MONITORING EVALUATION AND LEARNING SPECIALIST (MEL)

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

The FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) is responsible for developing, promoting, overseeing, and implementing agreed strategies for addressing subregional food, agriculture, and rural development priorities. It develops and maintains relations with subregion-wide institutions including Regional Economic Integration Organizations (REIOs). It assists the FAO Representations (FAORs) in the subregion with addressing subregional food security, agriculture, and rural development issues at the country level. The Office is also responsible for liaison with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Subregional Office is a subsidiary of FAO’s Regional Office for Africa (RAF).

The Subregional Office for Eastern Africa also serves as the FAO Representation to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Reporting Lines

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist reports to the Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa. The incumbent works under the functional guidance of the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Regional Office for Africa. The Specialist collaborates closely with technical and programme leads in the Subregional Office.

Technical Focus

The MEL specialist will be responsible for generating quality evidence on results achieved through FAO projects and programmes implemented in SFE in various areas of FAO’s mandate, to inform adaptive programming and organizational learning. This will entail the: i) development and operationalization of frameworks, tools and processes needed to systematically collect and analyse performance-related data; ii) capacity development on MEL of internal and external actors; iii) monitoring of the quality of programme implementation; iv) implementation of the country-level learning agenda and learning roadmaps.

Tasks and responsibilities

Overall responsibilities:

• Design, develop and implement MEL systems (including results frameworks, theories of change, etc.,)

in alignment with corporate, regional, and subregional MEL and information priorities.

• Support mainstreaming of MEL in project/programme formulation stage, including theory of change development, log frame design, budgeting for MEL, MEL plans development.

• Support management and project managers to identify priority Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and realistic targets, to promote a programmatic approach to monitoring and evaluation, and to ensure their alignment with regional and sub-regional priorities and/or relevant KPIs.

• Conduct periodic data collections and analyses, in line with the established data needs, learning priorities and/or KPIs.

• Compile, manage and curate relevant regional/sub-regional results-based datasets.

• Contribute data for internal and external reporting.

• Facilitate the dissemination and use of monitoring data to inform programme development, adjustment or review.

• Contribute to organizational learning by developing subject-matter analytics, lessons learned compilation and briefs/reports.

• Develop capacity of FAO staff and implementing partners in M&E methodologies and practices.

• Perform any other duties, as requested.

Specific responsibilities:

Support the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa and country offices under its purview with the efficient operationalization of the corporate, regional and subregional MEL requirements. This entails:

• Providing orientations to subregional and/or country offices on data collection methodologies, quality assurance criteria and MEL tools and/or databases (e.g. through After Action Reviews (AARs), MEL health checks, Quality Assessments, Lessons learned reviews, etc.).

• Supporting the set-up of MEL work and data flows.

• Providing support with improving existing/establishing sub-regional/country MEL systems where appropriate and/or lacking.

• Providing direct technical support (one-to-one, mentoring, orientations) to sub-regional/country-level MEL personnel, programme/technical staff and management.

• Provide gap fill support to country offices when country-based MEL capacity is not present or is insufficient, based on a request and/or identification of need by country office.

• Support subregional and country management in using evidence from MEL for adaptive programming.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING:

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in social sciences (sociology, anthropology, economics, political sciences, international relations, research methods or similar) and/or data sciences (statistics, survey methods or alike) and/or evaluation.

• At least 5 years of relevant experience in setting up and operationalizing MEL systems in food security and livelihoods programmes and/or in food security analysis/vulnerability assessments mapping in the NGO and/or United Nations/Inter-Governmental Organizations context.

• Working knowledge (level C) of English. Limited knowledge (level B) of one of the other FAO languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian or Chinese) is required for a consultancy contract. For PSA, working knowledge of English is sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Building Effective Relationships

• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work.

• Excellent mastery and knowledge of principles and current approaches to MEL.

• Demonstrated understanding of data and information needs for programme management and decision making, as well as of the project cycle management.

• Extensive and demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods.

• Demonstrated experience in facilitating MEL-related capacity building initiatives.

• Experience in using software (e.g. such as PowerBI, Tableau, STATA, SPSS, NVivo, CommCare, Survey Monkey, Survey CTO, Kobo, ODK, MS Dynamics 365 and Visio, Pictochart, Infogram) is highly desirable.

• Extensive experience in developing data products using advanced data visualization tools would be an asset.

• Advanced use of MS Excel is highly desirable.

• Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency.