SNV Opportunities: Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Advisors
SNV is a not-for-profit international development organization that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy, and WASH to local contexts. SNV has an annual turnover of €130 million, and over 1,250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organization that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and invest in operational excellence. In its current Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV has more explicitly aimed for systems change during project preparation and implementation – by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects.
Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE+) Southern Africa
SNV in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Southern Africa, together with SIDA, is implementing a regional (multi-country) program entitled Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE+), in Zimbabwe and Zambia from 2019 and 2020 respectively. OYE+ aims to improve the livelihoods and prospects for 20,000 out-of-school youths who are socially and economically vulnerable (of whom at least 50% are young women) in “green” jobs, agriculture, and energy through (self-) employment and entrepreneurship using the Push-Match-Pull model. The strategy of the program is market-based and has a strong focus on agriculture and agribusiness value chains to increase incomes. Opportunities for decent youth (self-) employment are identified, and gaps between those opportunities and economically underprivileged young women and men in terms of employability skills, market linkages, access to finance and business coaching and mentoring are addressed.
The Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor (PPMEA) will be appointed as part of the OYE Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) Unit. S/he will support the OYE project manager in the design and implementation of the project MEL framework and data collection systems and ensure strategic and functional integration of all MEL activities. S/he will also support the OYE project team in generating the data and evidence for systemic change occurring for specific interventions and for identifying potentials for vertical and horizontal scaling of the project activities. Working directly under the OYE Project Manager’s supervision, the incumbent will be responsible for providing a quality assurance function at all project-level and providing advice on the quality of the results being reported by projects – this being based on a value assessment of the design and relevance of project systems and the robustness of data collection, analysis and reporting systems. The PMEA will provide strategic direction and guidance for designing, managing and implementing PME systems, comprehensive data analysis, disseminating best practices, training and coaching relevant staff, and developing PME frameworks and technical inputs to project proposals. The objective of this position is to build on the evidence base for planning, implementation and learning. The PMEA must have experience with the Embassy of Sweden and SDC-funded Youth and urban livelihoods programming planning, monitoring and evaluation standards.
Job DescriptionSetting up PME system
- Assist in developing and finalizing project M&E work plans and keeping them updated according to project activities and timeframes as relevant.
- Manage and where there is a need develop the assigned project’s overall monitoring and evaluation framework/s, including project performance monitoring plan/s, data analysis systems, and data collection systems in line with SNV deliverables.
- Review the quality of existing data in the subject areas, the methods of collecting it, and the degree to which it will provide useful baseline statistics for impact evaluation.
- Develop baseline, midline and end-line data for each project component and all project indicators.
Coordination of PME procedures and tools
- Devise means and standardized procedures for routine data collection to measure achievement against performance indicators.
- Ensure the quality of all data reported by Local service providers (LSP).
- Maintain and administer the M&E database whilst analyzing and aggregating findings.
- Support project progress reporting, project mid-term review and final evaluation as shall be facilitated by SNV.
- Identify lessons learnt and develop case studies to capture qualitative outputs of the project.
- Provide advice to the supervisor on improving project performance using M&E findings.
Capacity development
- Assess the MEL capacity of project teams and provide the participatory and qualitative design of monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches to inform projects results and indicate how SNV programmes contribute to systems change
- Develop planning, monitoring and evaluation capacity development initiatives and implement them according to plan.
- Share and stimulate sharing of relevant PME topics and best practices within the assigned project/s, through the PME community of practice and other relevant learning and knowledge sharing initiatives platforms; and
- Facilitate capacity strengthening of project teams in outcome mapping for planning, monitoring and tracking of progress towards achieving change.
Analysis & reporting
- Produce reports on M&E findings and prepare presentations based on M&E data as required.
- Provide the Project Manager and Planning with management information they may require.
- Check that monitoring data are discussed in the appropriate forums and in a timely fashion in terms of implications for future action. If necessary, create such discussions to fill any gap.
Knowledge Development
- In collaboration with the SNV national, regional and global communications teams provide support in knowledge development and learning, case studies, testimonials and documentation.
Backstopping services
- Build and maintain relationships with project stakeholders, including ministries, local government authorities, the private sector, and partners; and
- Liaise with SNV regional and global MEL teams to share best practices and ensure that SNV Zimbabwe incorporates learning from other colleagues
- Data capturing and uploading of project data into selected Information management systems.
- Design and consolidate data collection tools.
- Liaising with Project advisors and local service providers
- Report writing and consolidation
- Project Research
Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics related field, Social Sciences, Development Studies or equivalent,
- Minimum of 5 years of working experience in planning, monitoring and evaluation,
- Knowledge of the logical framework approach and other strategic planning approaches,
- Experience with M&E methods and approaches (including quantitative, qualitative and participatory), report writing and editing, analytical skills,
- A clean class 4 driver’s license is a prerequisite,
- A knowledge of PME standards for Youth and urban livelihood projects is a must.
CompetenciesProblem analysis
The ability to detect problems, recognize important information and link various data to trace potential causes and look for relevant details.
Focus on quality
Setting high-quality standards and striving for continuous improvement and quality assurance.
Independence
The ability to perform actions and make statements that reflect one’s own opinion or view.
Controlling progress
The ability to control the progress of employees’ processes, tasks, activities and of one’s own work and responsibilities.
Client orientation
The ability and willingness to find out what clients want and need and to act accordingly, taking the organization’s costs and benefits into account.