M&E Specialist at Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI)

Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) is an international development company. For more than 45 years, we have worked on the frontlines of international development, tackling fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. Currently, DAI is delivering results that matter in some 80 countries.

Our development solutions turn ideas into impact by bringing together fresh combinations of expertise and innovation across multiple disciplines. Our clients include international development agencies, international lending institutions, private corporations and philanthropies, and national governments.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: M&E Specialist

Location: Abuja
Duration: One (1) year
Report to: The Chief Operating Officer

Background

• Africa (HCD+) is a platform funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and will have the capability to serve as an African voice for advocacy, accountability and transparency on HCD.
• It will seek to accelerate political commitments, decision-making and funding for key priorities towards realising SDGs #1-6 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• It aims to incubate a regional advocacy and technical assistance hub on Human Capital Development towards increasing African Government's commitment, funding, and accountability to HCD.
• The platform, through increased HCD advocacy, focuses on three pillars: (i) Health and Nutrition; (ii) Education, skills and labour participation; (iii) Entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and digital economy
• Also, HCD sits across multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in many African governments. Hence, no organisation holds an integrated vision for HCD.
• An HCD-focused institution can further help the HCD agenda on the continent. It will focus on four missions: (i) Create transparency on the HCD performance across the continent; (ii) Advocate with heads of state and decision-makers to make HCD a priority; (iii) Ensure effective coordination and collaboration with stakeholders and decision-makers; (iv) Selectively drive the implementation of flagship programs in education, health and economic inclusion.

Position Objectives

• The Monitoring Evaluation & Learning Specialist will nurture a Corporate MEL culture in HCD+.
• He/she will support the development of the MEL systems at HCD+.
• He/she will lead on the design of a corporate MEL framework and provide regular updates to senior management including routine reporting on high level performance of the Nigeria portfolio - corporate and programmatic.
• She/he will also be responsible for conducting high quality research, and technical writing deliverables.
• He/She will be part of a multidisciplinary team that produces high impact deliverables such as online resource databases, information dashboards, websites, research, case studies, discourse events, learning sessions, newsletters, and other media products that are relevant for employees, project teams, and clients.

Responsibilities & Duties

• Provide leadership support to all MEL activities.
• Develop and implement a monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan, coordinate and facilitate MEL system strengthening processes and implementation of data collection, analysis, reporting and data quality improvement.
• Gather evidence to demonstrate outcomes & impact of the projects .
• Arrange and analyse qualitative evidences collected.
• Design and maintenance of performance dashboards, and reporting tools.
• Create and implement data collection tools, surveys and guides to ensure accurate and compliant data collection.
• Continually monitor MERL capacity gaps and provide advise on strategies to address them.
• Ensure databases are efficient and effective for organisation-wide knowledge management, information dissemination and use.
• Provide comprehensive progress reports such as monthly reports, monthly newsletters, and annual reports for dissemination to audiences and stakeholders in collaboration with data scientist.
• Work with partners to ensure application of high-quality MEL activities and data collection; oversee stakeholders capacity building as needed
• Document key lessons learned and best practices
• Contribute to proposal development by participating and designing MEL strategies
• Conduct MEL capacity development support and keep up to date with latest thinking on evaluation and impact measurement.
• Any other duties as specified by line manager.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Master's Degree in a Science course such as Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, or related field.
• An Advanced Certificate in M&E, or statistics is an advantage.
• At least 6 years of experience with expertise research, project impact evaluation, and data analysis - quantitative and qualitative.
• Experience in strategic planning and performance measurement, including indicator selection, target setting, reporting, database management, and developing M&E and/ performance monitoring plans.
• Proven success in designing & implementing project M&E systems from project initiation to closeout stages.
• A curious, creative & collaborative mindset, attention to detail, problem-solving attitude, an ability to work under pressure, adhere to tight deadlines & deliver high-quality work
• Fluency in English and French language (written and oral) is compulsory.
• Strong analytical skills with good problem-solving skills & creativity, supported by good writing skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and must possess the ability to deliver technically rigorous documents.
• Professionalism, cross-cultural competence, comfortable engaging in a global firm, a proven ability to work across multiple business functions and proficient at managing stakeholders
• Knowledge of the major evaluation methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed method, and impact) and data collection and analysis methodologies

Language:

• Fluency in English Language and French Language is required and
• Experience working in Francophone Countries is required.

Application Closing Date
19th April, 2023.