Monitoring, Evaluating and Learning Specialist at Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

Position Description

• Reporting to the M&E Director, the MEL Specialist will support all Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) activities. S/he will be responsible for implementing M&E systems including indicator targeting, tracking and reporting according to USAID and CNFA standards, managing data collection systems, leading impact assessments, and contributing to a knowledge management and learning strategy.

Program Description

• The five-year USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, implemented by CNFA as part of the United States Government’s Feed the Future Initiative, strengthens the business enabling environment to promote private sector investment in agriculture. To achieve this goal, the activity focuses on three interrelated components: improving the ease of doing business in the agricultural sector; broadening access to finance by mitigating the credit risks of agribusinesses; and promoting investment opportunities for agribusinesses to expand and scale up operations. In line with the U.S. and Nigerian Government’s commitment to growing the non-oil based economy, these efforts will increase the quality, quantity, market access, and diversification of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.
• Beginning in December 2018 and closing in 2023, this $15.6 million project aims to integrate thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and producer organizations as high-performing commercial actors in the value chains for rice, maize, soy, aquaculture, and cowpeas. As a result of streamlined regulations, more effective policies, improved production and processing practices, and significantly increased finance and investment flows, the project will increase the competitiveness and returns of both large and small sale agricultural enterprises. Employing a value chain approach, the Agribusiness Investment Activity aims to facilitate $100 million in new lending and $100 million in new investment across the 5 crops in the following 7 designated States: Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi, Benue, Delta, Ebonyi, and Cross River.  The USAID/Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity is a 5-year year, $15 million-dollar project implemented by CNFA as part of the United States Government’s Feed the Future Initiative.  The project’s goal is to strengthen the business enabling environment to promote private sector investment in agriculture. Activities will encompass three broad but interrelated components. First, the Agribusiness Investment Activity will improve the ease of doing business in the agricultural sector; second, the Activity will expand access to finance by mitigating the credit risks of agribusinesses; and third, the Activity will promote investment opportunities for agribusinesses to strengthen their readiness to expand and scale up their operations. Taken together, these efforts will increase the volume, added value, and diversification of agribusiness investments.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the development and implementation a MEL strategy (per the approved MEL Plan) outlining M&E systems for data collection, targeting and tracking custom and USAID/FTF indicators, knowledge management, impact assessments, learning activities and reporting in compliance with the requirements provided in the Activity contract, USAID regulations and CNFA standards;
• Support the M&E Director in working closely with other technical units in establishing and managing a GIS referencing, cloud-based MEL system and ensure data requirements are integrated into project management processes;
• Provide oversight to relevant project staff on data collection and analysis, and to ensure timely data collection, analyses, reporting, and completion of other M&E activities;
• Facilitate Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) strategies to support the use of data and information from the M&E system for real-time decision-making to improve project implementation;
• Regularly review monitoring data and help organize periodic learning days and annual learning summits with staff to help managers identify successes and make decisions about adapting activities and approaches to achieve results;
• Ensure compliance with all USAID, CNFA, and, if/where applicable, host country government reporting requirements;
• Complete other duties as necessary and assigned by M&E Director and/or Chief of Party.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience working on monitoring, evaluation and learning for donor funded projects; USAID experience is highly desirable;
• Master's degree required in relevant field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience in a relevant competency area, including Statistics, International Development, Economics or other;
• Experience using monitoring and evaluation systems with USAID-supported indicators, including Feed the Future and nutrition indicators;
• Willingness to collaborate, innovate and ability to think systematically;
• Demonstrated ability to interact and communicate with wide range of stakeholders both verbally and in writing;
• Proven experience in managing multiple and competing tasks while maintaining quality of deliverables within deadlines; and
• Strong communication skills and ability to present and write high quality technical reports in English.