Vacancy title:
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager

Jobs at:
Land O'Lakes

Deadline of this Job:
7th September 2018

Duty Station:
Kigali, Rwanda

Summary
Date Posted: 9th August 2018 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed , Employment Type: Full-Time

Land O'Lakes International Development is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress. Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.

JOB DETAILS:
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager
Orora Wihaze
Kigali, Rwanda
Project Description:
Rwanda Orora Wihaze is an anticipated 5-year project funded by USAID/Rwanda. The objective of this project is to sustainably increase the availability of, access to, and consumption of animal source foods (ASF) through the development of a profitable market.

The project objective will be accomplished through two related intermediate results:

1.) Strengthened and inclusive private sector led animal sourced food value chains; and

2.) Increased demand for animal sourced foods. The project will work with and through key partnerships including the government of Rwanda, the private sector, the donor community, and local stakeholders to achieve the project objective.
Position Summary and Primary Responsibilities:
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager will be responsible for the development and oversight of all MEL activities for Orora Wihaze. This will include developing and implementing a robust MEL system that meets the requirements of USAID- Feed the Future and Land O’Lakes’ MEL policies. Specifically, the MEL Manager will manage field-based MEL coordinators to create quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and processes documented in a monitoring, evaluation and learning plan (MELP), integrate systems measurement into the project design and MEL system, train staff and partners in MEL system implementation, coordinate all data collection efforts, ensure data quality, process and analyze the data for donor reporting, adaptive management, and learning purposes, and provide oversight support to external evaluators. Additionally, the MEL Manager will support the development and roll-out of a tablet-based data collection system that will assist in tracking indicators. The MEL Manager will also take an active role in adaptive management through active participation in stakeholder, learning and work planning meetings. S/he will lead a system of continuous communication with partners and USAID, demonstrating Land O’Lakes ability to take critical inputs, feedback, and assessments to inform changes in program approaches and scale-up. This individual will report to the Chief of Party with technical support from the headquarters Global MEL staff.
Primary responsibilities of the position include but are not limited to the following:

• Lead the development of the MELP and update as necessary throughout the life of the project;
  
• Implement appropriate mechanisms for monitoring and tracking of program activities and results;
  
• Integrate innovative approaches to measuring systems change and health;
  
• Train all project staff in project monitoring and learning;
  
• Manage a tablet-based data collection platform, including training staff ensuring timely data entry;
  
• Participate in the process of selecting and managing appropriate consultants for required evaluations and monitor these activities, including the following:
  o Review survey design and tools in consultation with Global MEL Team and/or appropriate consultant
  o Assist with selection of consultant with skills appropriate to conduct study,
  o Oversee quality control/monitor progress of the consultant’s work, and
  o Review and comment on content of evaluation reports.
  
• Regularly review data processes, perform data quality assessments, and adjust as needed;
  
• Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of MEL and to identify where adaptations and improvements might be needed;
  
• Provide regular updates on project progress against key metrics to the Chief of Party for inclusion in donor reports, work planning and learning events
  
• Lead the regular sharing and learning from the findings of M&E data with staff and partners.
  
• Assist project staff to use project data to report and disseminate evidence of project work to the wider community, USAID- Feed the Future, Land O'Lakes, Host Government, and other external stakeholders.
  
• Demonstrate the highest degree of integrity throughout all activities, and raise any concerns with implementation quality immediately with the Chief of Party;
  
• Utilize established sharepoint database system to store key documents and share key project and country related information with other staff.
  
• Other duties as requested.
  Required Skills and Qualifications:
  
• Master’s Degree or equivalent in business administration, economics, or related area of study
  
• At least seven (7) years of progressive professional experience designing and implementing MEL systems, specific to the roles above.
  
• Experience with MEL on agricultural development programs preferred.
  
• Experience managing a MEL system for US government-funded projects, experience on a USAID- Feed the Future-funded projects preferred
  
• Experience overseeing rigorous mixed methods evaluations for agricultural programs
  
• Experience measuring systemic change highly desired
  
• Experience in implementing mobile or tablet-based data-collection systems for data entry, analysis and storage of quantitative data
  
• Familiarity with gender issues in monitoring and evaluation and an understanding of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index is preferred
  
• Experience managing and training staff in monitoring-related techniques and methods is desirable
  
• Professional proficiency in English and Kinyarwanda required – both speaking and writing
  
• Computer literacy and competency in use of Microsoft Office software
  
• Competency in quantitative data analysis software (ex: SPSS or Stata)
  
• Highly developed conceptual, analytical and innovative problem-solving ability
  
• Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor tasks
  
• Good time management and willingness to work occasional long hours and travel as required
  
• Ability to independently and proactively work as a team member with minimum day-to-day oversight
  
• Strong interpersonal skills, self-motivated and result-driven, with ability to effectively build and manage networks and relationships for program promotion and issue-resolution.