Team Leader, USAID Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services Midterm Performance Evaluation at Social Impact (SI)

Locations: Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger
Timeline: August 2022 – December 2022

Project Objective

• USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct an external Midterm Performance Evaluation of an integrated health activity.
• This Activity aims to partner with SMEs to test, replicate, and scale models of smallholder-oriented service delivery that will rapidly, effectively, and sustainably provide access to agro-inputs and services and disseminate extension messaging to two million smallholder farmers in Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger.
• The primary purpose of this mid-term performance evaluation is to determine whether the assistance provided by USAID/Nigeria to beneficiary MSMEs through the Agriculture Extension and Advisory Services Activity is meeting the stated development objectives, and to understand the lessons learned from this Activity in Nigeria.  
• It is intended to provide an independent examination of the overall progress and accomplishments of the Activity. 
• The estimated start date will be August 15, 2022. The evaluation is expected to last until December  2022, and the estimated LOE will be 65 days, maximum.

Position Description

• We are seeking a Team Leader who will be responsible for the overall management of the evaluation team’s effort and ensuring a rigorous and high-quality evaluation. Under the technical leadership of the MEL Support Activity,
• The Team Leader will be working alongside three Nigerian team members.
• The Team Leader will consult with and facilitate input from all team members throughout the duration of the evaluation.

Responsibilities

• The Team Leader will oversee and lead on major evaluation activities, including the evaluation design, methodology development of instruments, data collection, synthesis of data, presentations, and preparation of final report with team contributions.
• Provide leadership for the team and coordinate activities as necessary.
• Coordinate with USAID/Nigeria.
• Oversee the work plan and ensure all team members are contributing expertise and technical inputs.
• Perform desk review and identify additional information required for analysis.
• Schedule and interview key stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• Coordinate team's ongoing analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
• Lead the preparation and presentation of the Inbrief and Out-brief to USAID/Nigeria and other stakeholders as requested.
• Write the draft Evaluation report with support from the team members, taking into consideration feedback from the Out-brief presentation.
• Respond to USAID comments on the draft report and prepare a final report.
• Work collaboratively with team members throughout design, implementation, analysis, and report writing to complement each other's areas of expertise.

Qualifications
The candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A graduate Degree in Agriculture Economics, Development Economics, Public Policy, Economics, Business Administration, Agriculture or a related field.
• At least ten years of experience assessing or evaluating USAID and other donor-supported agricultural policy, finance and investment, and agricultural value chain activities.
• Previous experience serving as an evaluation Team Leader on a USAID-supported agriculture-related and/or access to finance activity.
• Previous experience working in Africa.
• Experience facilitating and providing leadership in collaborative and participatory evaluations with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• The ability to produce preliminary and final reports on time.