Monitoring/Evaluation and Project Portfolio Management Specialist (Technical Assistance) - OWAS/AWF at African Development Bank - AfDB

Objectives

• The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) which aims to mobilize resources to promote the water sector and investment in Africa. It was originally created as part of the African Water Vision and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), its mission now covers the implementation of the MDGs.
• The African Development Bank is hosting the Facility at AMCOW’s request. AWF resources are mainly focusing on: the preparation of infrastructure projects and programmes, water resource management projects and programmes for the creation of a more conducive environment for the sustainable management of national and regional water resources and small-scale strategic direct investments.
• The AWF plans, organizes and conducts activities related to project and programme cycle (identification, preparation, implementation and supervision) in the above areas and in all African countries.
• The Facility conducts studies on issues relating to water sector development and related areas, in line with its 2012-2016 Operational Strategy and the 2017-2025 Long-Term Strategy, which is being prepared.
• It provides advice and technical assistance to African countries and ensures coordination and synergy with other partners and donors in the water and sanitation sector in Africa. To carry out the above activities, the Bank is recruiting multidisciplinary staff with expertise in its core areas of intervention.
• The monitoring/evaluation (M&E) and project portfolio management officer will be responsible for: (i) developing and implementing the Facility’s monitoring and evaluation system to improve feedback to the Facility’s donors; (ii) managing project portfolio to improve portfolio quality; (iii) supporting project managers with project-cycle activities in the implementation of M&E systems assessment at the national or regional levels; and (iv) informing financiers on project preparations completed to facilitate financial closure of projects prepared.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Division Manager, the Investment Officers will be responsible for:

Developing and implementing AWF’s  monitoring and evaluation system:

• Analyzing the current monitoring and evaluation system and improving it with the objective of reporting on the results of the implementation of the 2017-2025 strategy;
• Developing and conducting necessary system information inquiries;
• Defining study needs necessary for system information, recruiting consultants and overseeing the completion of the studies;
• Participating in the drafting of AWF annual reports and other corporate documents;
• Analyzing monitoring and evaluation system results, and producing relevant knowledge products.

Project portfolio management:

• Developing portfolio management tools and dashboards;
• Defining action plans in collaboration with project managers to improve project quality, and monitoring project implementation; and
• Analyzing project portfolio structure and trend, and proposing measures for ensuring project quality at entry;

Supporting project managers on project-cycle activities:

• Conducting a review of submitted project proposals in the Facility’s project pipeline to ensure that monitoring/evaluation and information system concerns are properly taken into account before project implementation;
• Ensuring that concerns related to monitoring/evaluation and information management are taken into account in project completion reports and that knowledge management products are sourced from them.

Facilitating information flow to potential project financiers:

• Developing communication tools to attract the interest of financiers for projects prepared for the Facility’s financing (website module, newsletter, reports, etc.);
• Creating a network of focal points among potential financiers who will be kept informed of development projects being prepared;
• Participating in the preparation of events to connect project owners and financiers with the objective of facilitating project financial closure;

Miscellaneous / Other tasks:

• Helping to strengthen partnerships with civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral cooperation agencies and international and regional organizations for the development of joint activities in the areas of monitoring, evaluation and information management; and
• Developing capacity building programmes in the areas of monitoring, evaluation and knowledge management in countries and regional organizations through seminars, workshops and conferences aimed at promoting support for the adoption of good practices in this important domain which is often overlooked.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience

• Hold a least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Economics, Water Resources Management, Civil Engineering, International Development or a related field;
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of professional experience in monitoring and evaluation; experience as project portfolio manager would be an asset;
• Experience in developing the water and sanitation sector in Africa;
• Extensive experience in evaluation methodology, data collection and analysis;
• Experience in developing and coordinating professional networks would be an asset;
• Strong knowledge in the use of analytical software, databases and good IT skills (MS Office);
• Proven experience in organizational capacity building and / or training on monitoring and evaluation;
• Strong sense of coordination and management of project teams; and
• Ability to effectively communicate in English and/ or French (written and oral), with practical knowledge of the other would be an asset.