Monitoring and Evaluation Officer - International Rescue Committee in Tanzania

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

I. Background
The International Rescue Committee seeks an experienced Education Specialist to provide technical leadership for a proposed 4-year, $10 million program to combat exploitive child labor in Tanzania. The US Department of Labor (USDOL) solicitation seeks to fund technical assistance project(s) to reduce child labor through an area-based approach in geographic areas where there is a prevalence of child labor in agriculture production and domestic service. The project will work with local entities and build on existing efforts to reduce the worst forms of child labor, including programs to protect orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), increase access to education and promote economic opportunities for Tanzanian households most vulnerable to the worst forms of child labor.

Project interventions must address the following areas:
a) promote children’s access to, enrollment, retention and completion of education and training opportunities;
b) promote improved livelihoods for households of target children;
c) promote youth employment;
d) work with government structures to support implementation of policies and strengthen institutional capacity;
e) raise awareness about child labor in the agriculture and domestic labor sectors;
f) support research, evaluation and collection of reliable data on child labor; and
g) promote transparency, accountability and sustainability of efforts to combat child labor.

This position is contingent on IRC being awarded the cooperative agreement.

II. Responsibilities
The M&E Officer will be responsible for the implementing the project’s M&E activities, including the management of the Direct Beneficiary Monitoring System.

Reporting to the Project Director, he/she will:
• Oversee implementation of the Project baseline survey on child labor, including survey methodology and data collection
• Design and implement a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan (CMEP) in coordination with external evaluation contractor and the US Department of Labor (USDOL), including selection and tracking of specific indicators, developing strategies for data collection and regular reporting on approved indicators
• Manage the design and implementation of a direct beneficiary monitoring system for tracking work status of child beneficiaries and economic status of beneficiary households
• Coordinate with appropriate Ministries, especially the CLU to build local and national government capacity in child labor monitoring systems and databases
• Ensure that proposed interventions/activities are based on accepted best practices
• Train project staff, in line with the M&E requirements for the project (Enumerators, data collection staff, database managers etc)
• Support institutional capacity building around collection of reliable statistics on child labor
• Monitor program performance in meeting established objectives, redesigning initiatives as appropriate
• Design data collection instruments, schedules, analysis methods, and applied technologies.
• Ensure reporting requirements per USDOL obligations under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
• Support design and implementation of research studies as required
• Ensure activities implemented as per established project framework
• Act as liaison and point of contact between a USDOL external evaluation contractor and the project.

III. Qualifications
• Minimum of three years of experience in a leadership position responsible for implementing the project’s monitoring and evaluation activities, including the DBMS. Knowledge of the IA CP IMS an advantage.
• Experience in the monitoring and evaluation of international development projects or one year relevant experience combined with an advanced degree in statistics, public policy, economics, or a related field.
• Experience in strategic planning and performance measurement, indicator selection, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methodologies, database management, and familiarity with impact evaluation or similar research methodologies. Knowledge of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) is preferred.
• Consideration will be given to candidates with additional years of experience working with government ministries to strengthen institutional capacity in data collection.
• Knowledge of exploitive child labor issues, particularly the special education needs of children removed from exploitative child labor when they enter/return to school, and/or have experience working with victims of child labor and their households in Tanzania is an asset.
• Candidates should have strong writing and editorial skills; be able to work under pressure; and possess strong interpersonal and intercultural skills that enable them to work well with a diverse team.
• Experience managing USDOL-funded projects is preferred.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Kiswahili is preferred.

How to apply:
Please apply online: www.ircjobs.org or IRC Careers

Deadline of Applications: 06 Nov 2012