The Project Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist for this anticipated USAID funded project is responsible for leading the execution of the overall project PMEP and orchestrating related activities within the project and via partners in the field.

S/he will design and coordinate efforts that monitor outcomes against targets; enable management, donors and partners to gain feedback and deduce lessons; determine the direction and magnitude of progress; and make vital adjustments to interventions for optimal effectiveness of translation of project inputs into outcomes in the form of changed behaviors and practices on the part of local development clients.

S/he is also responsible for providing timely and relevant information to project managers, partners and donors. The M&E Specialist will contribute to the development of institutional capacity and M&E initiatives of divisional and global scope.

Duties

•  Design the project M&E system and finalize the draft PMEP, which is to be annually reviewed and updated.
•  Identify the core information needs of the project management, the advisory committees, the main donor, private-sector contributors and other cooperating institutions.
•  Work with the project team to review the PMEP regularly/annually for accuracy and operational implementation, including:
•  Refining the key indicators for each component and fine-tune the project indicators matrix
•  Guiding the process for identifying the key performance questions to assess the effectiveness of interventions
•  Facilitating the engagement with partners to review their existing approaches and management information systems and agree on any required changes, support and resources
•  adjusting the conceptual framework to incorporate new learning; define and operationalize indicators; elucidate the approach, methodology, and tools for data acquisition; describe the roles and responsibilities of partners involved; review and adjust targets for each year; and outline the supporting operations and procedures for data collection, quality control, analysis and reporting functions.
•  Scope out activities that will complement the PMEP (for example, annual project reviews, participatory impact assessments, environmental assessments and lessons-learned workshops)
•  Identify, recruit, guide and supervise subcontractors, partners and other collaborating organizations or consultants that are contracted to implement special surveys and studies required for evaluating project outcomes and impacts.
•  Ensure that all service provider contracts include specifications for the internal monitoring required of them, the reporting systems and the penalties for failure to report as specified.
•  Steer and craft the installation of the M&E system to realize a balance of credibility and practicality.
•  Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E and to identify where adaptations may be needed.
•  Design, organize and undertake a training system for participatory capacity-building on M&E, particularly for the project staff and other project partners who conduct the function of data collection.
•  Incorporate mixed methods to capture information on cluster members and value chain performance including private sector partners, traders and consumers, including qualitative methods (outcome mapping, after action review, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, ‘what if’ questions, secondary sources and case studies) and methods to assess effectiveness of project interventions and capture indirect effects for understanding dynamics of cluster facilitation.
•  Design periodic impact studies to 1) provide an analysis of whether project objectives (outcomes and impacts) were achieved and can be attributed to project operations 2) demonstrate that the observed changes would not have occurred naturally in the absence of project interventions.
•  Coordinate and support the project internal and external evaluations.
•  Join in external evaluation and supervision missions—of funding and other agencies—by screening and analyzing monitoring reports as well as furnishing direct personal knowledge of the field situation.
•  Ensure that project monitoring arrangements comply with the donor’s requirements and expectations.
•  Analyze data collected in terms of impact evaluation and identify the causes of potential bottlenecks in project implementation.
•  Provide general data reporting support as part of the overall project progress reporting.

Supervision
The M&E Specialist will be supervised by and report to the project COP.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the person assigned to this anticipated position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job.

Duty Location
The M&E Specialist will be based in Tamale (Ghana) but should be available to travel within the country when called upon to.

Qualification Required & Experience

•  Bea graduate in a related field or equivalent rural development;
•  Be familiar(e)with the system of monitoring and evaluation of USAID, including monitoring for environmental compliance;
•  Justify a professional experience of at least 4 years in the field of participatory monitoring and evaluation;
•  Have a solid experience in management methods for impact;
•  Have an excellent command of the use of computer software and data processing, including Excel;
•  Be able to undertake statistical analysis and interpret the results;
•  Be able to provide constructive advice and occasional colleagues and staff of partner institutions;
•  Being able to produce quality reports(clear, accurate, concise, informative).
•  Excellent verbal and written knowledge in English, including the ability to make presentations in public forum sand develop project documents in both languages.
•  Proficiency in Word and Excel;
•  Ability to anticipate trends and make appropriate suggestions;
•  To work in a multicultural, multidisciplinary environments and under pressure;
•  Ability to work independently and take initiative;
•  Be available immediately.

Location: Tamale

How To Apply For The Job

Please read these carefully. Failure to comply will adversely affect your application.

Interested applicants are kindly requested to send their applications in English in the form of a letter of a one page letter and current CV describing their experience, qualifications and three references by email to reach:

The National Administrative and Finance Officer, jfagbegnon@ifdc.org
with copy to the Regional HR Officer, lbello@ifdc.org

Applicants are invited to indicate the Position to which they are applying in the subject line of the email. Only short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview scheduled in Accra for May 15, 2013. No telephone queries will be responded to. The interview will consist of a panel interview, of a written and oral test in English.

Closing Date: 30 April, 2013