International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) Vacancy for a Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) is a public
international organization addressing critical issues such as
international food security, the alleviation of global hunger and
poverty, environmental protection and the promotion of economic
development and self-sufficiency. IFDC focuses on increasing
productivity across the agricultural value chain in developing
countries. This is achieved by the creation and transfer of effective
and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness
expertise.
We are recruiting to fill the below position:
Job Title: Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist for 2SCALE and SMS in Nigeria
Location: Kano, Nigeria
Type of contract: Full time
Indicative starting date: July 2016
Background
The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) specialist will support two
connected public-private partnership programs, i.e., the 2SCALE program
in Africa, and the SMS program in Northern Nigeria. The 2SCALE program,
funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, is one of
the largest incubator programs for inclusive agribusiness in sub-Saharan
Africa.
2SCALE (www.2scale.org) develops a portfolio of public-private
partnerships in nine target countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Côte
d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and
Uganda). These partnerships aim to promote inclusive business in
agriculture, through support to value chain development, agribusiness
cluster formation and enabling business environments.
The agribusiness cluster approach is designed to help rural smallholders
move from subsistence farming to farming as a business and to supply
agricultural products for local, national, regional and international
markets. The project partners with national and multinational agro-food
companies as drivers to increase productivity and to improve efficiency
and sustainability of supported agribusiness clusters and value chains.
Specific attention is given to “base of the pyramid” consumers and
producers; they are the vast majority of people and therefore the
largest market for food products in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Context Global Development (Context) selected the International
Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) as a sub-grantee to implement a
two-year (2016-2017) pilot project in Northern Nigeria, entitled Sorghum
and Millet in the Sahel (SMS). The purpose of the pilot project is to
strengthen the resilience of sorghum/ millet farming systems in
Northwestern Nigeria, by empowering smallholder farmers to develop
farming as a sustainable business. The pilot project is funded by the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and is part of a larger
action-research program managed by Context that also involves Burkina
Faso and Mali.
Building on the approach set by its 2SCALE program, IFDC partners with
Nestlé to source high-quality sorghumfrom Nigerian smallholder farmers,
and facilitate the development and strengthening of business
relationships among the value chain actors and supporters.
The objective is to deepen our understanding of how partnerships, built
with grassroots actors (farmers and their local networks, called
agribusiness clusters) and the companies and entrepreneurs driving the
value chain, achieve impact; and what the business models are that
support both competitiveness and inclusiveness. This learning agenda
will help identify incentives for smallholders to invest (or not) in
sorghum productivity, and possible scaling pathways for the post-pilot
phase.
The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) specialist will, in consultation
with 2SCALE management and technical staff, develop the M&E systems
to measure the performance and impact of 2SCALE in IFDC’s North and
West Africa Division (NWAFD), with focus on Nigeria, and of the SMS
program in Nigeria. M&E systems will be designed at program and
partnership levels, and all systems and procedures will be conducted in
accordance with the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plans (PMEPs)
of 2SCALE and SMS.
Position Summary
- The M&E Specialist for 2SCALE and SMS in Nigeria is
responsible for leading the execution of the 2SCALE and SMS PMEPs, and
coordinating related activities within both projects and via partners in
Nigeria.
- S/he will design and orchestrate efforts that monitor outcomes
against targets; enable management, donors and partners to gain feedback
and deduce lessons.
- S/he is also responsible for providing timely and relevant information to project managers, partners and donors.
- The M&E Specialist will contribute to the development of
institutional capacity and M&E initiatives of divisional and global
scope.
Supervision:
- The M&E Specialist for 2SCALE and SMS in Nigeria will be
supervised by and report directly to the 2SCALE Chief of Party (on
2SCALE) and the SMS Team Leader.
- S/he will work closely together with other M&E specialists (currently only one) for 2SCALE/ NWAFD.
- Outside the West African project team, the M&E Specialist
will collaborate closely with his/her counterpart in East/Southern
Africa and with Division-level M&E Specialists.
Time allocation:
- It is anticipated that the M&E Specialist will work for
about 60% on SMS and 40% on 2SCALE. Specific duties on 2SCALE in Nigeria
will be decided in close consultation with the full-time 2SCALE/ NWAFD
M&E specialist and the Supervisor (i.e., CoP 2SCALE).
Duties
Design the M&E framework/ PMEP (only for the SMS program):
- Refine the key indicators for each component and fine-tune the project indicators matrix based on lessons learnt.
