Senior MEAL Technology Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

COUNTRY BACKGROUND
The International Rescue Committee's (IRC) Kenya country program is dedicated to providing life-saving and developmental services that empower vulnerable local and refugee communities, enabling them to lead secure, productive, and healthy lives. Collaborating closely with national and county governments, community organizations, and partner NGOs, the IRC operates across health, nutrition, protection, livelihood, education and WASH sectors in Turkana, Garissa, Samburu, Tana River and Nairobi counties. The IRC responds to emergencies such as drought in Garissa and Turkana counties, supports refugees in Hagadera and Kakuma Refugee Camps, and implements urban programming for livelihoods in Nairobi's informal settlements. Working with the Ministry of Health, UNHCR, donors, and other partners, the IRC ensures comprehensive health, nutrition, protection, women's empowerment, economic recovery, and systems strengthening services to foster community resilience and self-reliance.

1. JOB PURPOSE
•Reporting to the METAL Coordinator, technically supported by the Regional MEAL Technology Coordinator and working closely with the TeachWell MEAL Advisor, the Senior MEAL Technology Officer leads MEAL technology delivery for the entire IRC Kenya country programme, including the TeachWell project. The allocation of the position's time and responsibilities between country
programme support and TeachWell will be agreed through work planning and elaborated in routine reporting.
•Within the METAL framework, the Senior MEAL Technology Officer provides technical leadership for the country programme's digital and technology work, leading the design, delivery, integration and continuous improvement of its data systems and holding accountability for their quality, timeliness, interoperability and readiness for handover to government and partners.
•Technical authority, systems standards and decision-making on the country programme's digital data architecture rest with the METAL Coordinator; the Senior MEAL Technology Officer designs ,implements, maintains and advances these systems and is accountable for the quality and timeliness of the technology deliverables.
•The position carries out database management; expert-level design and administration of electronic data collection in CommCare; configuration of project indicators using Power Apps; management and development of the Project Indicator Dashboard (PID), TeachWell dashboard, Strategy dashboard and other Power BI products; development of a CommCare-based logframe tracking platform; administration of the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system across IRC-supported health facilities; systems integration and interoperability between IRC, partner and government systems; including alignment of the EMR to Taifa Care, adoption of licensed AI for data quality, reporting and analysis under agreed governance data quality and protection; and user training and support.
•Working closely with the METAL Coordinator, the role builds the capacity of users of various applications within the programmes to cascade technology integration from reporting to data sources

2. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
2.1 Country programme MEAL technology support
•Serve as the country programme's focal point for MEAL technology delivery across all projects and sectors, including the TeachWell project, working under the guidance and direction of the METAL Coordinator.
•Support the TeachWell MEAL Advisor in overseeing IRC and partner MEAL technology requirements and in designing and managing the technology components project MEAL framework and results tracking across components, leveraging qualitative and quantitative methods; co-design indicators, measurement tools and monitoring responsibilities.
•Conduct regular MEAL technology needs assessments across the IRC Kenya programme and propose a costed digital systems roadmap and standards, and apply and maintain the agreed standards across projects.
•Implement and maintain the database architecture set, ensuring system integrity, security, version control, documentation and business continuity across the portfolio.
•Design and implement transition plans for programmes migrating to new data collection tools, and manage migration/transformation of existing project and country-level data into standard data structures.
•Collaborate with programmes, IT and Supply Chain to plan procurement, configuration and lifecycle management of devices and licenses for data management.
2.2 Deployment of technologies for data collection, management, analysis and visualization
•Design, build, test, deploy and adapt CommCare applications across the country programme (including TeachWell data collection tools), applying advanced case management (case
hierarchies, parent–child and extension cases, case sharing, longitudinal client tracking), complex form logic (multi-language forms, validation, calculated questions, repeat groups, lookup tables), workspace administration (users, permissions, location hierarchies, versioning and releases), data services (Data Export Tool, CommCare APIs, live connections to Excel and Power BI), and performance optimization for field users on low-bandwidth connections.
•Configure and deploy surveys and programme assessments in commcare and mobile applications through elaborate testing, user training and roll-out
•Build and maintain the TeachWell teacher professional development case management system with teacher profiles, electronic attendance registers and classroom observation modules per training module, ongoing teacher support, communities of practices, digital learning and and harmonize it with partner school databases to link teacher and learner data.
•Recommend and document improvements to CommCare use across the programme: reusable templates, standardized case structures, workflow automation and adoption of new platform features
•Develop, document and roll out a CommCare-based digital logframe / results-framework tracking platform, modelling indicators, targets, baselines, and disaggregation, linking routine data collection to the corresponding indicators.
•Develop and maintain Power BI dashboards across all sectors and projects for technical and non-technical audiences, including the PID, TeachWell dashboard and Strategy dashboard
•Administer the Power BI service (workspaces, refresh, gateways, row-level security); document all dashboards so no product depends on a single individual or external consultant; and contribute analysis to routine reporting cycles.
•Create system architecture that mirrors TeachWell partner capture systems for ease of seamless data sharing.
•Develop spatial/GIS visualization of programme coverage and results across counties and camps.
2.3 EMR functional administration and support (in collaboration with the IT Manager)
The Senior MEAL Technology Officer is the programme's focal point for the functional administration, data quality and reporting of the EMR system. Infrastructure administration — including server management, backups and restore testing, software updates and patches, business continuity and disaster recovery, hardware lifecycle, and vendor and SLA management — is led by the IT Manager, with functional input from this position.
•Manage EMR functional administration across IRC-supported health facilities: user accounts, roles, permissions and organization unit hierarchies; maintain functional documentation (configuration guides, data dictionaries, SOPs and audit logs).
•Lead the EMR's alignment to Taifa Care and the national digital health ecosystem: coordinate the vendor's Digital Health Agency certification so the EMR becomes Taifa Care-compatible by the September 2026 deadline, secure interoperability with eCHIS and KHIS/DHIS2, and support Social Health Authority readiness so that IRC-supported facilities can be empanelled and claim.
•Manage EMR data flows and integration with national reporting platforms (eCHIS, KHIS/DHIS2, iRHIS), ensuring reporting is accurate, timely and compliant with Ministry of Health requirements, and configuring aggregate exports that eliminate double-entry for facility staff.
•Serve as the EMR training focal point for IRC health staff and partner facility staff: design and deliver role-specific training and job aids (in English and Swahili where appropriate), and provide first-line functional user support, escalating system and infrastructure issues to the IT Manager.
•Lead user acceptance testing (UAT) for new EMR modules and enhancements; capture and prioritize enhancement and customization requests from clinical and MEAL staff, and channel them through the IT Manager and vendor for implementation and validation.
•Design, build and maintain EMR reports and dashboards for programme, donor and Ministry of Health reporting, including indicator-level reports aligned to project logframes and patient/cohort-level analytics for clinical decision-making and defaulter tracking; train supervisors on their use.
•Ensure EMR data practices comply with patient confidentiality requirements, IRC data protection policy and the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), including consent capture, role-based access, data masking and retention schedules.
2.4 Data management, quality, protection and analysis
•In close collaboration with the METAL Coordinator, undertake data analysis, data quality assurance and data reviews, and ensure findings inform programming and adaptive management.
•Integrate data quality assurance mechanism in MEAL systems and provide feedback to MEAL team for management action
•Lead routine and automated data quality checks across the portfolio, follow up remediation with data owners and partners, and verify that data is uploaded in line with SOPs and is complete, timely and accurate.
•Ensure all tools, databases and integrations comply with IRC data protection policy, the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), government data governance requirements and donor data quality guidelines.
2.5 User needs, training and support
•Provide system training and ongoing end-user support to IRC and partner staff on databases, tools and dashboards, prioritizing partners with limited METAL capacity.
•Gather user feedback during and after deployment, lead requirements capture and UAT for new tools, and ensure user needs are reflected in system design.
2.6 Responsible AI integration and innovation
•Provide technical enablement for the country programme's flagship AI pilots, including the survivor-support and community feedback channels and geospatial targeting, and prepare each pilot for scale-up across hub offices once it is proven.

3. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
3.1 Education
•University degree in Information Technology, Database Development, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Statistics, Health Informatics or a related field.
•Relevant professional certification (e.g., CommCare, Microsoft Power BI, DHIS2 fundamentals/implementation, data engineering and other related quantitative field) is an added advantage.
3.2 Experience and technical skills (required)
•Minimum 5 years' experience in project database development, systems integration and data management, with a substantial portion in MEAL functions of humanitarian or development programmes.
•Demonstrable CommCare competence is essential: advanced case management, complex form logic, CommCare HQ administration and data export/API configuration, including the ability to design indicator/results-tracking structures linked to routine data collection.
•Advanced Power BI skills: data modelling, Power Query, DAX and service administration, evidenced by a portfolio of dashboards in active use, including managing an inherited indicator dashboard.
•Working experience in tool development related to research, MEAL and other development utilities from origination, data collection analysis and use
•Working in multisectoral / consortium projects is an added advantage
Note: Technical competence is a core selection criterion. Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a hands-on practical assessment at interview covering both CommCare application development and Power BI/dashboard development, including demonstrating an application and a dashboard they have built.
•Demonstrated understanding of health information systems (eCHIS, KHIS/DHIS2, HMIS, EMR), their reporting workflows, and the confidentiality requirements of patient-level data.
•Strong proficiency with mobile data collection (CommCare, ODK, Kobo) and data analysis software such as advanced Microsoft Excel, SPSS, STATA, R or Python, and GIS tools.
•Working knowledge of data protection and responsible data practices in humanitarian settings.
•Willingness to travel to field-level offices (up to 50%).
•Knowledge of MEAL functionality across different thematic areas is an added advantage.
3.3 Desirable
•Experience administering an EMR or comparable facility-based health information system, including user management, backups and vendor coordination.
•Experience standardizing tools across a multi-sector portfolio.
•Experience taking over, documenting and improving systems built by third-party consultants or departing staff.
•Experience digitizing client feedback / accountability mechanisms.
3.4 Skills and abilities
•Excellent interpersonal, time-management and communication skills, both verbal and written.
•Ability to work independently, and under own initiative with a proactive approach to problem solving.
•Proven skills in making empirical data accessible for different audiences through different channels and media.
•Self-motivated and result-driven, with the ability to build and manage networks and relationships and issue resolution.
3.5 Proficiencies
•Active listening and effective communication
•Critical thinking and problem solving
•Professionalism and work ethic
•Receptive and resilient
•Positive interpersonal interactions

Work Environment: The position is based in Nairobi, with scheduled travel to field locations where the IRC implements projects within Kenya.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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