthen gender-responsive nutrition and social protection systems among BISP beneficiary households. Activities will be delivered through existing BNP Facilitation Centres, Support Centres and community structures.

The programme will focus on Social and Behaviour Change (SBC), maternal and child nutrition, Early Childhood Development (ECD), parenting and nurturing care, community engagement, counselling, referrals, follow-up, youth engagement and capacity development. Staff will work closely with communities and stakeholders to support awareness, mobilization, referrals and beneficiary engagement.

All staff are expected to uphold ACT, UNICEF, BISP/BNP and Government of Punjab policies and standards, including gender equality, disability inclusion, safeguarding, PSEA, child protection, confidentiality, accountability to affected populations and responsible data management. Staff will perform only approved non-clinical roles and will not diagnose, prescribe, treat or provide clinical services.

Job Purpose

The MEAL Officer will lead the implementation of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning systems for BNP 3.0. The position will ensure reliable and timely programme data, independent field verification, data-quality assurance, beneficiary feedback, learning and evidence-based programme improvement across assigned districts and Facilitation Centres (FCs).

Key Responsibilities

MEAL Planning & Systems

• Develop, update and implement the programme MEAL plan, indicator-tracking framework, monitoring tools and reporting calendar.
• Ensure MEAL systems capture approved activities, outputs, outcomes, quality standards and reporting requirements.
• Align data-collection tools and reporting formats with approved BNP 3.0, ACT International and applicable UNICEF requirements.
• Ensure standardized MEAL tools and procedures are consistently applied across districts, FCs and community activities.
• Orient programme and field teams on indicators, targets, data definitions, source documents and reporting requirements.

Data Management & Quality Assurance

• Consolidate routine programme data from field teams, Regional SBC Coordinators and other relevant sources.
• Review data for completeness, consistency, accuracy, timeliness and compliance with reporting standards.
• Maintain secure, organized and retrievable electronic and physical programme records and source documents.
• Support development and maintenance of dashboards, trackers, data summaries and management-information products.
• Ensure appropriate data disaggregation by sex, age, district, FC, disability status and other approved categories where feasible.
• Conduct routine data-quality assessments, source-document reviews, spot checks and verification exercises.
• Review attendance registers, counselling records, activity reports, referral records, training documentation and other programme evidence.
• Identify data gaps, discrepancies and recurring quality issues and coordinate corrective actions with responsible staff.
• Maintain records of data-quality findings, corrective actions, follow-up status and unresolved issues.

Monitoring & Field Verification

• Develop field-monitoring schedules and verification plans in coordination with programme and regional teams.
• Supervise and provide technical guidance to Field Monitors and review their monitoring plans and reports.
• Conduct regular field visits to observe FC-based and community-level activities and assess implementation quality.
• Verify the quality of maternal nutrition, MIYCN, ECD, parenting, counselling, support-group and referral-support activities.
• Verify implementation of cooking demonstrations, mobile kiosks, interactive theatre, campaigns and other approved community-engagement activities.
• Conduct or support verification of outreach, counselling, referrals, referral completion and follow-up information.
• Support joint monitoring visits with relevant programme stakeholders when required.

Assessments & Evaluation

• Support planning and implementation of baseline, midline, endline and other programme assessments.
• Assist with sampling, tool development, data-collector orientation, fieldwork monitoring, data cleaning and analysis.
• Coordinate with external evaluators, consultants and assessment teams as required.
• Ensure assessments comply with ethical, safeguarding, consent, confidentiality and data-protection requirements.
• Analyse and present findings in practical formats to support programme management and decision-making.

Accountability & Beneficiary Feedback

• Support accessible and appropriate beneficiary feedback and complaints mechanisms.
• Monitor whether feedback, complaints and concerns are properly recorded, referred, managed and closed.
• Analyse feedback trends related to accessibility, inclusion, satisfaction, service experience, safety and programme relevance.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive feedback and ensure serious concerns are immediately referred through established channels.
• Share actionable feedback findings with programme management to strengthen implementation quality and accountability.

Learning & Programme Improvement

• Analyse monitoring data, beneficiary feedback, field observations and assessment findings to identify trends, gaps and performance issues.
• Facilitate reflection, learning and review sessions with programme, field and support teams.
• Document lessons learned, good practices, innovations, risks and recommendations.
• Track management responses and corrective actions arising from monitoring and learning exercises.
• Support evidence-based improvements to activity plans, tools, training and community-engagement approaches.

Capacity Building & Reporting

• Train and coach programme staff on data collection, documentation, reporting and data-quality standards.
• Provide technical support on digital data collection, source documentation and indicator reporting.
• Prepare regular MEAL dashboards, analytical summaries, data-quality reports and management presentations.
• Provide verified data, analysis and supporting evidence for programme and donor reports and review meetings.
• Promote a culture of accountability, learning and evidence-based decision-making across the programme.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Public Health, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Monitoring & Evaluation or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, research, programme quality or data management.
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, analysis, reporting and field monitoring.
• Experience conducting data-quality assessments, beneficiary verification and monitoring visits.
• Experience supporting donor-funded development, humanitarian, nutrition, health or social-protection programmes.
• Experience using Kobo, ODK, Excel or comparable digital data-collection and analysis systems.
• Additional training in MEAL, research, evaluation, data management or digital data systems will be an advantage.

Required Skills & Competencies

• Strong MEAL planning, indicator tracking, data analysis and quality-assurance skills.
• Strong field monitoring, verification, research and evidence-generation skills.
• Strong reporting, dashboard development, presentation and learning-facilitation skills.
• Good understanding of accountability, beneficiary feedback, safeguarding and data-protection requirements.
• Strong attention to detail, professional integrity and ability to handle sensitive information responsibly.
• Strong communication, coordination and problem-solving skills.
• Ability and willingness to undertake regular travel to programme locations.

Code of Conduct & Ethics

The successful candidate will be expected to comply with:

• ACT International Code of Conduct requirements.
• Data protection and confidentiality standards.
• Do No Harm, safeguarding and ethical research principles.
• Strict prohibition on collecting unnecessary personal identifiers or exerting pressure on respondents.
• Zero tolerance for data manipulation, misconduct or negligence.

Core Competencies

• Leadership and Team Management
• Strategic Thinking and Planning
• Technical Expertise
• Communication and Interpersonal Skills
• Coordination and Networking
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Results Orientation
• Accountability and Integrity
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Commitment to Safeguarding, Gender Equality and Inclusion

Safeguarding & PSEA

ACT International has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, child abuse and other forms of misconduct. The successful candidate will be required to comply with ACT International’s safeguarding, PSEA, child-protection, code of conduct and reporting requirements. Staff are expected to maintain a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for beneficiaries, communities and colleagues and to report safeguarding or PSEA concerns through established reporting mechanisms.

Equal Opportunity

ACT International is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from qualified candidates, including women and persons with disabilities.