Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist

USAID’s four-year (2021-2025) Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan (RASS) Activity will improve food security and community household recovery and resilience in 13 target counties, reducing long term reliance on humanitarian assistance. To achieve this ambitious aim, RASS will employ a resilience pathways approach to improve the effectiveness of local systems and strengthen the capacities of community groups to achieve gender responsive and diversified market-sensitive production; facilitate increased production of diverse nutritious foods by strengthening productivity, reducing food loss, and improving nutrition behaviours; and strengthen and expand household and community opportunities for sustainable, locally driven livelihoods. RASS targets graduating communities from high integrated food security phase classifications to low IPC acute food insecurity and support a change from a focus on humanitarian assistance to inclusive development assistance and economic growth.

CONTEXT AND GENERAL TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Resilience through Agriculture in South Sudan (RASS) technical objectives fall under three broad categories, namely: Objective 1—Strengthened local systems’ and community groups’ capacities to sustain gender responsive, diversified, and market-sensitive agriculture production; Objective 2—Increased availability of, access to, and utilization of diverse, safe, and affordable diet; and Objective 3—Expanded opportunities for sustainable, locally driven livelihoods. Combined, RASS portfolio comprises a diverse set of activities and approaches that require a nuanced understanding to effectively design or adapt the appropriate data collection, evidence gathering, and learning tool development to meet the objectives of the contract.

The RASS project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist will form an integral part of the RASS CLA/MEL team, providing technical guidance and management for MEL activities across the objectives. The MEL Specialist will support data collection, analysis, and reporting for all RASS activities. S/he will oversee the collection of data via a variety of tools and methodologies at the county level for Activity results tracking, reporting, and adaptive learning. S/he will work alongside RASS, USAID clients, subcontractors, and implementing partners to design and facilitate MEL processes and activities and contribute to MEL data verification, analysis, and reporting to USAID.

The RASS MEL approach is driven by a collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) approach based on extensive collaboration with other projects, experts, and donors working with market systems development (MSD) and private sector engagement (PSE), routine collection of quality performance data – informed by the RASS Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan – informative analysis, and learning dissemination. This model emphasizes continual measurement of mechanism and buy-in level outcomes and subsequent adaptation to challenges and successes. RASS will manage its MEL portfolio using a customizable cloud-based platform and database called DAI Collect, built on the open-source tool Kobo Toolbox. DAI may also use Microsoft Excel for data collection and analysis and visualize development models using Microsoft Power BI.

POSITION DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The MEL Specialist will lead the implementation of the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Plan (AMELP) which includes performance monitoring, context monitoring, facilitating third party monitoring as well and internal and external evaluations. This includes developing M&E data collection tools, creating a MEL guide for DAI and partner staff, conducting training to DAI and partner staff on data collection tools and processes, creating and maintaining the M&E data management system, supervising data collection and accountability, aggregating and reporting data, and ensuring feedback loops are in place that maintain data quality throughout the life of the Activity. S/he will work under the supervision of the CLA/MEL Director, ensuring that all project performance monitoring activities and systems, including necessary data management, data collection instruments, and visualization software are collecting, storing, managing, analysing, and reporting M&E data on output, outcome, and impact indicators. S/he will work collaboratively with the Strategic Communications Specialist and the SBC/GEYSI Specialist for Activity reporting and support technical teams with the implementation of MEL activities and requirements.

The following comprise main responsibilities of the MEL Specialist:

Planning, Monitoring and Reporting

• Lead the implementation of the activity Monitoring, Evaluation & learning Plan (AMELP) for the RASS project.
• Oversee the collection of data via a variety of tools and methodologies at the county level for Activity results tracking, reporting, adapting, and learning.
• Work with RASS and implementing partners to develop tools and facilitate methods for timely and accurate collection of performance indicator data as defined in the AMELP.
• Develop standard tools and guidelines for data collection and processing and provide training for all staff and partners on data collection and reporting tools, forms, templates, and specific types of documentation necessary for verification.
• Ensure standardization of tools across all objectives & partners, share periodic reports and store information/datasets in a secured server ensuring compliance with data protection policies.
• Ensure high quality data is collected by systematizing routine data quality assurance and control reviews, conducting or supporting field visits and spot checks, and supporting USAID/external partners during official data quality assurance (DQA) reviews, with built in logic and validations, and with GPS coordinates to verify location and other layers of data quality.
• Maintain and update an Activity information management system with DAI and partner activity data and update internal and external data management systems, like DAI TAMIS and USAID’s DIS.
• Periodically feed into the reporting requirement in the RASS Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).
• Consolidate RASS project data and reports, ensure all activity data are verified, analyse, and submit monthly factsheet and Activity Performance Dashboard using PowerBI with infographics.

