MEL (System Strengthening) Specialist at RTI International

Job Description

• The MEL (Systems Strengthening) Specialist shall be individually responsible for monitoring and supporting implementation of all MEL system strengthening activities.
• S / he will also support tracking of all capacity building / training activities in alignment with the approved workplan.
• The Specialist will support the conduct of targeted MEL Capacity building activities for USAID E-WASH states teams, State Water Corporations, Federal Ministry of Water Resources and State Water Regulatory Commissions / agencies / units.

Essential Duties

• Monitor and work closely with the MEL Advisor and other team members to implement the programs MEL plan and systems.
• Support implementation of USAID E-WASH MEL capacity building/system strengthening plan for USAID E-WASH State Teams and partners (FMWR, SMWR, SWC and Regulatory Commission)
• Work closely with the Snr. MEL Advisor in facilitating establishment/restructuring/activating of Departments of Planning Research and statistics/MEL units at the FMWR/SWCs/SMWR/ Water Regulatory Commissions.
• Facilitate the development of MEL capacity building/training SoW, budget, training curriculum, training manuals, training contents, job aids and training reports
• Work closely with the State Teams and Communications team to develop learning/KM products to highlight key research findings, implementation lessons and best practices identified based on implementation of capacity building/training activities.
• Work closely with the Advisors, State Teams and PMS to ensure all capacity building/training activities and achievements are aligned to the approved workplan and respective KPIs and Result Areas.
• Lead on tracking implementation of USAID E-WASH Global training plan and SWC Organizational development (OD) MEL audit capacity building plan and SWACAT Capacity building plan for the SWCs.
• Lead on developing and managing USAID E-WASH Capacity building/training database to ensure accountability and documentation for learning.
• Collaborate with the Senior MEL Advisor to conduct capacity building related field-based assessments and evaluations i.e. Data Quality Assessments (DQA), and other rolling assessments to inform program learning and adaptive management measures.
• Support conduct of routine field visits and spot checks to support capacity building related surveys (CAPP Assessment, Gender Assessment, WASHCOAT, Innovation capacity building assessment) as well as support the development of program reports i.e. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) reports, Grants Monitoring Reports (GMRs), Activity Monitoring Reports (AMRs) to ensure capacity building/training results are well captured quantitively and qualitatively.
• Identify potential capacity building/system strengthening research areas of interests related to E-WASH program focus and work to develop evidence-based articles and publications.
• Handle additional ad-hoc responsibilities as assigned by the Snr. MEL Advisor or required by the USAID E-WASH program.

Minimum Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Science or education-related field.
• A minimum of master’s degree and 3 years of experience in leading implementation of MEL capacity building/system strengthening of WASH-related programme or a Bachelor's Degree and 6 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience in leading implementation of MEL capacity building/system strengthening of WASH-related programme
• A Master’s degree in a relevant professional field and experience working on donor-funded projects especially USAID would be most beneficial.
• Familiarity with developing and implementing robust MEL System strengthening and capacity building strategies for the WASH sector is highly required. Urban WASH MEL experience will be an added advantaged.
• Strong technical skills in developing capacity building/training materials and products (training plan, training curriculum, Training manual, SoPs and Job aids) is required.
• Strong technical skills in data management, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), survey and questionnaire design, household surveys and mapping, and/or conducting field-based assessment is required.
• Experience with mobile-based data collection tools is desirable. Skilled proficiency in Excel, Word, and other Microsoft (MS) Office software; data analysis software (such as Excel, SPSS or Stata, kobo).
• Experience in knowledge management and communications for outcome reporting including conducting research focused studies and assessments as a basis for developing learning/KM products (i.e. fact sheets, newsletters, outcome journals) will be an added advantage
• Knowledge of USAID’s Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation (CLA) approach is beneficial.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Possess excellent organizational, analytical, oral and written communications skills in English.
• Possess excellent facilitation and presentation skills.
• Ability to work well on a team.