Fount for Nations
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Pamodzi for Inclusive Education in South-East Africa (PIESEA)
Background
The Pamodzi for Inclusive Education in South-East Africa is a three (3) year project to be implemented by a transnational consortium of four organizations based in Africa funded by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) through the grant agent Oxfam IBIS under the Education Out Loud (EOL) program. The consortium is led by Rays of Hope Ministries, an NGO based in Malawi, and its partners: Fount for Nations – Malawi, Kesho Kenya – Kenya, and Shule Direct – Tanzania.
The project focuses on the awareness gap, and the disconnect between inclusive education policies and implementation in Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania. Despite that, there is a strong global, regional, and national policy framework on inclusive education, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania still score low on inclusive education policy awareness and there is a huge disconnect between the policy framework and subsequent implementation. The project is the Operational Component 3; one of the three funding streams that aims at creating a stronger global and transnational enabling environment for national civil society advocacy and transparency efforts under the EOL program.
To achieve the project’s goal effectively and efficiently, the consortium is in the process of engaging services of a qualified and passionate team in inclusive education experience, practice, and policy for the following position.
MEAL Officer
The Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer will be based in each partner in the consortium. The incumbent will have a dotted line reporting arrangement to the consortium’s (Regional) MEAL Specialist based at the lead, Rays of Hope and a direct reporting arrangement to Fount for Nations Programs Manager. The officer will lead all MEAL activities, and oversee performance, monitoring, data capturing and analysis. Specifically, the position holder will also assist in designing data collection tools, training of staff in MEAL, and ensuring that data collected is of high quality. In close collaboration with the MEAL Specialist, the officer will design and implement a monitoring and evaluation system ensuring that PIESEA’s successes and challenges are tracked to improve implementation, and achieve the goals of the project.
Key Areas of Accountability
Monitoring
- The Officer shall work with the program team to develop a detailed plan to monitor and evaluate the program guided by the log-frame to track progress in reference to the developed indicators.
- The incumbent shall lead monitoring activities such as tool design and analysis in collaboration with the Specialists.
- The officer will be expected to organize the planning for project data quality audits and monitor and coordinate routine data quality audits conducted in different sites, compile results at the level of the project at national level and develop actions plans to implement corrective measures
- Coordinate data gathering and data management of population-based surveys and surveillance activities.
- Design questionnaires for monitoring purposes and apply the different interview techniques (structured/semi-structured).
- Conduct regular site visits or when required to monitor and assist the project team in the data collection process to ensure data quality.
- Support in installing and configuring mobile data collection tools (okd collect, kobo collect, etc.) On smart phones or tablets and manage data on mobile servers (kobo form builder, ona form builder, etc.)
- The Officer shall ensure that there are up-to-date monitoring activities including data collection for all project, in line with the project targets, and done efficiently.
- The incumbent shall always improve monitoring and evaluation procedures and systems with support from the MEAL Specialist.
Data Analysis
- Support meal and the project/program team on conducting statistical analysis including descriptive (univariate and bivariate data analysis) and inferential analysis using statistical software.
- Support the qualitative analysis, and develop topical outlines (coding)
- Develop spatial data from maps, documents, and other data sources.
- Triangulate findings from several qualitative and quantitative sources.
- Interpret statistical data for use in decision-making and synthesize quantitative and qualitative information for write-up/reports and decision making.
Evaluation
- The officer shall track all the MEAL frameworks and consistently provide the program team with clear analysis of tracked indicators.
- The incumbent shall make a comprehensive situation analysis to inform an evaluation
- The incumbent shall ensure the collection of relevant and appropriate data needed for an effective M&E system to improve all identified gaps for reporting on donor commitments and other key stakeholders.
- Support the administrative and logistic process of evaluations involving external evaluators.
- Train and supervise data gathering of internal performance evaluation and design and synthesize the findings from participative evaluation techniques (actively involving affected communities in the evaluation exercises).
- Strengthen monitoring and evaluation procedures and systems with support from the MEAL Specialist.
Accountability
- The position holder shall ensure that there exist proper training protocols and field work protocols and are followed by everyone in the team.
- He/she shall enforce accountability practices through systematic and consistent field needs assessment.
- The position holder shall facilitate monitoring and evaluation visits by external or third-party stakeholders.
Learning
- The officer shall build the capacity of staff through training and support for greater responsibility and effective implementation of M&E systems, including for information gathering, periodic reflection and analysis of program monitoring data follow up and post implementation monitoring within the mission
- Establish basic learning systems that incorporate program studies’ findings, lessons learnt, achievements and gaps, and develop all the tools required to support learning practices.
- Organize internal reviews and lessons learned workshops and present practical recommendations
- Provide technical support to the team on establishing and maintaining effective feedback mechanisms for decision making, fully in line with commitments regarding accountability to affected populations (AAP), with a particular focus on gender and social inclusion.
- The Incumbent shall add value to the organization development, including providing support in developing systems to track progress on capacity strengthening on all MEAL functions.
- The position holder shall provide regular feedback to the project team and MEAL manager on project implementation learning’s.
Oversight
The MEAL Officer shall have no supervisory responsibility.
Accountability
The incumbent shall have dotted reporting line to the MEAL Specialist, while reporting to the Programs Manager.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree preferably in the field of social sciences, demography, statistics, special needs, inclusive education or development studies obtained from accredited universities
- MEAL related certifications or trainings speaking to theory of change and other impact tracking tools.
- 3 – 5 years’ experience in MEAL system development, data collection and analysis, MEAL tools development, program design in complex projects around advocacy and lobbying.
- Demonstrated experience on MEAL in a consortium and remotely
- Proven ability to develop and deliver MEAL capacity strengthening programs remotely through training, supervising, coaching, and mentoring.
Other Essential Attributes
- Analytical, strategic, and planning skills with hands-on ability to lead complex projects
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a demonstrated experience to meet deadlines, work independently, attentive to detail, and a team player
- Competency in using statistical software EPI-Info, SPSS, and STATA.
- Possess the skills in qualitative data analysis software such as MaxQDA, NVivo, Atlas.ti
- Possess the skills in mobile data collection software such as Ona, KoboToolBox
- Have the analytical, conceptual, and strategic thinking skills.
Mode of Application
Interested applicants should apply through the following link by close of business on 30th November 2022. Only shortlisted applicants will be acknowledged. https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/ircnVofR