Helen Keller International Recruits Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Established in 1915 with Helen Keller as a founding trustee, Helen Keller International (HKI) works to save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. Headquartered in New York City, HKI currently conducts programs in 22 countries in Africa and Asia as well as in the United States. We combat the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing programs based on evidence and research in vision, health and nutrition.

HKI began working in Nigeria in June 1999 and its programs benefit over 11 million people. Current programs include Vitamin A Supplementation, Infant and young child feeding and Neglected Tropical Disease Control.

Helen Keller International (HKI) is looking to hire suitable candidates to fill the following position within its rapidly expanding program portfolio.

Job Title: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

Location: Abuja

General Scope of the Job
The M&E officer is responsible for guiding the overall M&E strategy and implementation of related activities within the project and via partners, plus providing timely and relevant information to project stakeholders. This entails close communication with all involved in M&E design and coordination: core project and partner M&E staff; representatives from primary stakeholder groups; and the Country Manager, external consultants and field staff when appropriate, plus members of external M&E-related missions.

Critical tasks for the M&E coordinator are setting up the M&E system and ensuring it is implemented effectively by the key stakeholders, namely the primary stakeholders and implementing partners. This is undertaken through the joint development of a shared M&E system that is based on existing formal and informal mechanisms and systems among key stakeholders. This needs to be supported by facilitating stakeholders to value, have appropriate capacities for and undertake their own M&E activities, and to link these into an overall assessment of project progress and needed actions.

Responsibilities and Tasks

• Help revise the project logframe matrix, particularly in the areas of the objective hierarchy, indicators and monitoring mechanisms.
• Develop the overall framework for project M&E, for example, annual project reviews, participatory impact assessments, process monitoring, operations monitoring and lessons-learned workshops.
• Guide the process for identifying and designing the key indicators for each component, to record and report physical progress
• Guide the process for identifying the key performance questions and parameters for monitoring project performance and comparing it to targets. Design the format for such performance reports.
• Review the quality of existing nutrition data in the project area, the methods of collecting it and the degree to which it will provide good baseline statistics for impact evaluation.
• Review existing approaches and management information systems and agree on any required changes, support and resources.
• Organise and undertake training with stakeholders, including primary stakeholders, in M&E skills, including participatory aspects.
• Design the framework for the physical and process monitoring of project activities.
• Guide staff and implementing partners in preparing their progress reports. Together, analyse these reports in terms of problems and actions needed. Prepare consolidated progress reports for project management to submit to the relevant bodies, in accordance with approved reporting formats and timing.
• Prepare monitoring reports, analyse them for impact evaluation and identify the causes of potential bottlenecks in project implementation.
• Collaborate with staff on qualitative monitoring to provide relevant information for ongoing evaluation of project activities, effects and impacts.
• Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E and to identify where adaptations might be needed.
• Guide the regular sharing of the outputs of M&E findings with project staff, implementing partners and primary stakeholders.
• In collaboration with the accountant, provide the Country Manager with management information that she/he may require.
• Make regular reports to the project team highlighting areas of concern and preparing the documentation for review at meetings.
• Check that monitoring data are discussed in the appropriate forum and in a timely fashion in terms of implications for future action. If necessary, create such discussion forums to fill any gaps.

Qualifications and Experience Required
Suitable candidates should have a Masters degree in Biostatistics or statistics or MPh in Epidemiology or other related field. A minimum of 2 years experience in development and field research is required. The candidate should also have:

• a solid understanding of rural development, with a focus on participatory processes, joint management, and gender issues;
• familiarity with and a supportive attitude towards processes of strengthening community support groups and building local capacities for self-management;
• willing to undertake regular field visits and interact with different stakeholders, especially primary stakeholders;
• computer skills;
• leadership qualities, personnel and team management
• experience in M&E system design;
• experience in data processing and with computers.

Application Closing Date
7th December 2012.

How To Apply
All applicants should submit electronically (1) Curriculum vitae; and (2) A cover letter (application letter) to [email protected]