Senior Manager – Monitoring and Evaluation (AWARD)

VACANCY

Senior Manager – Monitoring and Evaluation (AWARD)

About our organization:

African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is working towards more inclusive, Agriculture-driven prosperity for Africa. AWARD invests in African women scientists, research institutions, and the agribusiness sector by supporting the development and upscaling of those agricultural innovations with the potential to bridge the gender gap in African Agriculture.

Four initiatives form the core of AWARD’s work:

• The AWARD Fellowship is a 2-year career development fellowship investing in science, leadership and mentoring skills for continent’s leading women agricultural scientists.
• Gender Responsive Agricultural Research and Development (GRARD) supports African research institutions to enhance gender responsiveness within their research priorities and processes.
• Gender in Agribusiness Investments for Africa (GAIA) supports AgTech innovators whose agribusinesses address the needs and priorities of a diversity of both men and women across the entire agricultural value chain.
• AWARD Training builds the capacity of agricultural researchers and leaders and includes courses and workshops focused on building mentoring, leadership, and gender responsiveness skills.

AWARD is hosted by World Agroforestry Centre, a member of the CGIAR that is headquartered on United Nations Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya.

The Position:

• Working with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team members as well as other AWARD staff, the Senior Manager, M&E will lead efforts to raise AWARD’s profile as a leader in generating, curating, disseminating, and applying evidence for gender responsive agricultural research and development.
• The incumbent will oversee AWARD’s research, monitoring, evaluation and data analysis activities and ensure that they support the program (both internally and externally) in building an expertly informed focus on gender responsive agriculture for Africa.
• The ideal candidate will be a compelling leader, able to translate data on gender and agriculture into credible evidence, compelling narratives and action points, and share these in a variety of formats with key stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Establish M&E System: Build on existing infrastructure to establish and manage an M&E system that ensures the collection and management of quality data throughout the program lifecycle; develop and maintain a uniform and consistent data collection and reporting methodology and schedule, ensuring consistent and timely application of all components of the M&E system. This includes establishing data quality protocols, as well as managing data and information for easy retrieval and analysis. In addition, the incumbent will lead in the:

• Direction of AWARD’s Monitoring and Evaluation team.
• Development of Program research, M&E initiatives and collaborations.
• Management of research dissemination, documentation and reporting activities to ensure that messages, materials and reports are of high quality, and supportive to the strategic direction of AWARD.
• Ensuring that data collection, analysis, and use, are rigorous and meet top global standards.
• Ensuring synergies and triangulation between M&E, Communication, Programs, Finance, Administration, and Resource Mobilization units.

2. Collect and Analyze Data: Oversee the development, management, and application of a comprehensive electronic information management system for the program; maintain all M&E tracking forms and tools, ensuring data is up to date and accurate; coordinate timely collection and analysis of all data and information and facilitate internal reflection; collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data and information on critical assumptions throughout the program lifecycle, and track key performance indicators; lead ongoing critical analyses of initiative outcomes for program improvement and learning.

3. Compile, Manage and Report on Program Data: Ensure data are compiled and reported in in a timely and useful manner, in appropriate formats to key stakeholders (clients, partners, AWARD team, senior management, steering committee, and relevant donors); compile and manage all data sets, provide preliminary analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, and draft internal and external reports; coordinate and manage the M&E calendar; provide updates and guidance on monitoring issues to senior management.

4. Document and Disseminate Knowledge: process program data into knowledge and repackage it for various audiences in different formats; develop and disseminate various digital knowledge products such as publications, presentations, digital, and audio-visual content, for target audiences.

5. Support Key Evaluation Events: Coordinate and oversee external partners and consultants who implement evaluation assessments.

6. Build Staff Capacity: Assess staff and partners’ M&E capacity and provide training and resources needed to collect data and use the M&E system for ongoing reflection, learning and reporting; train and guide staff and partners to understand and implement protocols, forms and guidelines for data collection, and analysis and reporting on both qualitative and quantitative data

Essential Academic and Professional Qualifications:

• A Masters degree (Doctrate prefered) with training in research methods (qualitative and quantitative), monitoring and evaluation as well as gender. (Specialization in measurements and metrics (Information, Statistics, or Demography) is a plus).
• Strong background in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies; experience with data collection using any of the following: surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, or other participatory methods; and documentation of events through direct observation and secondary data collection.
• Capacity and experience managing M&E systems at international standards.
• A minimum of 10 years’ international experience working in research, and /or international development
• Knowledge of and experience in documentation, reporting, and disseminating program results and research findings. (experience with USAID reporting requirements a plus)
• Expertise in database development and maintenance, data management and use of statistical and textual analysis software e.g. Adobe FormsCentral, Tableau, Google API, MS ACCESS, MS EXCEL, SPSS, SIMSTAT and CAQDAS software such as ATLAS Ti, DEDOOSE, QDA MINER, WORDSTAT).
• Proven publication record and experience communicating program results to a variety of audiences.
• Professional experience working in the area of gender (experience with gender in agricultural research a plus).

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent leadership, supervisory, planning and organization skills
• Strong analytical skills, expertise in handling both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Effective communication, presentation and problem handling skills.
• Strong written and oral skills, and flexibility.
• Must be digitally savvy with demonstrated affinity for electronic data management systems and other online tools.
• Team building skills with collaborative management style.
• Creative conceptual and analytical thinker.
• Ability to establish goals and priorities for staff and evaluate performance.
• Ability to forge and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of AWARD stakeholders.

Terms of offer:

AWARD is hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre and is an equal opportunity employer and offers a collegial and gender-sensitive working environment. We believe that staff diversity promotes excellence and strongly encourage applications from qualified women. This position is remunerated on international terms and will be for an initial period of two (2) years renewable, subject to nine (9) months’ probation period. The position will be based at the AWARD Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

How to apply:

Go to http://worldagroforestry.org/working-for-icraf/vacancies, complete the application form and attach your cover letter and CV/Resume (as one document – labelled with your First Name and Last Name).

Applications will be considered until 10 March 2017. Please note that only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.

We invite you to learn more about AWARD and World Agroforestry Centre by accessing our web sites www.awardfellowships.org and www.worldagroforestry.org