Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Associate-2 positions

Organizational Setting

FAO in collaboration with the government, UN-organizations and development partners began serving both the host communities and Rohingya population in building their livelihoods and skill development opportunities in Cox’s Bazar from October 2017. As continuation of the crisis response intervention, the European Union (EU) funded EU-FAO PROACT Project titled ‘Resilience Strengthening through Agri-Food Systems Transformation in Cox’s Bazar will be promoting economic inclusion and strengthening local supply chains and markets, as well as development of private sector partnership across the sub-sectors of crop production and fisheries.

The PROACT project contributes to improving households’ nutrition by introducing nutrition-sensitive activities and developing opportunities for host communities to economically benefit from markets created by the presence of Rohingya. In addition, the project continues FAO’s commitment to environmental rehabilitation and economic support for the local communities. The restoration of environmental balance to the targeted area is a core commitment in creating sustainable livelihoods.

Reporting Lines :

The MEALAssociate(s) is a SC 05 position and will work under the overall guidance and Supervision of the Head of Sub-Office and the Team Leader, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and the direct supervision of the Head of Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), the incumbent will be responsible for effective monitoring of the project activities. S/he will ensure the quality data collection, analysis and dissemination of analysed information to the relevant partners and team members for identifying programmatic gaps and opportunities. S/he will ensure mainstreaming of Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) principles and other cross-cutting issues.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring quality of field activities performed by the implementing partners’ staff and collecting data and information for identifying programmatic gaps and opportunities. S/he will provide assistance in developing a comprehensive MEAL plan, schedules and support mechanism for the project. In addition, the incumbent(s) will organize and undertake regular field visits for monitoring the project activities (i.e. trainings, input distribution, farmers’ group meetings, and community engagement) at community level.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Contribute to developing monthly and annual work plans that focus on the project goal, objectives and targeted results, and assist in developing and formulating a comprehensive MEAL plan with defining indicators and setting reporting schedule;
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative assessments and support the baseline and programme performance studies focusing on RIMA (Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis) tools and ensure data quality, capture intended changes (outcomes) and figure out processes which have been effective and/or non-effective with the underlying causes;
• Work closely with the partners’ staff responsible for project management and monitoring data collection, analysis, and contribute to timely updating of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) database;
• Make frequent field visits to conduct household-level interviews, agricultural inputs distribution monitoring, post distribution monitoring, beneficiary contact monitoring, focus group discussions and key informant interviews; and verify whether the field data/reports match with the Management Information Systems (MIS) database and activities in the field;
• Support developing/reviewing project implementation plan, and data collection tools for monitoring and reporting of project activities and results;
• Provide support to MIS and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialists on outcome-based result measurement surveys and in developing GIS maps to measure and visualize productivity, income, profitability, food security and resilience;
• Identify innovation and good practices in the communities and assist in extracting learning through intensive field context analysis and feeding information into learning agenda;
• Draft sub-district-wise quarterly and annual progress monitoring reports (as required) for the management identifying problems, causes of potential bottlenecks in implementation and providing specific recommendations based on observed challenges and opportunities;
• Work closely with the MIS and GIS Specialists to provide necessary inputs on database development, preparation of GIS maps, data transfer/uploading from remote devices (tablets) to project server as well as provide support to the partners’ staff in operating the database system;
• Ensure Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) system with the communities; operationalize feedback and/or response to the community complain mechanisms and provide guidance on necessary improvements in line with AAP principles and best practices;
• With guidance of the Head of MEAL and in coordination with the programme team, organize and facilitate training courses on the quality assurance, results based monitoring systems and AAP issues for skill development and capacity building of the partners’ staff in meeting the organizational standard and donor’s compliance;
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the Head of MEAL and the Team Leader.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required, postgraduate degree preferred in agricultural science, business management, statistics, development studies, management or related discipline with expertise in monitoring and evaluation;
• Minimum five (5) years of professional work experiences in programme planning, monitoring, evaluation, accountability, learning , and reporting;
• National of Bangladesh.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including sampling and surveys;Working knowledge of English is essential;
• Expertise in Result-based monitoring, developing and reviewing result frameworks, logframes / logic models;
• Ability to use standard software such as MS Word, MS Excel and MS Access;
• Proven track record of successful teamwork, good presentation/facilitation skills;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required;
• Ability to work independently and with minimum supervision;

• Self-motivation, willingness to learn and strong work ethics in a multi-disciplinary team environment.

• Skills in development of training modules and providing training to the partners’ staff on data quality, monitoring and performance evaluation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: [email protected]
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/