Agriculture Economist - STTA at DevTech Systems, Inc.

Scope of Work
The Agriculture Economist will work closely with the Team Lead and the evaluation team to:

• Review available information to identify information gaps and refine data collection tasks accordingly.
• Design data collection instruments for individual interviews and focus group discussions.
• Design discussion guides for stakeholder roundtables.
• Develop a detailed work plan for USAID approval.
• Plan the logistics of the evaluation field work; the team will conduct individual interviews with FtF Nigeria Agricultural Policy Activity stakeholders who are identified in the target areas and groups section of this SOW.
• Facilitate focus group discussions (roundtables). These group discussions will seek to answer the evaluation questions and bring together stakeholders involved with the project.

Technical Responsibilities
For this evaluation, the Agriculture Economist will:

• Review all background documents and preparation work, as provided by USAID/Nigeria’s Economic Growth and Environment (EGE) Office.
• Prepare for and attend team planning meetings and in-brief with USAID, including contributing to the development of the in-brief PowerPoint presentation (in accordance with USAID ADS Style and Format Guide).
• Contribute to the development and revisions of workplan and data collection tools, including pre-testing and revisions, as directed by the Team Lead, based on the background review documents and the in-brief with USAID.
• Support in planning and arranging logistics for the field work, including reaching out to and scheduling interviews with stakeholders, identifying suitable stakeholders for interviews, and ensuring meeting locations.
• Incorporate USAID and MEL team feedback into the workplan and data collection tools, as necessary and to the satisfaction of USAID/Nigeria.
• Conduct information and data collection activities (key informant interviews and focus group discussions) in Abuja and throughout Nigeria, as determined by USAID and the Team Lead, and as guided by the work plan and data collection tools.
• Upload interview notes to the Agriculture Policy Evaluation SharePoint within 24 hours of completion of interview/discussion.
• Contribute to the development of the draft evaluation report, incorporating feedback from USAID/Nigeria and the MEL team.
• Support in the preparation and presentation of preliminary findings/exit brief to USAID/Nigeria’s EGE Office.
• Contribute to the development of final evaluation report, and consideration and inclusion of USAID’s feedback until USAID/Nigeria’s EGE Office accepts and approves the final version of the evaluation report.
• Contribute to the development of the 2-3 page summary of the evaluation methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
• Use the MEL Activity’s internal SharePoint for all evaluation materials management to ensure safety and integrity of MEL’s intellectual property.

Deliverables, Level of Effort, & Schedule
The Agriculture Economist will be responsible for supporting the following deliverables:

• Document Review Summary and proposed outline of draft evaluation report (either prior to the field or at the end of first week of interviewing).
• Detailed Work Plan detailing evaluation methodological approach and draft schedule of field activities and draft and final questionnaire (s) to be used during interviews (prior to travel to the field).
• Summary of initial findings, including a PowerPoint Briefing (at the end of follow up and synthesis effort and prior to Team’s departure from Nigeria).
• Draft Evaluation Report.
• A summary of “key steps in the evaluation, key findings, recommendations and next steps” and a PowerPoint presentation of these.
• Final Evaluation Report (within two weeks of receiving Mission comments on draft report).
• The Agriculture Economist will have 46 days LOE for all evaluation activities.

Qualifications & Experience Requirements

• Must possess a bachelors degree in agriculture, agricultural policy, agribusiness, economics, or related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience conducting both qualitative and quantitative evaluations.
• Technical competence in the field of agriculture, agricultural policy, agribusiness and agriculture value chains, economics, or related fields.
• Strong report writing and analytical skills in English.
• Familiarity with USAID ADS Style and Format Guide.
• Strong knowledge of the Nigerian agricultural policy environment.