Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist at DAI

Position Objectives:

• The MEL Specialist in the state field office (FO) will support the implementation of all MEL interventions in the state, including data collection and management, monitoring, and reporting as well as providing cross-cutting support as needed.

Responsibilities:

The MEL Specialist will:

• Oversee the execution of the M&E strategy at the state-level, ensuring interventions are rooted in local context and serve as learning platforms for future interventions.
• Work closely with Director Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (DMEL), Senior MEL Specialist and other MEL Specialists to ensure the strategic and functional integration of all MEL interventions as well as active collaboration with donors, other implementers, and local counterparts.
• Oversee MEL interventions, provide technical direction, and support the design process, guide the direction of implementation and ensure results for contract interventions are adequately captured, reported and documented.
• Will undertake, with DMEL guidance, investigations of reform issues and possible solutions.
• Support State2State's Collaborative Learning and Adaptive (CLA) approach and facilitate reviews to determine whether initiatives, are producing the expected results.
• Assist with timely rapid scans of the political economy, conflict, and PFM, and measure State2State’s impact within states.
• Oversee data collection, analysis and management of the Activity’s results and indicators, as well as the compilation of state data required on a regular basis to track program performance.
• Verify and conduct data audits and collection procedures.
• Support M&E training of staff and assist in cultivating a culture of learning.
• Collaborate with Program Specialists to produce qualitative data for both quarterly and annual reporting.
• Ensure office cooperation with internal/external data quality assessments as well as timely and appropriate sharing of activity information.
• Other reasonable responsibilities not explicitly included herein as assigned by the DMEL.

Reporting:

The MEL Specialist in the state FO reports to the DMEL in the Main Office technically and works with colleagues across units and teams and reports secondarily/administratively to the State Team Lead.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in any of the following or related fields: social science, international development, evaluation research, statistics, and economics. Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience designing, managing, and implementing results-based MEL activities. The ideal candidate possesses experience in democracy and governance sector projects, especially USAID-funded projects.
• Experience in tracking and submitting M&E data is required.
• Experience working with government (national, subnational, and local) and civil society organization (CSO) strengthening in Nigeria is highly desirable.
• Ability to work collaboratively, foster goodwill, and build coalitions with relevant sectoral agencies, groups, and organizations.
• Ability to analyze and contextualize data related to Public Finance Management (PFM), citizens engagement and conflict mitigation issues especially as it relates to Education, Health, and WASH sector.
• Technical skills in analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, with excellent organizational, oral, and written communications skills in English.
• Progressively responsible experience in monitoring and evaluation; preferably in democracy and governance programs and working with development agencies and organizations, government officials, CSOs leaders, community leaders, project beneficiaries, and project staff.
• Extensive knowledge of reporting procedures, best practices, guidelines, and tools for monitoring, evaluation, and learning, including impact evaluation.
• Ability to conduct research and documentation.
• Experience using USAID Monitors for quarterly and annual data reporting preferred.
• Supervisory skills, and ability to work well on a team.
• Proficient in Microsoft programs, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc., and the ability to use various commercially available statistical software programs.
• Strong attention to detail is required.