Job Profile

MONITORING EVALUATION & LEARNING OFFICER (MATERNITY COVER)

ABOUT USWe are an international development organisation putting ingenious ideas to work so people in poverty can change their world.

We help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Challenges made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. We work with communities to develop ingenious, lasting and locally owned solutions for agriculture, water and waste management, climate resilience and clean energy. And we share what works with others, so answers that start small can grow big.

We’re a global change-making group. The group consists of a UK registered charity with community projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an independent development publishing company and a technical consulting service. We combine these specialisms to multiply our impact and help shape a world that works better for everyone.

Our AimsWe help people find solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, made worse by catastrophic climate change and persistent gender inequality. Our aims are to:• Make agriculture work better for smallholder farmers, many of them women, so they can

adapt to climate change and achieve a good standard of living• Help more people harness the transformational effects of clean affordable energy and

reduce avoidable deaths caused by smoke from indoor stoves and fires.• Make cities in poorer countries cleaner, healthier places to live and work.• Build disaster resilience into the lives of people threatened by hazards – reducing the risk

of hazards and minimising their impact on lives and livelihoods.

How We WorkWe work on holistic solutions that change systems and have a framework to help us achieve our aims:• Analysetherootcausesofapovertyandvulnerability• Definethechangeatscaleweneedtomake• Developactivitiesalongthreecomplementarypaths:Demonstrate,LearnandInspire.

- Demonstratethatoursolutionsaresustainableintherealworld- Learn by capturing evidence and adapting our approach- Inspirewidersupporttomultiplyourimpact.

Our OrganizationPractical Action is an unconventional, multi-disciplinary change-making organisation • A highly innovative community development charity operating in Africa, Asia and Latin

America. Practical Action community projects use ingenious ideas to design, test, refine and prove new ways to overcome poverty and disadvantage and then ‘open-source’ knowledge of what works so that it can be implemented at a greater scale by others.

• A world-class consulting operation that helps socially responsible business, government policy makers and other development organisations. This draws on learnings from our own development work as well as the combined brainpower of a roster of over 2,000 expert consultants. Practical Action Consulting helps to extend the reach of our influence by providing the best advice to others, whose work can make a bigger difference.

• A well respected specialist development publisher. Practical Action Publishing brings together development practitioners, researchers and thought leaders to create publications that stimulate discussion, strengthen peoples’ capabilities and inspire sustainable change.

Practical Action in East AfricaInEastAfrica,PracticalActionhasalonghistoryofaddressingsystemicbarriersthatprevent people from accessing energy that transforms their lives, helping communities and government makes cities healthier and safer, making agriculture and markets work better for small holder farmers and supporting communities and government to become more resilient.

With offices in Nairobi, Kisumu, Lodwar and Kigali, we use a mix of programming with communities and consultancy services with shapers of policy and practice to achieve our aims in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

ABOUT THE ROLEWe’reseekingamaternitycoverforoneofourMELofficertosupportourMELworkforthenext 4 months. You will ensure the development/implementation of appropriate monitoring, tracking and reporting systems, tools and templates that enhance monitoring of program outputs and quality, generate quality evidence on program outcomes, and promote and ensure useofdatafordecision-makingprocesses.YouwillalsoensureadherencetoqualityMELsystems and standards throughout the life cycle of the program; strengthening staff capacity inMEL;promotingsharingofMELknowledgeandbestpractices;andincorporatingMELresults into improved programming.

Thispersonwillleadinthedevelopmentofhigh-qualityMELprocesses,toolsandsystemstocollect,storeandanalysemonitoringdata,integratemobiletechnologies/ICT4Dintodatacollection plans, ensure industry data quality standards are followed, provide and/or develop training or capacity building solutions appropriate for field staff and provide organizational-level monitoring system support.

ScopeTitle: Monitoring,EvaluationandLearning(MEL)Officer(maternitycover)Reporting to: HeadofImpactRelationships:Internal:DeliveryTeams,ImpactTeamExternal:StrategicPartnersrelevanttoPAstrategiesLocation: Nairobi, KenyaGrade: 5Travel requirements: Limited

AccountabilitiesDelivering Quality• Developandimplementarobustmonitoringandevaluationsystemthatwillensuretrack-

ingofprogrammeresultsatdifferentlevels(outputs,outcomesandimpact)• Developandmaintainadatabasefortheprogramandensureaccountabilitythrough

regular data updates, data integrity and working in collaboration with the field teams.• Work with the program officers to ensure the collection of relevant and appropriate data

neededforaneffectiveMELsystemwhichwillbeutilizedinmonitoringstrengths,weak-nessesandgapsIntheprogramandforreportingondonorcommitments

• Effectivelyformulate,implement,andenforceproperdatacollectiontools,processesandprocedures for the project

• Provide technical assistance to build the capacity of staff on data collection tools and equipment, database design, development and implementation, data management, analysis and reporting.

