Consultancy: Development of a Web-Based MEAL System for HelpAge Ethiopia

Background

HelpAge Ethiopia is a national non-profit organization committed to improving the well-being, dignity, and rights of older people across Ethiopia. The organization builds on more than 30 years of experience as the former Ethiopian country office of HelpAge International, which has been operating in Ethiopia since 1992, supporting older people.

In 2025, HelpAge Ethiopia was officially registered as an independent national civil society organization. The organization delivers both humanitarian and development programmes, including emergency response interventions in food security, shelter, WASH, health, and protection. In addition, it promotes rights-based social protection systems, advocates for inclusive policies, strengthens the capacity of Older People’s Associations and local partners, and fosters age-friendly services and environments.

In response to increasing donor accountability requirements and the growing demand for timely, reliable, and high-quality evidence to inform decision-making and organizational learning, HelpAge Ethiopia seeks to enhance its Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) system through the establishment of a comprehensive, web-based data management platform.

Objective

The overall objective of the MEAL system is to systematically track, assess, and improve program performance while ensuring accountability to affected populations, compliance with donor requirements, and the effective use of evidence for organizational learning and adaptive management.

Specifically, the MEAL system will:

• Monitor progress against programme and project objectives, indicators, and results frameworks in a timely and reliable manner.
• Ensure high-quality data collection, management, and analysis to support evidence-based decision-making.
• Strengthen accountability to affected populations through effective feedback, complaint, and response mechanisms.
• Integrate safeguarding, data protection, and confidentiality principles across all MEAL processes.
• Support learning by generating actionable insights, documenting lessons l
• earned, and informing program adaptation.
• Ensure transparency, compliance, and reporting in line with donor requirements.

Purpose of the Consultancy

The purpose of this consultancy is to assess, design, and support the implementation of a web-based MEAL data management system that is fit for both humanitarian and development programming in Ethiopia and aligned with HelpAge global standards and humanitarian best practices.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for:

• Reviewing and updating existing MEAL policy and tools, indicators, reporting workflows, and data management practices.
• Mapping donors, cluster (including 4Ws), and internal reporting requirements.
• Configuring a suitable web-based MEAL platform (e.g., ActivityInfo, integrated with KoboToolbox/ODK and dashboard tools).
• Designing standardized data collection forms, indicator tracking frameworks, and validation rules.
• Developing user-friendly dashboards and automated reports for programme teams and senior management.
• Ensuring the system supports offline data collection, role-based access, data protection, and accountability mechanisms.
• Providing training for MEAL and program staff, user guidelines, and technical documentation to support adoption and learning.
• Providing technical support for one-year post-implementation.

Recommended Requirements for the MEAL System
The consultant is encouraged to ensure that the proposed system:

• Fully supports data disaggregation by age, sex, and disability, with customizable age categories relevant to older people and humanitarian programming.
• Integrates or aligns with the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability for standardized disability data collection.
• Includes interactive dashboards to visualize age-, sex-, and disability-disaggregated data for monitoring, accountability, learning, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Allows flexible indicator configuration to meet donor, cluster, and HelpAge International`s reporting requirements, including inclusion and protection indicators.
• Promotes data use for learning through easy export of datasets and visual reports for internal reviews, advocacy, and external reporting.

Deliverables and Timeline

Deliverable	Timeline
Inception report and system assessment	End of March 2026
Proposed MEAL system design and platform configuration	Mid-April to Late May 2026
Standardized tools, dashboards, and reporting templates	End of May 2026
Training sessions and user guidance documents	Beginning of June 2026
Final consultancy report with recommendations for sustainability and scale-up	End of June 2026

Expected Outcomes

• A functional and harmonized MEAL system tailored to HelpAge Ethiopia’s programme portfolio.
• Improved data quality, timeliness, accountability, and learning across humanitarian and development interventions.
• Strengthened staff capacity to use data for programme improvement and strategic decision-making.

Professional Experience Requirements

• Minimum of 7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in MEAL system design, strengthening, or implementation for humanitarian and/or development programs.
• Demonstrated experience in developing organizational or project-level MEAL frameworks, tools, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Proven experience with MEAL system development for humanitarian and development organizations, supported by recommendation letters.
• Valid and renewed business license.