- Scope out activities that will complement the PMEP (for example,
annual project reviews, participatory impact assessments, and
lessons-learned workshops). Identify, recruit, guide and supervise
organizations or consultants that are contracted to implement special
surveys and studies required for evaluating project outcomes and
impacts.
- Guide the process for finalizing the key performance questions to assess the effectiveness of interventions.
- Elucidate the approach, methodology, and tools for data
acquisition; describe the roles and responsibilities of partners
involved; set targets for each year; and outline the supporting
operations and procedures for data collection, quality control, analysis
and reporting functions.
Execute the PMEP:
- Steer and craft the installation of the M&E system to realize a balance of credibility and practicality.
- Work with partnership facilitators to develop guidelines and
survey instruments in line with the PMEP, including databases or tally
sheets for collecting routine data.
- Design, organize and undertake a training system for
participatory capacity-building on 2SCALE M&E, particularly for the
partnership facilitators/ BSSs/coaches who conduct the function of data
collection in clusters.
- Incorporate mixed methods to capture information on cluster
members and value chain performance including private sector partners,
traders and consumers and methods to assess effectiveness of project
interventions and capture indirect effects for understanding dynamics of
cluster facilitation.
- Support the design of periodic impact studies to 1) provide an
analysis of whether project objectives (outcomes and impacts) were
achieved and can be attributed to project operations 2) demonstrate that
the observed changes would not have occurred naturally in the absence
of project interventions.
- Ensure that all subgrants include specifications for the
internal monitoring required of grantees, the reporting systems and the
penalties for failure to report as specified.
- Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E and to identify where adaptations may be needed.
- Orchestrate the active involvement of Nigerian partnership
facilitators, coaches, independent research or consulting firms, and
external consultants and students to assure that the data are collected
in a reliable fashion and that M&E has been effectively integrated
into each country's interventions.
Coordinate and support the project internal and external evaluations:
- Join in external evaluation and supervision missions - of
funding and other agencies - by screening and analyzing monitoring
reports as well as furnishing direct personal knowledge of the field
situation.
- Analyze data collected in terms of impact evaluation and identify the causes of potential bottlenecks in project implementation.
- Work with project management and the independent M&E firm to
design and roll out experimental pilots that can demonstrate
incremental effects of changes in service mode or absence/presence of
interventions and/or with/without comparisons.
- Ensure that project monitoring arrangements comply with the donor's requirements and expectations.
Reporting/Communication:
- Design the format for performance reports.
- Plan for and execute regular occasions to share M&E
findings, identify lessons learned and elicit ideas on the implications
for the project and local development partners’ next steps. Make sure
that time-sensitive findings from monitoring are shared in the
appropriate forum and in a responsive fashion.
- Work closely with the project Communications Specialist to
identify results and field stories that should be highlighted in public
relations materials.
- Support staff and implementing partners in preparing progress
reports. Assess and provide feedback on reports in terms of problems and
actions needed. Prepare consolidated progress reports for project
management, in accordance with approved reporting formats and timing.
- Make regular reports to the 2SCALE Chief of Party, Regional
Agribusiness Coordinator, and SMS Team Leader, highlighting areas of
concern and preparing the documentation for review at meetings.
Any other assignment that the supervisors deem necessary for the success
of the project or contribution to the work of IFDC as a global
institution.
Required qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Agricultural Economics or other related fields.
- Ability to work independently and to take initiative.
- Service-oriented attitude towards work-- providing positive and timely feedback to colleagues and staff of partner institutions.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in Standard
English, including the ability to present materials in meetings and at
conferences and to write project documents (e.g. evaluation design
plans, results frameworks, data collection and data analysis plans, and
progress reports).
- Proficiency in Hausa highly desirable.
- Minimum three years’ experience with participatory monitoring
and evaluation which may include designing and conducting survey
exercises, data collection (key stakeholder interviews, focus groups,
surveys, and secondary data analysis techniques) and data management.
- Experience in private sector, economic and/or agricultural donor-funded projects.
- Demonstrable experience in performing statistical analysis and interpreting results correctly.
- Excellent command of computers and statistical software. Ability to manipulate large data sets.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications in
English in the form of a one page Letter and current CV's describing
their experience, qualifications and Three (3) reference contacts by
email. Emails should be sent to:
[email protected] Applicants should indicate in the subject line of the email: Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist for 2SCALE and SMS.
Note
- Only short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview.
- No telephone queries will be responded to.
- The interview will consist of a panel interview and may include a written and/or oral test.
- Women are strongly encouraged to apply
Application Deadline 30th June, 2016.