M&E expert is needed for a DFID Regional Program

Any qualified Tanzanian to fill in the M&E Expert post in the DFID GEFA
Evaluation Management Unit for DFID East and Southern Africa Staple Food
Markets Programme (See brief background to the project below. Details are
available for those interested): 

Local Agricultural Economist 

·         At least an MSc in relevant areas Economics/Agricultural
Economics; 

·         At least 3 years experience of agriculture/staple food programmes
focused specifically in East and Southern Africa; 

·         At least 3  years evaluation experience of complex,
multidisciplinary development programmes, preferably East and Southern
Africa; 

·         Demonstrates knowledge of cross cutting issues, including gender,
social issues etc. 

·         A key working knowledge of theory of change models and use of
logical frameworks; 

·         Excellent skills in communication, report-writing and delivering
quality products on time. 

·         Excellent writing abilities, English fluent, (including Kiswahili,
Shona etc) other languages an asset. 

General Background to the Program 

1.1      The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID)
manages Britain's development assistance to poor countries. DFID’s Africa
Regional Programme seeks to support increased trade in a number of ways,
including through reducing the costs of trade and production, supporting
policy and regulatory reform, and supporting improvements in agricultural
markets and cross border trade[1]. 

1.2      Food production and marketing systems throughout East and Southern
Africa (ESA) are performing poorly and have been for many years. A wide
range of barriers to cross border trade have resulted in the fragmentation
of markets for both inputs and produce, while an unpredictable policy
framework has often crowded out private sector investment and restricted
trade in the region. There is high price volatility in agricultural markets,
partly due to periodic shocks, but also due to the inability of market
systems to smooth supply across time periods and geographical areas. In
years of good harvests there is no mechanism to sell surplus food and prices
collapse, discouraging farmers from attempting to increase production. In
years of poor harvests, shortages cause prices to soar. As most farmers do
not produce a surplus, they suffer along with other poor rural and urban
consumers. 

1.3      Though the East and Southern Africa Staple Food Markets Programme
(the Programme), DFID will take a leading role in tackling the causes of
these multiple market failures by establishing a Programme Management Unit
(PMU) that has an in-depth understanding of food staple market systems in
ESA. The PMU will serve as a centre of knowledge play a brokering role
between public and private players in these markets systems. The PMU will
address market failures by deploying interventions carefully targeted on
regional and potentially regional staple food value chains across the
region, by stimulating private sector investment in the regional markets and
by targeting specific policy and regulatory changes which are deemed
realistically achievable.  In the process, the program will generate
learning on the development of regional food staple markets in Africa. 

1.4      Under a separate Terms of Reference, DFID is seeking a Service
Provider to act as Programme Manager of the PMU for the East and Southern
Africa Staple Food Markets Programme. The Programme Manager’s services will
be subject to an independent evaluation that will run in parallel to the
Programme under a separate contract. 

1.5      This Terms of Reference (ToR) sets out the scope of work,
requirements and reporting procedures for the Evaluation Management Unit
(EMU) that will carry out the independent evaluation. The Evaluation
Management Unit will be appointed for a six-month Inception Phase. Following
successful completion of the Inception Phase and subject to agreement of
both parties, DFID will appoint the Evaluation Management Unit for a
subsequent Implementation Phase to evaluate interventions on an ongoing
basis and will carry out two major formal evaluations: 

1.    Midterm Evaluation. 

2.    Final Evaluation. 

Description of the East and Southern Africa Staple Food Markets Programme 

1.6      The overall goal of the Programme is to achieve the impact of
improved functioning of national and regional staple food market systems.
This will be realised through the outcome of increased regional trade in
food, and a greater number of people benefitting from participation in
national and cross-border value chains. The Programme will contribute
strongly to Africa Regional Programmes' key results, benefitting over
375,000 male and female farmers (more than 1.8 million people including
household members), and over 300,000 households as consumers, by 2017. 

1.7  Beneficiaries will be primarily poor farmers in the ESA countries of
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and
Malawi. This will include households headed by women. Farmers will benefit
through greater access and availability of inputs and services that allow
them equitable access to food markets and to increase their productivity,
production and income. The poor in rural and urban settings will also
benefit indirectly, through greater and more secure availability of
foodstuffs, as well as lower price volatility. 

1.8      The Programme is expected to disburse approx £25-28 million over
five years by supporting projects that can sustainably tackle market
failures in food staple markets in the region. The Programme will be
delivered in two phases, a six-month Inception Phase followed by a four and
a half year Implementation Phase. Further details of the Programme can be
found in the Business Case and the terms of reference for the PMU. 

1.9      Addressing market failures should lead to the deepening and
improved functioning of food markets, thereby increasing trade. The
multi-component Programme will be flexible and opportunistic, with a
particular focus on the following outputs: 

·         Food storage and collateral management systems. 

·         Supply chain coordination and information systems. 

·         Markets for inputs, including seeds and fertiliser. 

·         Markets for services, including advice, transport, finance,
insurance, and market intelligence. 

·         The regulatory environment affecting the success of these
interventions. 

1.10    The Programme will use two instruments to support interventions – a
Challenge Fund and a Development Fund. Lessons will be learnt throughout the
process of each intervention, and these will be used to influence
policymakers and other donors to leverage the maximum impact from DFID’s
investment and support the development of the PMU into a resource centre.
Resources will be available for additional knowledge management and
communication to further develop the PMU’s status as a leading centre of
thinking on staple food market systems. 

1.11    The Challenge Fund (CF) will aim to develop innovative business
models that deliver both commercial benefits for the private sector and
solutions to market failures in the ESA region, thereby delivering benefits
for poor people in terms of job creation, productivity and income
improvements and better functioning supply chains in food staples. 

1.12    The Development Fund (DF) mechanism will aim to be used as a
flexible resource to support initiatives to improve food staple market
functioning. The DF could be used to leverage resources from other donors
through jointly funded programmes. It could be used to finance complex
multi-component regional initiatives or small-scale, high-value, focused
projects aimed at a particular problem. The PMU may take a project
management role or a more active role as an implementing partner depending
on the nature of each intervention. The DF will work separately but in
conjunction with the aims of the CF, particularly in areas where it is
difficult for the private sector to take the necessary risks to address
market failures. 

1.13       The Programme will work through private sector companies active
in storage, wholesale trade, milling, haulage, input supply, and finance,
who will be invited to participate through the use of a Challenge Fund.
Civil society organisations (CSOs), research organisations, other
development partners, and government agencies will also be involved through
the use of a Development Fund. Both the Challenge Fund and Development Fund
will generate projects seeking to provide innovative solutions to address
market failures in agriculture in the region. 

Duty Station is Dar es Salaam but moving around the SADC Region. 

If interested please send you Cv to the undersigned. 

Regards, 

Vera Florida Mugittu, 

Private Sector Support/Rural agribusiness/Agricultural Innovation/Humanity 

_____________________________________________________________________ 

Managing Director, Muvek Development Solutions Ltd; 

Kiko Av. No. 277 Mikocheni. P.O. Box 105270, Dar es Salaam Tanzania. 

Tel: +255 22 2700667/671: Fax: +255 22 2700656: Mobile: +255 762 979666:
+255 784 236471