MEL Officer at Creative Associates International

BACKGROUND

Creative Associates International Inc. is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions, and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 30 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike. 

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contracted Creative Associates International to implement the Northeast Connection activity to strengthen the resilience of communities vulnerable to violent extremist infiltration and conflict. By targeting communities not yet under the control of violent extremist organizations (VEOs), this activity will seize the opportunity to mitigate the grievances that make communities vulnerable to violent extremism, while building social cohesion within and across communities in northeast Nigeria. In addition to helping northeastern Nigerians create a stronger foundation against the violent extremist and conflict threats, the activity is designed to develop local capacity to respond to emerging threats. In order to enable flexible and adaptive management of the activity in a complex environment, the activity includes a focused effort on research and analysis of the threats and coordination around programmatic opportunities and responses.

Note: The position is based in Damaturu Yobe state

POSITION SUMMARY

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer is responsible for data management supervising the project’s research components and processing complex information related to all aspects of program activity implementation. Support in the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, interpretation, and communication of learnings to aid strategic thinking and decision making, ensure Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) in programming. The MEL Officer will be responsible for ensuring regular and consistent documentation and reporting deliverables in compliance with USAID and Creative’s data management rules and regulations.

REPORTING & SUPERVISION

The MEL Officer reports to the MEL Manager.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Participate in the development of Annual Work Plan(s) and prepare and update of the M&E activities plan to be performed according to project plans and expected deliverables and results.
• Support in organizing in data collection and analysis for beneficiary and community selection.
• Scripting and coding of survey questionnaires using Industry specific software e.g. Logalto and xls form
• Support in facilitating and monitoring research activities e.g., key informant/in-depth interviews, focus group sessions, quantitative surveys.
• Support in the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, interpretation, and communication of learnings to relevant/key Project and Management teams, to aid strategic thinking and decision making.
• Maintain an up-to-date catalog of all project M&E tools and forms in electronic and hard copy of data files.
• Manage data on the MEDAL platform
• Conduct data entry and ensure the overall quality of the data collected for consistency and accuracy.
• Identify M&E training and STTA needs and ensure that these needs are met and provide training on M&E activities as needed.
• Conduct secondary verification of all results data received from partners, including conducting verification visits, as appropriate.
• Conduct periodic research and/or case studies to measure impact of activities.
• Identify training needs and build capacity of partners’ MEL team.
• Advocate and promote scale-up of best practices and cost effectiveness with both staff and stakeholders.

Other tasks as assigned.

Required Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree is preferred Economics, Development studies, Monitoring and evaluation, Information Management Technology, and any other related course.
• Minimum two (2) years’ experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning and four (4) years of general experience.
• Demonstrated experience in M&E report writing.
• Demonstrated experience in data and knowledge management and institutional learning.
• Knowledgeable about USAID Rules and Regulations, previous experience working on USAID-funded projects is preferred.
• Demonstrated experiencing in deploying Information Communication for Technology (ICT4D).
• Excellent record keeping, and documentation skills are required.
• Proficient English skills and fluency in one or more of the local state languages in Northeastern Nigeria.
• Supervisory Responsibilities: Manage the program database (MEDAL platform)

Required Languages:

English and Hausa language.
Travel:

Must be willing and able to travel up to 30% across program target LGA’s in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa