CARE RELIEF AID ORGANIZATION (CRO)

TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)

Position: MEAL Officer (Volunteer)

Organization: Care ReliefAid Organization (CRO)

Position: MEAL Officer (Volunteer)

Location: Nigeria Employment Type: Volunteer

Duration: Initially volunteer-based; subject to project availability and funding

Remuneration: Unpaid volunteer position at this stage. Compensation or project-based engagement may be considered when funding is secured.

Reports To: Head of Programmes / Executive Director

Application Deadline: [Insert Deadline]

1. Organizational Background

Care ReliefAid Organization (CRO) is a strictly women-led, community-driven humanitarian and development organization committed to improving the lives of vulnerable populations through inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable interventions.

Founded on the principles of dignity, equity, and social justice, CRO works at the frontline of crisis response and long-term development, with a strong focus on women, girls, children, youth, and persons with disabilities.

CRO believes that empowering women to lead humanitarian and development action results in more responsive, accountable, and transformative programs for communities. The organization places women and girls at the center of solutions while ensuring no one is left behind.

2. Purpose of the Position

The MEAL Officer (Volunteer) will support CRO in developing and strengthening its Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning systems and ensuring that programs are evidence-based, measurable, accountable, and responsive to the needs of affected communities.

The position will support data collection, data quality assurance, monitoring, reporting, accountability, learning, and the development of MEAL tools and systems for current and future humanitarian and development projects.

3. Key Responsibilities

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Support the development and implementation of project-specific MEAL plans and frameworks.
• Assist programme teams in developing indicators, targets, means of verification, and monitoring tools.

Support routine monitoring of project activities against approved workplans, indicators, targets, and budgets.

• Develop and maintain project monitoring trackers and indicator performance tracking tables.
• Support baseline, endline, post-distribution monitoring (PDM), post-intervention monitoring, and other assessments as required.
• Conduct field monitoring visits and document findings, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations.
• Support the preparation of monitoring reports and management updates.
• Track project progress and identify implementation gaps requiring corrective action.

Data Collection and Management

• Develop and adapt quantitative and qualitative data collection tools.
• Support digital data collection using platforms such as KoboToolbox, ODK, SurveyCTO, CommCare, or similar systems.
• Conduct data cleaning, validation, analysis, and reporting.
• Maintain organized project databases and datasets.
• Ensure appropriate documentation and secure storage of project data.
• Support data disaggregation by sex, age, disability, location, and other relevant variables where appropriate.
• Ensure data is collected and managed in accordance with organizational data protection and confidentiality standards.

Data Quality Assurance

• Support routine data quality assessments and verification exercises.
• Check data for completeness, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and reliability.
• Conduct spot checks and verification of reported project results.
• Identify data-quality gaps and support programme teams to address them.  Maintain data-quality assessment records and follow-up actions.

Accountability to Affected Populations

• Support the establishment and strengthening of Community Feedback and Response Mechanisms (CFRM/FCRM).
• Assist in collecting, documenting, categorizing, and tracking feedback, complaints, and inquiries.
• Support timely referral and resolution of complaints in accordance with organizational procedures.
• Maintain feedback databases and complaint-response trackers.
• Support programme teams to ensure that community feedback informs programme adaptation and decision-making.
• Promote awareness among communities of available feedback and complaint channels.

Learning and Knowledge Management

• Support the documentation of lessons learned, best practices, success stories, and case studies.
• Organize and maintain MEAL-related knowledge and learning materials.
• Support learning sessions, after-action reviews, reflection meetings, and programme review exercises.
• Identify trends and findings from monitoring data that can inform programme improvement.

Support the integration of lessons learned into future project design and implementation.

