Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Manager - PLANE 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: Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Manager - PLANE

Location: Abuja, Nigeria with possible National travel
Employment Type: Full-time
Reports to: Deputy Team Leader

Project Background

• Nigeria PLANE will be a seven-year 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, focusing on foundational skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
• It aims to unlock governance bottlenecks that support education service delivery improvement, improve the regulation of the non-state sector and embed the use of data and evidence in the programme and within the system.
• It has four primary outputs: (i) Teaching & Learning: Evidence-based teaching and learning approaches & materials in use in better-managed performance-focused schools and teaching colleges; (ii) Governance of state systems: Improved planning, personnel management and public financial management practices; (iii) Governance of non-state systems: Improved management and performance of the non-state sector; and (iv) 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.

Role Objective

• The Senior M&E Manager will work closely with the technical focus of Output 4 to help define and set indicators, and lead on data collection and analysis.
• This role will also be responsible for the traditional programmatic M&E functions - the designing of logframes, and the tracking and reporting that is typically entailed. It will require quality assurance and the aggregation of data and information from the place level teams.

Duties and Responsibilities
Specific duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Lead on development and/or refinement of the MEL framework and plan, including theory of change, log frame - indicators, milestones and targets - monitoring plan and data sources;
• Monitor on an ongoing basis programme performance and results; providing regular updates to programme senior management including information on areas where the programme is underperforming.
• Leading on high quality data collection, collation and analysis;
• Build the capacity of PLANE MEL and Programme staff and partners to ensure high quality data on programme progress for external and internal reporting and learning;
• Contribute to quarterly and annual reporting on the progress and performance of the programme;
• Ensuring knowledge generated is shared and lessons learnt institutionalised, in conjunction with the programme’s Communications Team;
• Build capacities of counterpart state government in MEL core areas.
• Contribute to engagement with stakeholders, FCDO, as appropriate.
• Follow project management practices that are in compliance with DAI and FCDO contractual rules and regulations, with the support of the Operations and Finance Team.
• Supervise, manage, lead and oversee long-term and short-term technical assistance as required relating to MEL.
• Provide leadership in order to motivate the MEL team to deliver a successful programme.
• Ensure quality of the programme delivery through mentoring the MEL team and providing feedback on their performance as well as areas for improvement.

Role Specification

• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in planning, designing and implementing robust M&E and Knowledge Management systems and strategies, preferably within the education sector.
• Extensive experience with qualitative and quantitative methods, including design, analysis and interpretation of results, applied to development programmes.
• Experience in developing practical guidance and tools for effective programme monitoring and reporting.
• Previous experience designing and implementing knowledge management systems to identify, analyse, document and disseminate lessons learned.
• Experience of managing and implementing M&E strategies for DFID-funded programmes, particularly providing consulting services to public and private sector clients, including providing technical assistance, institutional and capacity building support.
• Previous experience of conducting and commissioning research
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills.

Application Closing Date
21st December, 2023.