MREL Lead - Skills for Prosperity at Palladium Group

Job Ref: req8030

Project Overview and Role

• Global Prosperity Fund’s ‘Skills for Prosperity’ is a £75m DFID programme, which seeks to improve the cost-effectiveness, access, quality, relevance and equity of skills through innovative approaches in 9 Middle-Income Countries around the world, including Nigeria.  
• In Nigeria, the Skills for Prosperity (S4P) country programme will work in six targeted states to:
• Improve access to quality Higher Education and TVET for youth and young women, with a focus on improving access to and the quality of apprenticeships, and supporting training institutions to deliver demand-driven, competency-based training,
• Strengthen education-to-employment linkages, and
• Build the capacity of training institutions to improve outcomes for vulnerable women and people with disabilities.
• Apprenticeships, training, and capacity building interventions will focus on identified high growth sectors of the economy (Agriculture/Agribusiness/agro-allied industries; Creative and Entertainment, and Information and Communications Technology sectors).
• S4P aims to directly benefit 6,000 youth and women in targeted states of Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Edo, Benue and Lagos.
• We are looking for talented individuals with a relevant track record, and interest or experience in the private sector and skills training. Most of all we are looking for team members with the drive to tackle new and complex challenges and work with us to learn, adapt and deliver sustainable benefits for Nigeria.
• As well as a competitive salary, bonus and benefits, we are an outgoing, creative, and supportive team and offer a personally and professional rewarding environment above all.

Scope of Work:

• Responsible for overall knowledge management and performance tracking required for successful delivery of all programme outputs
• Interrogate underlying theory of change outlined in the programme architecture; oversee its refinement and design programme logframe
• Facilitate the development of project-wide and intervention-specific results chains and ensure these are fully synchronised with the Logframe.
• Conduct baseline studies, identify measurable KPIs and support ineffective monitoring and evaluation of the program against the KPIs
• Establishing the S4P monitoring and results framework to ensure performance monitoring, impact assessment and bring out lessons learnt
• Institutionalise early warning signal mechanism and consequence management system – highlight red flags and deviations to relevant stakeholders with appropriate evidence, document closure of events
• Document and share findings of MREL, incorporating feedback from stakeholders during primary and secondary discussions
• Provide documentation and data collation support across programme’s work streams
• Support in data analytics, reporting through dashboards, senior-level presentations and MISs
• Responsible for timely submission of evaluation reports on periodic basis as agreed with DFID
• Work closely with Team Leader, PSD, Equity, and Skills Leads to incorporate continuous feedback and learning from programme implementation – document best practices and develop knowledge products in form of case studies and Thought Leadership reports

Required Qualifications

• Substantial experience managing results measurement in development projects, and preferably within skills development programmes
• Outstanding skills in data management
• Experience using both qualitative and quantitative data collection/research techniques
• Experience conducting MEL activities on DFID projects
• Previous experience leading MREL efforts in complex environments, including preferably in northern Nigeria
• Political Economy Analysis skills preferred
• Experience with the Problem Driven Iterative Approach to evidence collection and analysis
• Experience leading teams, managing contractors and partners.
• Outstanding oral and written communication skills in English
• Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisations
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities often within a required timeframe