• Monitor and evaluate overall progress on achievement of results including the sustainabil-ity of the project results

• SuggeststrategiestotheProjectManagementforimprovingtheefficiencyandeffectivenessof the project by identifying bottlenecks in completing project activities and developing plans to minimize or eliminate such bottlenecks

• Aggregate and analyse data from across the project interventions to contribute to manage-ment decision-making and reporting

• Conduct field visits for data validation and to monitor the quality and completeness of data sets; coordinate data collection at project sites to monitor program development and en-sure timely compilation and reporting of data; capture and document lessons learned; and champion the scaling up best practices

• Work closely with project team and partners to ensure appropriate feedback mechanisms are incorporated into project

• Conductannualreview,learningandreflectionsessions,asspecifiedintheMEALframe-work as a key accountability mechanism

• Lead in the collection of positive impact stories and photos from projects and prepare them to be used for shared learning

• Organize Peer Learning meetings to share programme strategies and best practices includingGenderandStakeholdersParticipationaspects

• Capture and disseminate project learning along with ensuring effective knowledge management between departments and affiliates to ensure the whole organisation benefits from and applies programmatic learning.

• Responsibleforthecoordinationofprojects’baselinesandevaluationstudies(coordinationat field level with consultants, beneficiaries and partners/stakeholders if externally led and methodology,developmentoftools,datacollection,andcleaningifinternallyled)

• Documentanddisseminatebestpracticesfromtheprojects.• Ensuretimelyreporting:monthly,quarterly,annualandendofprojectsreportsin

accordancewithPracticalActionandDonorrequirements.

Strengthening Profile, Generating Funding and Managing Relationships • Contribute to the proposal development process by participating in design workshops

that build proposals on overall change objectives and Practical Action’s approach to understanding system change is embedded in design.

• Ensurethatimpactandlessonsfromprogramdeliveryfeedsintoorganizationalprofilestrengthening through stories of change and impact reporting.

Strategic Alignment• Supportthedevelopmentprocessoftheregionalstrategicbusinessplan(SBP),ensuring

that change objectives are developed to achieve change in the lives of people that we work with.

• ContributetotheroutinequarterlyandannualreportingoftheSBP,workingwiththematicleads on evaluating impact against change objective.

Experience, Knowledge and SkillsExperience and Knowledge• Minimum of five years of experience working in the field of monitoring and evaluation in

an international NGO• Provensuccessindesigning,implementing,andoperatingM&Esystemsfromproject

initiation to close out • Experienceinindicatorselection,targetsetting,reporting,databasemanagement,and

developingM&Eandperformancemonitoringplans• Knowledgeofthemajorevaluationmethodologies(qualitative,quantitative,mixed

method,andimpact)anddatacollectionandanalysismethodologies• Experienceinplanningandmanagingsurveys,developingandrefiningdatacollection

tools, and with data quality assessments and oversight • Knowledge of monitoring, evaluation and learning strategies.

Essential• Professional use of personal computer utilizing word processing, spreadsheet software pro-

grams • Experienceindesignandimplementationofprogramevaluations• Experienceinsupervisingandprovidingonjobtrainingtostaff• Excellentanalyticalandconceptualthinkingskills• Highly motivated, willing to learn, good team work, service-oriented and able to work un-

der high pressure and within a limited time frame • Ability to work with large datasets• ApplicableknowledgeworkingwithstatisticaldataanalysissoftwaresuchasSPSSis

mandatory• ApplicableknowledgeworkingwithGISsoftwarewillbeanaddedadvantage

Desirable• Degreeinrelevantfield,preferablyrelatedtomonitoringandevaluationorinternational

development. • Training in monitoring and evaluation • Training in Project Management is an added advantage• FluencyinSwahiliorotherregionallanguages• Clear understanding of gender issues and their implications on projects delivery.• ExperienceofworkinginanInternationalNGOenvironment• Cross-cultural sensitivity and emotional maturity

Practical Action is an equal opportunity employer, we treat all applications on their merits and do not take into consideration any factors that are not relevant to the job such as disability, race, age, religion, gender, gender reassignment or sexual orientation.

We are committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such successful candidates will be expected to uphold this expectation.