4. Proposal and Project Development Support

The MEAL Officer will support CRO’s project development and organizational preparedness by:

• Providing MEAL inputs into concept notes and proposals.
• Supporting the development of logical frameworks and results frameworks.
• Developing indicator tracking tables and MEAL plans.
• Supporting the design of project monitoring methodologies.
• Developing realistic indicators, targets, and data-collection approaches.
• Providing MEAL inputs into project budgets.
• Supporting the development of baseline and endline plans.
• Supporting project start-up by preparing MEAL tools and systems.

5. Reporting Responsibilities

The MEAL Officer will support:

• Monthly and periodic MEAL reports.
• Project indicator performance tracking.
• Donor reporting through provision of verified programme data.
• Data visualization and presentation of key findings.
• Development of dashboards and monitoring summaries where required.
• Documentation of challenges, corrective actions, lessons learned, and recommendations.

6. Expected Deliverables

The Volunteer MEAL Officer will contribute to:

• Project MEAL plans and frameworks.
• Indicator Performance Tracking Tables (IPTTs).
• Monitoring and data collection tools.
• KoboToolbox/ODK or other digital data collection forms.
• Clean and validated project datasets.
• Data quality assessment reports.
• Monitoring visit reports.
• PDM and other assessment reports.
• Feedback and complaints tracking systems.
• MEAL dashboards and data visualizations where required.
• Lessons learned and learning documentation.
• MEAL inputs into proposals and donor reports. Qualifications and Experience

Minimum Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics,

Economics, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Public Health, Information Management, or a related field.

• At least 1–3 years of relevant experience in MEAL, M&E, data collection, research, or information management is desirable.
• Previous experience working with NGOs or humanitarian/development organizations is an advantage.
• Good knowledge of monitoring and evaluation principles and methodologies.
• Experience developing data collection and monitoring tools.
• Good analytical and reporting skills.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Excel and other data-management tools.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy.

8. Desirable Technical Skills

Experience with one or more of the following will be an advantage:

• Microsoft Excel.
• Power BI or other data visualization platforms.
• SPSS, Stata, R, or similar statistical software.
• GIS/QGIS.
• PDM and post-intervention monitoring.
• KAP surveys.
• FGDs and KIIs.
• Baseline and endline assessments.
• Accountability and feedback mechanisms.  Data quality assessments.

9. Core Competencies

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Integrity and accountability.
• Strong analytical thinking.
• Attention to detail.
• Data management and problem-solving skills.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Teamwork and collaboration.
• Ability to work with programme and operations teams.
• Commitment to evidence-based programming.
• Commitment to accountability to affected populations.
• Respect for confidentiality and responsible data management.
• Commitment to humanitarian principles, safeguarding, gender equality, and inclusion.

10. Volunteer Engagement and Remuneration

This is an unpaid volunteer position at the current stage of CRO’s organizational development. The position is intended to strengthen CRO’s MEAL capacity, systems, and preparedness for upcoming humanitarian and development opportunities.

There is currently no salary, stipend, or financial remuneration attached to the position.

However, where CRO secures funded projects requiring MEAL personnel, the organization may consider transitioning the volunteer engagement into a paid project-based or employment position, subject to available funding, project requirements, performance, and organizational procedures.

The volunteer will have the opportunity to gain practical experience in humanitarian MEAL, data management, accountability, monitoring, evaluation, proposal development, and donor reporting.

11. Safeguarding and Data Protection

The MEAL Officer will be required to comply fully with CRO’s policies and standards relating to:

• Child safeguarding and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA).
• Prevention of sexual harassment and abuse.
• Confidentiality and responsible data management.
• Informed consent and ethical data collection.
• Protection of personal and sensitive information.
• Anti-fraud and anti-corruption.
• Conflict of interest.
• Code of Conduct.
• Gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.

The MEAL Officer must ensure that data collected from communities is handled responsibly and used only for legitimate programme, learning, accountability, and reporting purposes.

10. Application Process

Interested candidates should submit via this link: https://forms.gle/zXY5afvqicq1SB8m8

Deadline for Application is on 30^th September 2026