Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist 265 views0 applications

Background:

The purpose of the five-year (2020-2025) “State Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness” (“State2State”) Activity is to increase the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of selected state and local governments (LGAs) in Nigeria. This will be achieved by: strengthening governance systems (with a focus on public financial management [PFM] and procurement, as well as monitoring and evaluation) related to the delivery of services in key sectors (basic education, primary health care, and water, sanitation and hygiene [WASH]); increasing government responsiveness to citizen needs and priorities; and improving government and civil society capacity to manage conflict (through work on prevention, mitigation and reconciliation with the same sectoral partners, not stand-alone assistance to the police or judiciary). State2State will achieve this purpose by facilitating the strengthening of subnational governance systems in a sustainable manner, supporting the efforts of local reformers, and building on locally derived solutions including, to the extent possible, reforms already working in other parts of Nigeria.

Position Objectives:

The Senior MEL Specialist will support the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (DMEL) in the oversight of all M&E and learning activities, including data collection, monitoring, and reporting.

Responsibilities:

The Senior MEL Specialist will:

• Oversee the execution of the M&E strategy, ensuring interventions are rooted in local context and serve as learning platforms for future interventions.
• Work closely with DMEL and MEL Specialists to ensure the strategic and functional integration of all MEL activities as well as active collaboration with donors, other implementers, and local counterparts.
• Oversee MEL activities, provide technical direction and support to the design process and ensure results for contract activities.
• Will undertake, with DMEL guidance, investigations of reform issues and possible solutions.
• Support DAI’s adaptive systems approach and facilitate reviews of whether initiatives, once launched, are achieving expected results.
• Assist with timely rapid scans of the political economy, conflict, and PFM, and measure State2State impact within states.
• Lead data collection and analysis of project results and indicators and assemble data required on a recurrent basis to track program performance.
• Verify data, conduct audits of collection procedures, and perform data checks.
• Support M&E training of staff, CSO partners, assist in cultivating a culture of learning.
• Ensure office cooperation with internal/external data quality assessments and that activity information is shared in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Other responsibilities not detailed herein as assigned by the DMEL.

Reporting:

The Senior MEL Specialist reports to the Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (DMEL) and works with colleagues across units and teams.

Minimum Requirements:

• Master’s degree in any the following or related fields: social science, international development, evaluation research, statistics, and economics.
• At least 9 years of experience in designing, managing, and implementing results-based MEL activities.
• Candidate should ideally possess experience in democracy and governance sector projects, especially USAID-funded projects, highly desired. Experience in tracking and submitting M&E data is required.
• Experience working with government (national, subnational and local) and civil society strengthening in Nigeria is highly desirable.
• Ability to work collaboratively, foster goodwill, and build coalitions with relevant sectoral agencies, groups and organizations.
• Technical skills in analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, with excellent organizational, oral, and written communications skills in English.
• Progressively responsible experience in monitoring and evaluation of democracy and governance programs and working with development agencies and organizations, government officials, civil society leaders, community leaders, project beneficiaries and project staff.
• Extensive knowledge of reporting procedures, best practices, guidelines, and tools for monitoring, evaluation, and learning, including impact evaluation.
• Ability to conduct research and documentation.
• Experience using USAID Monitor online system for quarterly and annual data reporting.
• Supervisory skills, and ability to work well on a team.
• Proficient in Microsoft programs, i.e., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc., and the ability to use various commercially available statistical software programs.
• Strong attention to detail is required.
• Advanced skills in report writing and review of technical documents.
• Possess both a willingness and ability to train and be trained.