REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS: THIRD-PARTY MONITORING M&E EXPERT

Deadline: 25 July 2024

Job Description

Monitoring and Evaluation Expert

Location: Abuja

Job Type: Full Time

Education: MA/MSc/MBA

This position is reserved for only women

This is a one-year contract with a possibility of renewal

Reports To: TPM Project Lead and Technical Manager

Organizational Background

Connected Development [CODE] is Africa’s leading civil society organization whose mission is to empower marginalized communities in Africa. We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through the Follow The Money project. CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while providing the communities with information that ushers social and economic progress. To enhance effective democratic governance and accountability, CODE creates platforms [mobile and web technologies] that close the feedback loop between citizens and the government. With global expertise and reach, we focus on community outreach, influencing policies, practices, and knowledge mobilization. 

About AGILE Project Third-Party Monitoring (TPM)

The Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project was created against the backdrop of constraints of accessing and completing secondary education facing adolescent girls in Nigeria, as well as disparities in the education that boys and girls receive; low female adult literacy rate; and poor exposure of girls to economic empowerment opportunities. The AGILE project aims to lay the foundation for a long-term engagement on adolescent girls’ education and empowerment. The project is funded by the World Bank and implemented through the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), under the Ministry’s National Project Coordinating Unit (NPCU). The project provides a holistic approach to improving equitable access to quality education for adolescent girls through improving school infrastructure, providing conditional cash transfers to low-income households, combating social norms that inhibit girls from attending school, and empowering girls with life, digital and economic empowerment skills. AGILE is implemented across a total number of seventeen states, including the parent states: Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau.

CODE has been re-engaged by the NPCU to provide third-party monitoring (TPM) services for the AGILE project. The objective of the TPM is to provide necessary monitoring services and verify the completion of works and services executed across the seven parent states of the AGILE project. The TPM is utilitarian in providing independent perspective on project performance while augmenting existing monitoring capacities of the NPCU and State Project Implementation Units (SPIU).

Therefore, CODE is calling for an M&E Expert for the AGILE TPM who will join the team to carry out the following responsibilities below.

She will be responsible for assisting the project TPM team to design, coordinate and implement robust monitoring and verification measures for qualitative and quantitative evidence gathering that inform project performance in Abuja.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technical assistance in the design and implementation of AGILE TPM monitoring  and verification systems.
• Assist in supervising data collection by state teams during monthly TPM or bi-annual verification of completed works and services, quality assuring data collected by state teams, as well as in reviewing monthly reports submitted by state leads.
• Assist in quantitative and qualitative data analysis of TPM monthly or bi-annual findings when required.
• Assist the project lead in developing monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual monitoring and verification reports.
• Identify key findings in reports, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations to mitigate project implementation deficiencies, as well as prepare summary presentations for the monthly NPCU meetings, and during World Bank missions.
• Attend key meetings at the NPCU and World Bank and make technical presentations on TPM findings when required.
• Assist the project lead in developing or reviewing monitoring and verification checklists and data collection tools for state teams to improve measurements and objectivity in field visits.
• Provide technical and strategic leadership on a wide range of technical areas in monitoring and evaluation in the AGILE project; identify emerging M&E approaches, methods and tools that can be internalized in the TPM.
• Assist the project lead in providing technical support and building the capacity of state teams on TPM approaches, strategies and on data collection.
• Assist in ensuring the Monitoring Information System (MIS) is up to date and performs optimally.
• Participate in quarterly and annual HQ site visits to AGILE parent states and focal schools and communities.
• Support follow-up, tracking, and reporting on project-level monitoring and verification recommendations.
• Undertake any other responsibilities assigned by the project lead.

REQUIREMENTS:
Must possess the following requirements:

• Master’s degree (or higher) in education, development studies, international development, social sciences, or related field.
• Online/offline course in Monitoring and Evaluation.
• Minimum of 5 years experience in performing M&E functions in local or international NGOs.
• Experience in girls’ education and empowerment programming projects (preferably).
• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies, data analysis, and report writing. 
• Strong technical and analytical skills, including the ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative data using one or more statistical software packages (e.g., SPSS, MS Excel, Stata). 
• Excellent analytical and presentation skills coupled with proven ability to display data as appropriate for different audiences.  
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with program partners, and representatives from other key stakeholders.

ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS:

• Ability to coach, mentor, and develop the capacity of state support MEL staff.
• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building, strategic thinking, and coordination.
• Excellent communication and writing skills, as well as negotiation and management skills. 
• Proven ability to prioritize, plan, multi-task, work independently, organize workflow to tight timeframes, and maintain professional flexibility and adaptability. 
• A demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards and a diverse workplace.
• Fluency in English.  

PREFERRED SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND FUNCTIONS:

• Able to work and travel within AGILE parent states and focal schools and communities.

METHOD OF APPLICATION:

Interested candidates should fill out the form provided in the link below. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Only women are advised to apply.

APPLY HERE