Officer, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL)

Search for Common Ground
For more than forty years, Search for Common Ground has worked to prove that even the deepest divides can be transformed into cooperation. Today, we are the world's largest peacebuilding organization, active in thirty-five countries across six continents. We partner with local communities to break cycles of violence, build trust, and create lasting opportunities for collaboration. Our principle of multipartiality means we engage with all sides in a conflict, ensuring that every voice is heard and every perspective matters. From empowering young people and elevating women in peace processes to advancing digital peacebuilding, climate resilience, and security sector reform, we bring people together to imagine and build a world of safe, healthy, and just societies, free from the threat of violent conflict.
Team Summary
The Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) team plays a key role within the program department, supporting projects’ adaptation based on the evidence generated by Search’s Global Programs in each country. MEAL implements best practices in monitoring, research, and evaluation, contributing to the broader organizational learning across programs under the technical support of and in collaboration with the Institutional Learning Team (ILT).
MEAL also contributes to business development processes, ensuring the quality of program design by integrating lessons learned and evidence collected, and aligning with global and conflict geography strategies. MEAL is responsible for ensuring alignment of country programs with international standards, including the Evidence and Learning Protocols and the Global Impact Framework (GIF). The team is led by a Manager/Senior Manager, who reports to the Director of Programs/Country Director/Manager. The team engages at multiple levels of the program structure and with other departments within the country’s organizational structure, such as finance, HR, logistics, and others.
Position Summary
In Palestine, the MEAL Officer will work closely with the Program Manager for operational alignment, while focusing primarily on MEAL responsibilities in the initial months. This reflects the transition from Search and partner-led framework and tool development supported by a consultant to officer-led implementation and partner capacity building.

Key Responsibilities Contributions

• Officer responsible for the country's MEAL strategy, MEAL portfolio management, and health & sustainability of the MEAL unit.
• Ensure the upholding of organizational MEAL standards, in close collaboration with ILT.
• Coordinate in a matrixed structure within and across teams at the country level to pursue goals in collaboration with a broader set of teams and departments.
• Define expectations for coordination across departments, within the department, and within teams.
• Lead the process of reflective practice and evidence-based programming through quarterly reflection meetings and other means of sharing innovative MEAL methods and approaches.
• Set core skills and leadership development goals with direct reports, creating opportunities for staff to pursue these goals throughout the year.
• Pursue skills development goals to enhance field leadership annually. Support program staff and implementing partners in strengthening capacity for outcome tracking, data use, and evidence generation.

Program Execution & Learning

• Play a lead role in country program development, including sub-strategy development, implementation, and review, seeking alignment with the organizational strategy.
• Ensure MEAL frameworks and plans are practical and adapted to local context, capturing changes in agency, participation, influence, and peace outcomes through both quantitative and qualitative evidence (e.g., stories of change, reflections, community feedback loops).

Planning

• Lead planning for MEAL activities and products within the portfolio, ensuring alignment between resource allocation and deliverables.
• Facilitate joint planning and review sessions with partners, ensuring ownership of MEAL systems and sustainability beyond project cycles.

Organizational Performance

• Lead team guidance and action planning to identify and address bottlenecks to performance.
• Ensure that personnel objectives are aligned with organizational performance measures, and that team results align with both organizational and departmental outcomes.
• Consolidate partner data and generate clear summaries to inform program adaptation and produce briefs for advocacy and policy engagement.

Evidence & Impact

• Manage MEAL  deliverables within the portfolio to ensure that they enhance our ability to speak to impact and build evidence for our field in line with Se