The Feed the Future Ethiopia Value Chain Activity is part of the US Government’s Feed the Future Initiative and the Government of Ethiopia’s (GoE) Agricultural Growth Program II (AGP-II), and represents a major United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investment in the agricultural sector over the next five years. The activity will be implemented by agribusiness consulting firm Fintrac Inc. from January 2017 to December 2021.
The M&E Specialists, based in mizan office, is part of a team responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation activities. These activities necessarily include but are not limited to survey and sample design; routine and sample survey-based quantitative and qualitative data collection; data entry, cleaning, and management; data quality assessments; analysis and report writing; and internal evaluations of performance. The M&E Specialists report directly to the Regional Office Manager of SNNPR and work cooperatively together with the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Database Specialist and GIS Specialist in head office.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
· Manage the activity data management system, CIRIS; this includes data collection, entry, and confirmation of client and stakeholder demographic data, activity participation, technical assistance visits, investments, and other data points;
· Ensure that all client and partner information including complete demographic information and global position system (GPS) coordinate data is collected and entered in CIRIS;
· Provide training and technical support to regional technical staff in the use of CIRIS and other activity M&E systems, including proper methods for data collection, entry, and confirmation;
· Support and facilitate the baseline survey in the region including and not limited to the selection of enumeration areas, development of a sampling frame, confirmation of the data collection questionnaire, and training of enumerators;
· Assist in the design and execution of sample surveys and routine data collection activities;
· Assist the M&E Manager in verifying and ensuring data quality through internal and partner DQAs, including liaising with partners and coordinating field visits;
· Develop quarterly progress reports for submission to the activity head office and regional AGP-II partners;
· Train subcontractors and grantees in the region in proper M&E data collection and reporting;
· Provide any necessary M&E data and information to regional manager and other activity staff as needed;
· Assist in identification and documentation of best practices, lessons learned, and success stories;
· Communicate and participate in meetings with the activity’s partners including regional AGP-II coordination office, ATA, and others;
· Ensure that source documents are properly filed and documented; and,
· Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Sr. Agribusiness Coordinator and M&E Manager.
· Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics/economics/measurement and evaluation/statistics or related field of study from recognized University.
· 3 to 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation specialist position in an NGO environment, preferably within USAID-funded projects;
· Experience in ag-nutrition, agribusiness, and value chain projects is desirable;
· Practical experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods;
· Ability to effectively operate data analytical software such as excel and SPSS;
· Practical experience in data management and database administration preferred;
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills; in English and Amharic and the regional language.