Description

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identify, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

The Organization

Heifer International is a global development organization on a mission to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. We work with farmers and their communities to identify and invest in business opportunities that deliver living incomes. Since launching in 1944, Heifer International has assisted more than 40 million families to build sustainable food and farming businesses that strengthen rural economies and put people on a pathway to Sustainable Living Income. We work with local farmers, and food producers because we believe ending poverty begins with agriculture.

Heifer International started work in Uganda in 1982 and has since reached and helped over 5 million families across the country. Heifer has worked in 52 districts of Uganda and currently, we are present in 15 districts of Central, Eastern and Northern Uganda. In the last 12 years, Heifer Uganda has reached over one million families through agriculture and environmentally sound economic development programs.

FUNCTION

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning role is a key position in the Stimulating Agribusiness for Youth Employment -SAYE project structure as it supports the organization and our partners to make smart decisions for adaptation, permanency and scaling up. Under the supervision of the Project Director and with a functional reporting line to the country MELs team, the MELs manager will play a major leading role in project monitoring, periodic data collection and analysis, developing mechanisms and leading the process for effective dissemination, utilization, and documenting learnings.

S/he will develop and oversee MEL and reporting systems and processes that integrate appropriate indicators, baseline data, targets, and a plan to evaluate performance and produce timely, accurate and complete reporting. Additionally, the MEL Manager will lead efforts to strengthen capacity of project partners to monitor, document and analyze system level changes and activities and ensure data quality. The MELs manager will provide technical assistance; advice and training on key aspects of MEL to shape the overall SAYE’s country framework and ensure that key outcomes are properly monitored, tracked, and documented. She/ He will also

work with the team to build capacity on the use of data indicators, analyze monthly data, and support training in quality assurance methods. The manager will lead the process working with partners in strengthening the partners information system, prepare periodic reports and promote programmatic learning.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTER TRAITS

The ideal candidate should be detail-oriented, self-driven, technically competent in results monitoring and eager to learn new skills and procedures. Additional traits include, but are not limited to the following: flexibility, honesty, strong moral and ethical principles, strong communication skill and strong work ethic.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DELIVERABLES

A. Program Effectives (50%)

• Develop and oversee the implementation of the Activity MEL Plan and system including leading the development of MEL tools, platforms and methods that are appropriate to the scope, context, and technical requirements of the project.
• Provide overall leadership in monitoring project outputs and outcomes, ensuring strong data analysis, tailoring reports for different stakeholders and disseminating lessons learned.
• Provide technical leadership to the review of project framework, plans and indicators to capture performance results and provide effective, accurate and timely monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities.
• Provide leadership and direction on M&E to ensure the project achieves its goals and corresponding objectives and target.
• Oversee the implementation of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to capture project performance and results, including routine service delivery data reporting, baseline and end line assessments, and all monitoring for process and outcome evaluations.
• Oversee data flow pattern for the project, to ensure timely data collection and reporting.
• Lead efforts to utilize training monitoring systems to track and monitor trainers and participants at training events to facilitate follow-up and recordkeeping.
• Accountable for providing technical leadership on strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the project by identifying bottlenecks in completing planned activities and developing plans to minimize such bottlenecks in SAYE.
• Provide technical supervision to the SAYE cluster M&E officers.
• Coordinate all M&E capacity-building activities with project staff, implementing partners and hubs staff.
• Lead the planning and review sessions of the program in collaboration with the Project director.
• Timely generation and reporting of valid MEL data.
• Approved MEL project framework, indictors, and plans.
• Provide country team personnel and hubs with key M&E and reporting tools and support them in their use.
• Enhance the technical capacity of the SAYE MLE Officers, partner MLE staff and hub managers through planned regular mentoring, training and coaching.
• Develop M&E tools for collecting data and information on targeted project value chains and their impact on participating actors.
• Tailor reporting to meet the needs of different stakeholders.
• Provide recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the project.
• Recommend steps for strategic adjustments and provide follow up on implementation for SAYE.
• 80% of the planned milestones are achieved by the project.

B. Project Reporting and Documentation (20%)

• Review regular monthly, quarterly and annual reports from the Project Director and support them comply with the requirement of data quality and timeliness.
• Support the Project Director in compiling donor and Heifer International (monthly, quarterly and annual) reports and ensure compliance with requirements in terms of data quality and timeliness and ensure these are of the highest standards.
• Provide technical support to the Country teams in documentation of SAYE success stories and relate project impacts.
• Lead results reporting to Mastercard Foundation by providing written documentation on M&E activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports, as appropriate.
• Provide technical lead to the SAYE project teams in building the capacity of the hub’s management team on documentation and record keeping.
• All project progress reports (monthly, quarterly and annually reports) from Country Offices are compliant with expected quality standards and timeliness.
• Lessons learnt from SAYE project documented for dissemination to stakeholders on quarterly basis.
• On monthly basis update and maintain a beneficiary’s project database at all levels needed as per the MLE framework and ensure compliance with expected quality standards and timeliness.
• All hubs have up to date records/data bases.
• Successful business models documented before end of project for replication or scale up.
• Prepare and consolidate monthly, quarterly, mid-term and annual reports and submit within the stipulated timelines.

