Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting Specialist at CAMRIS International

Overview

• CAMRIS seeks to engage a highly qualified and motivated team to implement the anticipated USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) Nigeria and Lake Chad Basin (NLCB) program. 
• The 43-month program will support locally driven efforts to strengthen stability in Lake Chad Basin countries.  All positions require a willingness to travel throughout Nigeria, including the northeast.  Women are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Assigned to an activity management team (AMT), the Monitoring, Evaluation, & Reporting Specialists (MERS) monitor activities being implemented, assess the intended and unintended outcomes, tests the theories of change and assumptions underpinning the program’s approaches and interventions, and shares findings and lessons to inform future programming.  MERSes will be based in all NLCB offices, initially Abuja, Maiduguri, and Damaturu, and activities will be carried out in targeted areas and communities across northeastern Nigeria as well as in communities along Nigeria’s borders and may extend into neighboring LCB countries. 
• Extensive and frequent travel throughout the northeast is expected and required.  MERSes gather, analyze, and process complex information related to all aspects of program activity implementation. MERSes employ a range of approaches and tools and work with and train external parties to carry out monitoring and evaluation of NLCB activities. 
• MERSes contribute to cultivating a culture of learning and continual improvement within their assigned AMT and across the program.

Responsibilities

• Participate in regular team meetings to discuss current country context issues, present and discuss activity ideas, and report on the progress of activity implementation.
• Support the Program Development Officer (PDO) to develop activity-level M&E plans.
• Develop agile, user friendly systems for both monitoring, evaluation, and learning that can feed into the USAID/OTI database’s capability to track monitoring, evaluation, and learning data for individual activities and clusters of activities.
• Identify appropriate evaluation methodologies to support the NLCB program which is designed to rapidly implement a large volume of small and short-term activities.
• Carry out direct monitoring and evaluations of activities and clusters of activities.
• Train and support third-parties and external groups to carry out monitoring, evaluation, and learning for activities in remote and insecure
• Attend periodic team meetings to discuss current country context issues and understand activities being considered for development and approval, under implementation, and being closed and which may be appropriate for case-study evaluations and/or cluster analysis.
• Coordinate daily with the PDO to prioritize M&E tasks for activities under implementation and/or completed.
• Conduct site visits during activity implementation phase.
• Enter data into the USAID/OTI Database and share M&E information with PDO, which can be incorporated into “final evaluation reports” (FER) and reflected in new activity development.
• Identify lessons learned, constraints, and activity outcomes, intended and unintended positive and negative outcomes.
• Share observations from monitoring visits with Regional Program Manager, Chief of Party, and USAID/OTI staff especially when findings raise areas of concern or point to unintended positive outcomes.
• Support PDO and Grants Specialist (GS) assessing and documenting impact and outcomes of activities.
• Work closely with the PDO and GS to generate ideas for and draft success stories and case studies about program activities.
• Synthesize and write reports and make presentations on monitoring, evaluation, and learning from activity implementation.
• Work with the PDO, GS, and short term technical assistance (STTA) consultants to facilitate the timely production of monitoring, evaluation, learning, and other analytical reports.
• Implement ‘3-month-after’ and/or cluster evaluations and beneficiary satisfaction studies; document the lessons learned from the activity development and implementation process.
• Synthesize, analyze and effectively disseminate findings to various stakeholders.
• Participate in professional training and development activities, as necessary.
• Represent the program positively and professionally in both internal and external environments.
• Responsible for using the USAID/OTI Database daily, updating activity notes, and capturing observations and information from the field on the outputs, outcomes, and impact of activities.
• Play an active role in activity monitoring and evaluation and contribute to the feedback loop, which uses information gathered about ongoing activity implementation to inform development of new activities.
• Any other duties and tasks as needed and assigned.

Qualifications
Required Skills & Experience:

• Four-year university degree in political science, development, sociology, law, social or political science, or related field.
• Minimum of three (3) years of work experience.
• Two (2) years’ work experience in M&E, social science research, qualitative and quantitative research, preferably with an international organization, USAID Contractor, or a large international donor-funded project.
• Willingness and ability to develop in-depth understanding of USAID/OTI’s M&E processes, tools, and best practices.
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout northeastern Nigeria.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated experience in community participation/engagement-type projects and violence prevention.
• In-depth knowledge of northeastern Nigeria and the NLCB program’s target states and communities.
• Solid knowledge of how to leverage new technology, remote monitoring platforms, and social media to gather and analyze local context and perceptions data.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Ability to identify and develop creative and innovative approaches to monitor activity outcomes and support the AMT to evolve and hone and improve activities design and implementation based on findings from action research.
• Capacity to understand and analyze the political and security context at the local, state, federal, and regional levels.
• Ability to work with local, national, and international partners and third-parties supporting M&E.
• Ability to draft well written succinct reports.
• Ability to work under pressure, efficiently handle multiple tasks, quickly find creative solutions to problems and challenges that arise, and manage stress and time in a fast-paced work and fluid operating environment.
• Ability to foster and maintain a spirit of unity, teamwork, cooperation, and learning.
• Sensitivity in working with multiple cultures and beliefs, and to gender equity.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
• Prior experience working in northeastern Nigeria and/or a conflict environment.
• Written and spoken fluency in English.
• Fluency in one or more of the local languages used in northeastern Nigeria (Hausa, Kanuri, and Fulfulde, etc.).
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Familiarity and experience with data visualization, mapping tools, and remote data collection platforms.
• Prior experience with USAID- or donor-funded projects.
• Prior experience using MS Access and/or web-based database applications.