Output 4 Lead - Evidence and Communication (Abuja) 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: Output 4 Lead - Evidence and Communication

Location: Abuja
Contract Duration: September 2023 - May 2028.
Reporting: The Output 4 Lead will report to the Team Leader and will supervise PLANE’s M&E Manager and Communications Manager

Background

• Nigeria PLANE is a 7-year, £95m programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and represents one window of intervention in a broader package of investment intended to enable a more inclusive and effective basic education system.
• It seeks to do this through improvements made in teaching and learning with a focus on foundational skills in reading, writing, and mathematics.It has four primary outputs:
  • Teaching & Learning: Evidence-based teaching and learning approaches & materials in use, in better managed performance-focused schools and teaching colleges;
  • Governance of state systems: Improved planning, personnel management, and public financial management practices;
  • Governance of non-state systems: Improved management and performance of the non-state sector; and
  • Use of Evidence and Communication: Effective generation, communication and use of evidence to inform citizen engagement and improve service delivery. PLANE will work in Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa, the South West, South East, and the federal capital territory.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Output 4 Lead will be responsible for the following functions:

Technical Cohesion and Management:
PLANE needs coherent strategic management across all four outputs in order to:

• Provide and manage consistent standards of operation and delivery to ensure good management.
• Ensure alignment and technical coherence of PLANE against the programme key outcomes through 1) generating data against the log frame and ToC and feeding into the formative assessment of impact, identifying course corrections and 2) building the evidence base in support of PLANE’s work for use in knowledge products, stakeholder interactions, and summative evaluation.
• Balance R&D and MERL activities across outputs 1-3, identifying areas for cross-output working and generating high-quality, evidence-based knowledge products to showcase the work of the program and positively influence with key stakeholders in government, FCDO, and wider communities in Nigeria.

Advocacy, Research, and Communications:

• Engage with team members and consortium partners to develop an annual work plan and budget for PLANE’s Output 4 component (M&E, research, communications, and advocacy).
• Ensure work plan deliverables are completed as scheduled and within budget and undertake regular work plan reviews.
• Ensure effective coordination within the team, consortium partners, and stakeholders on all communications, research, and results products in partnership with other PLANE team members.
• Manage the development, quality assurance, and dissemination of knowledge products highlighting key achievements of the program, success stories, lessons learned, positive impacts of the program to inform policymakers as well as communication products to increase the program’s public profile through various platforms and media.

Partnerships & Collaboration:

• Foster collaboration across the PLANE programme windows and facilitate cross-linkages and learning at a programmatic, sectoral, and consortium level.
• Facilitate the projection of PLANE’s results through evidence-based learning products and platforms, and ensure the program is leveraging the work of all partners and collaborators in the education sector.
• Ensure PLANE is developing national and regional partnerships that draw on international education trends and debates.

Requirements

• A Master's Degree, preferably in Social Sciences
• At least 10 years of experience in the development sector, preferably with FCDO-funded programs (Essential)
• Proven experience in managing M&E systems, frameworks, and processes on large complex programmes including VfM, Theory of Change, and Logframe change management (Essential)
• Proven experience in producing and disseminating research, communication, and knowledge products (Essential)
• Proved experience in producing project reports and an ability to develop well-written, cohesive reports (Essential)
• Extensive professional experience in Africa, particularly Nigeria.
• Experience in developing and managing annual work plans and budgets
• Experience working with government and donor counterparts.
• Proven experience with relationship-building and team-building skills;

Application Closing Date
1st September, 2023