C. Management and Compliance (15%)

• Supervise and support the project’s MEL team and provide MEL technical training, mentoring, and coaching to project staff, partners, and other community health system actors as appropriate.
• Accountable for supervising and managing all evaluations and operational research for the project including baseline, midterm and end-line assessments.
• Ensure high-quality implementation, consistent with Heifer International’s and Mastercard Foundation’s monitoring and evaluation guidelines, protocols, information and reporting systems.
• Ensure protection of SAYE and participant data and confidentiality during SAYE reviews and evaluation processes.
• Regularly review monitoring data and help organize periodic learning days and annual learning summits with country and hub staff to help them identify successes and make decisions about adapting activities and approaches to achieve results.
• Collaborate with the Finance Unit to help develop a system to track and report cost-related data for each program element to reinforce financial and budgetary strategies and allocations during planning periods.
• compliance with all Heifer International and Mastercard Foundation reporting requirements and that education materials reflect information needs identified by the MLE system.
• Ensure that information needs are met through the overall MLE framework.
• Coordinate project M&E reviews and planning workshops and assist the Project teams and hubs in preparing and disseminating relevant reports
• Ensure 100% compliance donor contractual obligations.
• Presenting monthly and quarterly budget status highlighting status of project performance during monthly operational quarterly and annual meetings.
• Implementing and tracking of all the proposed corrective measures to ensure the project is on track within the planned period.
• Enhanced compliance and accountability in implementation of the M&E component of the project achieving 100% compliance.
• Ensure timely detection and correction of project implementation issues.

D. Partnership and Engagement (10%)

• Develop strong stakeholder, participant, and community feedback and response mechanisms to ensure that project interventions are effective and accountable.
• In collaboration with the project director, develop and oversee the implementation of the project’s Collaborative Learning and Action (CLA) plan, learning agenda and knowledge management system across all project components and partners.
• Ensure that programmatic learning and results are fully documented, shared, and used to drive adaptive management processes
• Accountable for knowledge management and sharing with partners.
• Lead strategic collaboration activities with implementing partners to learn from project data and adapt interventions as appropriate.
• Develop knowledge management activities, identify lessons learned or successful innovations during the project implementation and other information that could be shared with partners and key stakeholders.

D. May perform other duties as assigned (5%)

Minimum Requirements

1. Bachelor’s degree in international development, Community Development, Rural Development, Project Planning and Management, Quantitative Economics and/or Statistics, or an equivalent with an academic focus on Monitoring and Evaluation plus five (5) years of direct relevant experience in MLE management of large-scale projects.

Preferred Requirements

1. Solid MLE experience, gained in working in the development context.
2. In-depth knowledge on MEL and development issues
3. Proven ICT skills, especially MS Excel, MS word and MS PowerPoint
4. Expertise in analyzing data using statistical software, especially SPSS and STATA.
5. Successful experience in the use of mobile data collection tools like Open Data Kit (ODK) Survey CTO and ability to use data visualization software (e.g., Power BI)
6. Demonstrated social research experience.
7. Experience in supporting and monitoring field-based programs in the country.
8. Proven experience in staff and partner training.
9. Experience managing research projects across multiple stakeholders.

Most critical proficiencies

1. Innovative, analytical, and solutions-oriented
2. A good understanding of and sensitivity to issues associated with poverty, hunger, unemployment and the environment, and knowledge of the context in which non-profit organizations operate.
3. Knowledge of youth workforce development issues, especially in rural communities of the East Africa region.
4. Good understanding of the different value chains within the agribusiness and non-agribusiness ecosystem.
5. Knowledge of enterprise development and linkages to poverty alleviation.
6. Excellent organizational skills, including strong attention to detail.
7. Proven experience in building the capacity of partner institutions to document and disseminate industry information, manage knowledge, measure progress and plan and advocate within the industry.
8. Proficient knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, presentation tools, electronic mail (Microsoft Office preferred) and Internet.
9. Demonstrated proficiency in English, both oral and written.
10. Ability to work in a team.

Essential job functions and physical demands

1. Ability to prepare and present documents in a well-designed and attractive format with superior attention to detail.
2. Ability to understand, appreciate and implement Heifer’s Values-Based Holistic Community Development model.
3. Demonstrated creativity, ability to think systematically, willingness and ability to incorporate innovative solutions.
4. Quantitative and qualitative approaches to evaluation and ability to communicate MLE concepts clearly with leadership, partners, and staff at all levels.
5. Willingness and ability to assign and review the work of direct reports and to use participatory management skills with junior and senior staff.
6. Proven team leadership and supervisory skills with the ability to train and work cooperatively with a diverse staff, including field staff in various locations.
7. Constant face-to-face, telephone and electronic communication with colleagues and the general public
8. Willingness and ability to travel extensively throughout SAYE project sites.
9. May require constant sitting; working at a computer and focusing for extended periods of time and performing office environment activities while on the road and/or in remote conditions
10. Working with sensitive information and maintaining confidentiality.
11. Ability to manage and execute multiple tasks with little supervision while meeting sometimes inflexible deadlines.

NOTE: The Mastercard Foundation adheres to the highest standards of care related to its programs, those involved in carrying out its mission, and the millions of young people it supports in accessing dignified and fulfilling work. The Foundation has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of misconduct and takes seriously its responsibility to improve the safety and well-being of the young people who participate in its programs. This duty of care is shared by the Foundation’s partners. As such, during recruitment of staff for Foundation supported programs, all necessary mechanisms are put in place to ascertain that candidates under consideration share our commitment to safeguarding.