Evaluations & Assessment:

• Conduct periodic performance, context, and complexity-aware-monitoring (CAM) activities along with learning activities to be reviewed quarterly during QPRs with the technical staff so they are aware of progress and can share lessons learned and respond to scenario-based planning.
• Facilitate external evaluations by working with partners and donors in developing and reviewing terms of reference (ToR), competitive selection of consultant or firm, helping to facilitate inception meeting, provide background documents to consultant or firm, work with project team and partners to facilitate field visits, and support the review of evaluation reports, including a debriefing meeting and sharing of findings and recommendations for learning.
• Facilitate joint monitoring and evaluation visits at the field level with partners, technical team, donors, and the communications team.
• Come up with field specific Assessment plans in consultation with the CLA/MEL Director, Senior Field Supervisor, and partners on upcoming surveys and assessments.
• Work with the Objective Leads to develop appropriate methodologies and assessment tools to measure results and conduct annual assessments on MEL processes in collaboration with technical staff and relevant stakeholders.
• Lead the process of internal evaluations, if necessary, which could include reviewing methodologies, helping develop data collection tools, managing field work and overseeing data quality, analysing data, and helping to write evaluation reports and facilitate debriefings.
• Maintain confidentiality of all beneficiaries and internal information.

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA): **

• Help implement CLA based on the AMELP, including the facilitation of collaboration efforts, assisting with learning activities, and identifying ways to adapt and track the status of action items.
• Support any research efforts to answer the set of learning questions.
• Facilitate learning activities such as Pause-and-Reflect sessions in collaboration with RASS, technical specialists, SBC/GEYSI, and external stakeholders to support the identification, analysis, and synthesis of lessons learned from the RASS activity.
• Utilize complexity-awareness monitoring (CAM) through contextual analysis, rolling assessments, outcome harvesting, and quick stakeholder feedback surveys—to ensure early detection of unintended positive and negative consequences, changes in social norm trajectory, and non-linear causal relationships that can affect results.
• Facilitate the conduct of learning events in the form of an After-Action Review (AAR) to allow team members and leaders to discover what happened and why, informing both successes and challenges for future programming.
• Any other duties assigned by the CLA/MEL Director.

QUALIFICATIONS

· Education and Work Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Statistics, or Social Sciences and four years of relevant work experience conducting MEL and/or research activities or Master’s degree in similar field as previously described above and one year of relevant work experience. Demonstrated USAID field experience of 1-2 years desirable.

· Demonstrated Professional Knowledge: proven experience and competency in GIS and mapping software, familiarity with USAID or other donor economic growth, food, and livelihood objectives/projects, advance data analysis , and demonstrated knowledge of USAID MEL guidance and policy in the context of the program cycle.

· Demonstrated Professional Ability: proven advanced data analysis skills using Microsoft Excel, STATA, SPSS and/or data visualization using PowerBI, demonstrated experience using programming forms with mobile data collection applications (Kobo Toolbox or similar), and demonstrated ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders for data collection, data verification, reporting and dissemination that are consistent and context specific for in remote locations of South Sudan. Proven ability to work independently and in teams with minimal instruction.

· Demonstrated Communication Skills: Ability to communicate/collaborate effectively across teams, cultures, gender, and generations, including with team members based in other countries and time zones. Professional fluency writing and speaking in English is a must, with fluency in Juba Arabic. Local languages are a plus. **

REQUIRED ATTRITBUTES OF ALL RASS TEAM MEMBERS

• Be Flexible and Adaptive – given the pace and frequency at which conditions may change in South Sudan, team members are expected to be agile with position requirements, adapting to changing circumstances to successfully meet the objectives of the contract with USAID.
• Be Collaborative and Inclusive –individual team members are expected to model openness to new and competing ideas, seek feedback from colleagues, demonstrate and internalize respect for diverse opinions, and proactively create safe spaces for participation in decision-making processes to ensure the views of different groups, gender, and levels of understanding and experience within systems where RASS operates are considered and incorporated into activity programming, security, and development of RASS policies and procedures.