MEL Specialist- Horticurity Project at TechnoServe

Job Summary:

Under the overall guidance of the Project management, the MEL Specialist will perform activities related to monitoring, evaluation and learning for the project, including organizing and implementing data collection and analysis for the project. He/she will serve as a point of contact for data collection and aggregation that supports project reporting and will provide inputs to inform project decision-making and adaptive management.

Program/Practice/Department Overview:

The project seeks to increase the accessibility, and availability of fruits and vegetables while improving the resilience to climate and economic shocks, of low-income communities of Delta and Kaduna The project will deploy a combination of innovative pilots and scale up already proven solutions to address the food security challenges in Kaduna and Delta States by improving access to, availability and affordability of nutritious foods for select low-income communities in Kaduna and Delta states, while improving their incomes building their resilience to price and climate-related shocks and stresses.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

The MEL specialist will support MEL implementation for the project, including:

• Coordinate data collection from primary data sources to final reporting and reporting against project performance indicators and emergent project information needs
• Support application of qualitative and quantitative methods to inform knowledge gaps
• Contribute to the design of forms, surveys, and indices as well as the data management system
• Perform regular development of databases and dashboards
• Perform regular data quality assessments, data cleaning, and data analysis
• Conduct field visits to understand the context and identify additional data needs
• Provide ongoing technical assistance and training to project technical staff on their role in performing data collection, basic analysis, and data review and use
• Coordinate the project’s learning agenda through data collection, analysis and reporting and in the mobilization of consultants and other experts for specific learning questions
• Ensure that project’s monitoring system captures impact of project activities on women and other disadvantaged groups
• Become familiarized with the applicable donor rules and regulations, including the donor’s evaluation guidelines and indicator handbook
• Understand the specific MEL deliverables that the project is contractually responsible for, and manage their development

Provide inputs to data-driven decision-making:

• Assist in the process of adaptive management in the project using project MEL data
• Support the documentation of best practices and production of information to capture and share lessons learned
• Support information flows across the implementation team and the sharing and analysis of new information
• Actively engage with project staff on areas for course correction, serving as a collaborative and reflective source of information to inform project progress.
• Assist in the development of all project reports.

Participate in the broader MEL ecosystem at TechnoServe:

• Attend capacity building meetings and other relevant events related to MEL as directed
• Support access to and insight into the project’s MEL approach to facilitate the Regional MEL’s assessment of the project against organizational standards and annual impact reporting
• Assist in the development of corporate measurement reports as required

Basic Qualifications:

These are the requirements that any qualified candidate must meet. Typically includes

• Bachelor's Degree in Business management, Agribusiness, project management, social sciences or related discipline with 3 years’ experience (alternatively Master's Degree + 1 years’ experience) in monitoring and evaluation and also donor funded programming.
• Demonstrable critical skills in data collection, analysis and reporting, and performance monitoring of donor funded projects.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the enterprise development landscape in Nigeria Minimum years of experience.
• Experience utilizing M&E methods and methodologies (including qualitative, quantitative, and participatory methods as well as the use of causal logic in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating projects) Technical skills required to do this job.
• Ability to work in a multicultural context as a flexible and respectful team player.
• Proficiency in working with Comcare is an advantage.
• Proficient in MS Office: MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel.

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional qualifications that would make a candidate more desirable.

• Experience working in Nigeria
• Experience working with an INGO
• Experience working on an entrepreneurship donor funded projects