Monitoring & Evaluation Officer – North Eastern Province (NEP)

Aga Khan Foundation
 

Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya (EMACK)
 

North Eastern Province of Kenya

Position:Monitoring & Evaluation Officer – North Eastern Province (NEP)

Supervisor

1. Line – Deputy Chief of Party, NEP
2. Technical – Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Nairobi

Contract Duration: Through to October, 2014

Post Location: Garissa

Project Summary

Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya (EMACK) is an initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE) made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). 

The program seeks to improve access to quality education, retention and completion rates for children historically underserved by the education system by focusing on a number of interrelated strategies. 

These include increased community and parental participation in all aspects of school life; teacher development and improved coordination and dialogue to inform the Kenya Education Sector Support Program. 

Ultimately the program aims to improve the learning outcomes for all children in terms of literacy, numeracy analysis and innovation.

Position Summary
 

The Monitoring & Evaluation Officer is a member of the EMACK core team and has responsibility for the monitoring, evaluation, documentation and learning functions of the project in North Eastern Province.

The post holder will work closely with other members of the M&E team to implement the comprehensive performance monitoring plan for the project by assisting with data collection, ensuring data quality and integrity, analyzing indicator data, organizing monthly formative feedback sessions for project staff, and monitoring compliance with USAID specified targets. 

S/he will also take responsibility for collecting and compiling regular data for review by the M & E Specialist and for revisiting program indicators to ensure that they are suitable for project purposes.

The Monitoring & Evaluation Officer will provide appropriate support in developing and maintaining the project’s Management Information System (MIS). 

The officer will be required to liaise closely with AKF and non-AKF partners in North Eastern in order to collect/compile timely and accurate data.  

In addition, s/he will be expected to provide technical leadership and support during the review and updating of Monitoring and Evaluation Plans in NEP in line with emerging issues.  

The position requires the development of close and effective working relationships with other teams in the EMACK program.

Essential Job Functions:

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Participate in project surveys, assessments, information needs analysis and action research;
• Facilitate  the implementation of the project performance monitoring and evaluation plan;
• In collaboration with other M&E team members and partner staff, develop monitoring and evaluation tools to ensure regular and objective data collection;
• Review and update project implementation plans, Monitoring and Evaluation plans in line with emerging issues;
• Support Partners to design and implement targeted research initiatives;
• Facilitate efforts geared at improving the capacities of project staff and partners in monitoring, documentation, learning and evaluation;
• Ensure proper documentation of monitoring data by maintaining an up-to-date project Management Information System (MIS) in line with project outcomes and output indicators;
• Ensure constant verification and validation of partner activities through regular field visits to target areas and documentation through visit reports;
• Facilitate timely data analysis and ensure that all project information, data collection, analysis, synthesis and reporting is disaggregated by age, gender and other category as specified in the PMP;
• Identify training needs and participate in training project staff and partners in monitoring and evaluation;
• Offer advice to the EMACK Core team on implications of project decisions based on Monitoring and Evaluation findings.  This will include providing advice on  all situations that have potential impact on the project’s ability to reach its performance targets;
• Support the development of Terms of Reference and logistic planning for project evaluations;
• Other duties as assigned or requested.

Documentation and Learning:

• Support partners to improve their capacity in reporting and documentation;
• Support the preparation of annual performance data and indicator reports for both AKF and USAID;
• Facilitate timely data analysis so as to feed into the compilation of quarterly narrative  reports for the project;
• Promote the culture of systematic documentation and learning by organizing formative monthly and/or quarterly feedback sessions for the project on its progress based on analysis of monitoring data.

Education: Minimum Bachelors’ Degree in Education, Development Studies, Sociology/ Community Development or other closely related disciplines.

Qualifications:

• Minimum 3  years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation of international development projects, preferably in the education sector;
• Direct experience in the use of both quantitative and qualitative techniques as applied in social/operational or action research;
• Excellent knowledge of statistical software packages such as EPI INFO and SPSS plus experience in setting up of project Management Information Systems;
• Familiarity with the Kenyan education system preferred;
• Knowledge of U.S. donor reporting requirements and monitoring systems highly desirable;
• Experience in the development of Performance Monitoring Plans (PMPs) is an added advantage;
• Willingness to work additional hours during critical implementation periods;
• Excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills;

How to apply:
 

Applications, along with a cover letter, an up-to-date CV and names of three referees should be sent to the address below by 10th May, 2013.

The Human Resource and Administration Manager
Email: recruitment@akf-emack.org

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted

The Aga Khan Foundation is an Agency of the Aga Khan Development Network