Geographic Information System (GIS) / Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist - WATIH Project at Creative Associates International

Project Summary

• The objective of the West Africa Tradeand Investment Hub (WATIH) is to improve private sector competitiveness with a focus on increasing the agricultural productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in Nigeria and promoting West Africa’s regional and international trade.
• The West Africa Trade and Investment Hub comprises of three main components:
  • Design of a Competitiveness Fund for private sector partnerships
  • Administration of the Competitiveness Fund to develop private sector partnerships and provide grants;
  • Technical assistance (TA) that directly supports, coordinates, and organizes qualifying recipients (i.e., partners and grantees) to achieve USAID’s trade and food security objectives.
• The Trade Hub will contribute to both USAID/Nigeria’s Feed the Future objectives related to increasing the agricultural competitiveness of smallholder farmers in Nigeria as well as USAID/West Africa’s objective to increase broad-based growth and resilience.

Position Summary

• The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)/GIS Specialist will provide support to the MEL Director to design and implement the overall Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan for a large, West-Africa based USAID project.
• The MEL/GIS Specialist will support in designing and implementing its monitoring system along with multiple mixed methods baseline and evaluation activities and assessment.
• S/he will serve as the technical lead supporting the creation and visualization of data layers and map products using ArcGIS Desktop/Portal or other platforms and integrating these into MEDAL, the company web-based database.

Reporting & Supervision:

• The MEL/GIS Specialist will report to the MEL Director and receive technical support from the Senior Director, Design Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning based in the Washington, D.C. office.
• The MEL/GIS Specialist will supervise the MEL Officer based in Abuja, Nigeria.

Primary Responsibilities

• Provide support to the MEL Director in developing Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems, including data quality assurance procedures, and compiling, processing, and analyzing activity performance data.
• Manage web-based geospatial content/apps/systems.
• Plans, schedules, conducts, or coordinates detailed work. Independently responds to technical/administrative instructions on results expected.
• Defines optimum workflows for managing geospatial data, and designs, implements, and tests configuration changes to ArcGIS Portal/MEDAL platforms.
• Review technical requirements to meet objectives and perform quality assurance on a variety of geospatial content/services.
• Ensure regular and consistent supporting documentation and that reporting deliverables are met timely and in compliance with USAID rules and regulations.
• Participate in the development of Annual Work Plan(s), prepare and annual updating of the MEL Plan in alignment with project’s expected deliverables and results.
• Maintain an up-to-date catalog of all project MEL tools and forms in electronic and hard copy data files;
• Ensure quality and streamlined data and geographic information in Creative corporate web-based MEL platform MEDAL (Monitoring and Evaluation Database for Adaptive Learning);
• Coordinate with regional project’s field staff to receive grantees’ raw MEL datasets, populate MEDAL, building global dashboards, suggest changes and improvements to data structuring and collection;
• Analyze data and create user-friendly dashboards / visualizations for the Trade Hub;
• Assist in the collection, storage, and analysis of accurate, high quality, and reliable data and GIS information, in particular, ensure performance indicators and output, outcome, and impact data are prepared and collected properly in targeted geographic and thematic areas;
• Identify in-country MEL training and STTA needs of grantees and ensure that these needs are met and provide training on MEL activities as needed;
• Ensure that partners submit reports within the agreed time schedule;
• Conduct project site visits to collect quantitative and qualitative data; including site visits for secondary verification of data results.
• Supports the project’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) approach to monitoring and evaluation.
• Design and conduct spatial analysis to support M&E indicator reporting, including providing geo-located data and spatial products on applicable project indicators.
• Prepare customized GIS databases and create maps for field staff and institutional partners; and
• Perform other tasks as assigned by the MEL Director.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Geography, Planning, or Geographic Information System (GIS) relevant field is required.
• Must have 5+ years general work experience and 3+ years’ experience international development programming and experience implementing GIS/M&E systems for U.S. Government-funded projects in Economic Growth, Feed the Future, and Livelihoods sectors;
• Demonstrated experience with quantitative analytical geographic software such as ArcGIS;
• Demonstrated experience in the application of spatial analysis to land use, land use change, or land planning;
• Demonstrated experience with qualitative and data visualization software such as ATLAS;
• Experience in digital drafting, geographic information system design, implementation and management;
• Extensive proficiency with ESRI suite of software products, specifically Python, scripting for ArcGIS (ArcPy), ArcGIS, ArcOnline, and Model Building;
• Experience with Microsoft Office products and Adobe Suite, RDBMS and GPS data collection;
• Proficiency with Internet/Intranet based GIS Solutions;
• Experience working with international donors, as well as counterparts and beneficiaries (e.g., international and local NGOs and government representatives); Knowledge of M&E approach of other, non-U.S. donor or Agencies);
• Experience conducting field research required; including using qualitative and quantitative techniques;
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and teamwork; and
• Advanced knowledge of Spoken and Written English required.