Duties and Responsibilities

The MEL Lead will provide strategic and technical support to Program in line with organizational policy and client expectations. S/he will closely works with consortium partners, program staff and partners the program deliverables, outputs and outcomes. The MEL Lead will oversee program MEAL system, monitoring, evaluation, learning, reporting, staff capacity building, coordinate capturing, compiling, and sharing learning across the consortium; and support the consortium team.

Specific responsibilities of MEL LEAD include, but are not limited to:

• Lead the development, review, and implementation of the programs MEL strategy. Develop MEL tools such IPTT, PMP, and DIPs.
• Conduct timely project data collection, preparing quarterly, semi-annual, and annual project report.
• Supporting tech teams outcomes harvesting and identification of trends and lessons
• Conduct activities, Pause & Reflect sessions, extract lessons and learning from events such as workshops and forums, conduct studies, success stories etc.
• Lead the advancement of the learning agendas of the program.
• Contribute to knowledge and learning products in collaboration with communications team.
• Supervise, coach, and mentor current the program MEL team.
• Refine and implement the project MEL activities, including developing and refining indicators; setting targets; monitoring project progress.
• Work to refine the project MEL system, tools, and strategies, including database(s); and providing monitoring data to inform the decisions on project performance and future direction to the project.
• Ensure that M&E activities are integrated into all program activities, and that data is collected and documented in an accurate and timely manner.
• Work closely with technical teams, and partners in setting annual targets for each project indicator, develop a monitoring and evaluation framework for different activities and monitor progress and achievements towards annual performance of indicator targets
• Develop and adapt the monitoring tools/trackers according to the different project interventions,
• Validate data collection tools and questionnaires, data collection procedures, and MEL policies and procedures to guide partners, and grantees.
• Support project activities involving the collection and analysis of data for the execution of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan,
• Lead Project Data Quality Assessments and take Geo-references of partners/SMEs in coordination with other M&E team members.
• Provide data visualization and analysis for project communications materials for internal, client, and stakeholders.
• Consolidate and write periodic report: quarterly, biannual and annual.
• Conduct filed monitoring, and delivery monitoring reports
• Lead, and coordinate joint program evaluation with signatories, partners and donor.
• Coordinate baseline, midterm and end line, write synthesis report and organize validation workshop as well disseminate results.
• Ensure MEL system is gender-sensitive, and promote gender sensitive across the program.
• Ensure safeguarding principles and guidelines are embedded within the MEL system.
• Develop ToR, liaison with partners, consultant and other potential actors.
• Represent MEL Team in client coordination calls, and MEL focus call/workshops.
• Conduct any other MEL elated tasks as required.

Working Relationships:

This role will be closely working with the Senior Program director, sector Leads, finance, communication specialist, access to finance specialist, gender officer, and field coordination center. In addition, this role will liaise with national signatories, business partners, and other stakeholders as necessary. He will lead the consortium MEL team.

Reporting and Supervision:

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Lead will report to the Senior Program Director. S/he will be responsible to lead the implementation of the program’s MEL strategy. This includes tasks such as reviewing and updating the Activity MEL Plan, managing the MEL staff, collaborating with the team to ensure MEL strategy and system are aligned with the program’s results. Additionally, the MEL Lead will led the annual target setting, update the Annual MEL Plan, learning, and focus on capacity building for implementing partners and other stakeholders regarding MEL activities.

Requirements

Required skills and qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (Economics, development studies, Project Monitoring and Evaluation, statistics, or other related discipline).
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation, and learning activities.
• Previous experience implementing and managing a rigorous M&E system including developing and refining performance monitoring plans is required; experience in managing the DIS, and MIS is strongly preferred.
• Experience consortium programs/projects strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of data collection protocols and data quality assessment to ensure accurate data collection and verification; ability to identify data trends and communicate this information for strategic decision-making in program implementation.
• Previous experience working with SMEs in the manufacturing sector is preferred.

Key Competencies Required:

• Excellent skills in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint; proficiency in MS, SPSS, STATA, Etc.
• Excellent in digital data collection such as Kobo, SurveyCTO, etc.
• Proficient in data visualization tools such as Excel, PowerBI, etc.
• Excellent organizational, verbal, and written communication skills to manage project communications and disseminate project MEL information are required.
• Excellent command of monitoring, evaluation, and learning methodologies.
• A problem-solver, collaborator, self-starter, critical thinker, adaptive and flexible, as well as team-player.
• English language fluency required and additional local language is an advantage.