Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Specialist - Kano at Palladium Group

PURPOSE

• The MERL Specialist will support the design and implementation of effective monitoring and evaluation processes for assigned programme interventions, following the programme's technical and MERL strategies. The key responsibilities detailed below are not exhaustive and may change as the programme grows and evolves

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the development and update of intervention guides for each intervention with special focus on results chains and monitoring plans.
• Support the conduct of various studies, including baseline and outcome surveys, market research, diagnostics, scoping studies, and GESI studies.
• Review output data from partners, carry out spot check field-based verification and upload validated data on programme MIS systems.
• Undertake frequent performance monitoring field visits and provide improvement feedback to the technical team on return.
• Conduct regular data analysis (using output-level data from partners/other sources, survey data, secondary data) and present actionable insights to the team.
• Support the design of effective tools, instruments, methods and plans for collecting data on partners and programme performance.
• Support intervention teams in gathering relevant information for their various interventions, identifying knowledge gaps where available, and developing strategies to fill those gaps.
• Work closely with the Communications and Knowledge Management team to document and disseminate stories and lessons learnt from interventions.
• Manage the day-to-day activities and performance of field-level data collectors when they are engaged by the programme.

REPORTING AND LINE MANAGEMENT

• This post will report to a MERL Manager and supervise ad hoc MERL field officers

Required Qualifications:

Core:

• BSc or MSc degree in a relevant discipline, including economics, geography, statistics, evaluation, agriculture, social sciences, or other related degrees.
• At least 3 years MERL Specialist or Officer experience working with agricultural-related programmes similar to Propcom+.

Desired:

• Experience implementing DCED standards in programmes.
• Experience working in Northern agricultural markets or value chains.
• Fluency in speaking and understanding Hausa.

Skills to be demonstrated:

• Analytical skills and expertise in using MS Excel, Power BI, and other data analysis tools.
• Development of surveys and data collection instruments using KoboToolbox.
• Verbal and written communication skills (in English)
• Soft skills: strategic thinking, detail orientation, problem-solving, analytical, teamwork, team management, and task management skills.