Senior MEAL Technology Officer

Role Overview

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.

Key Responsibilities

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.

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, complex form logic, workspace administration, 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 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.

EMR Functional Administration and Support

• Serve as the programme's focal point for the functional administration, data quality and reporting of the EMR system.
• Manage EMR functional administration across IRC-supported health facilities: user accounts, roles, permissions and organization unit hierarchies; maintain functional documentation.
• 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.
• 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.
• Serve as the EMR training focal point for IRC health staff and partner facility staff, providing first-line functional user support.
• Lead user acceptance testing (UAT) for new EMR modules and enhancements.
• Design, build and maintain EMR reports and dashboards for programme, donor and Ministry of Health reporting.
• Ensure EMR data practices comply with patient confidentiality requirements, IRC data protection policy and the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019).

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.
• 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.

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.

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.

Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in Information Technology, Database Development, Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Statistics, Health Informatics or a related field.
• 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.
• Essential CommCare competence: advanced case management, complex form logic, CommCare HQ administration, and data export/API configuration.
• Advanced Power BI skills: data modelling, Power Query, DAX, and service administration.
• Experience in tool development related to research, MEAL, and other development utilities.
• Relevant professional certifications (CommCare, Microsoft Power BI, DHIS2) and experience in multisectoral/consortium projects are added advantages.