Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

A. PURPOSE

The M&E Officer is responsible for guiding the overall M&E strategy and implementation of related activities within the project and via partners, plus providing timely and relevant information to project stakeholders. This entails close communication with all involved in M&E framework design and coordination: core project staff; representatives from the steering committee or similar units; representatives from primary stakeholder groups; and the project director, external consultants and field staff when appropriate, plus members of external M&E-related missions.

B. KEY FUNCTIONS

Critical tasks for the M&E Officer is setting up the M&E system and ensuring it is implemented effectively by the key stakeholders, namely the primary stakeholders and implementing partners. This is undertaken through the joint development of a shared M&E system that is based on existing formal and informal mechanisms and systems among key stakeholders. This needs to be supported by facilitating stakeholders to value, have appropriate capacities for and undertake their own M&E activities, and to link these into an overall assessment of project progress and needed actions.

C. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS

Setting up the system

• Help revise the project logframe matrix, particularly in the areas of the objective hierarchy, indicators and monitoring mechanisms;
• Assist Quality Assurance Manager in developing process of developing annual work plan and budgeting forecast with clear and SMART benchmarks in coordination with the programme sections, area offices and project heads;
• Develop the overall M&E framework in consultation with project team that includes annual project and mid-term reviews, participatory impact assessments, process monitoring, operations monitoring and lessons-learned workshops;
• Guide the process for identifying and designing the key indicators for each component, to record and report physical progress against the annual work plan.
• Assist the reporting department in steering the process for designing the appropriate reporting formats for monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports;
• Guide the process for identifying the key performance questions and parameters for monitoring project performance and comparing it to targets; plus design appropriate format for such performance reports;
• Clarify the core information needs of central project management, the steering committee (or similar body), funding agencies and the cooperating institution;
• Set out the framework and procedures for the evaluation of project activities in consultation with project stakeholders;
• Review the quality of existing social and economic data in the project area, the methods of collecting it and the degree to which it will provide good baseline statistics for impacts evaluation;
• Based on the review of existing data on the area, draw up the TOR for, design and cost out a baseline survey and a needs assessment survey;
• Recruit, guide and supervise organizations that are contracted to implement special surveys and studies required for evaluating project effects and impacts;
• Develop project-related capacity-building plans on M&E and identify or mobilize additional resources to implement and monitor the progress and impacts;
• Organize and undertake training with stakeholders, including primary stakeholders, in M&E skills, including participatory aspects.

Implementation of M&E

• Based on the annual work plan and in particular the programme budgets, design the framework for the physical and process monitoring of project activities;
• Assist the reporting department in reviewing and analyzing project progress reports in terms of problems and actions required; plus prepare consolidated progress reports for programme managers to submit to the respective donors in accordance with approved reporting formats and deadlines;
• Carry out interim evaluations on a regular basis ensuring outputs are shared to those concerns and concrete action plans are devised and followed;
• Organize and constant tracking of all projects and programmes monitoring and evaluation schedule and work with base staff to design and implementation monitoring and evaluation procedures;
• Adopt top down (linking indicators to objectives) and bottom up (capturing main programme activities) integration process;
• Review monitoring reports, analyze them for impact evaluation and to identify the causes of potential bottlenecks in project implementation;
• Collaborate with staff on qualitative monitoring to provide relevant information for ongoing evaluation of project activities, effects and impacts;
• Foster participatory planning and monitoring by training and involving primary stakeholder groups in the M&E of activities;
• Conduct selected departmental monitoring and evaluation and provide suggestions for various plans within the organization;
• Identify the need and draw up the TORs for specific project studies;
• Ensure that, in general, project monitoring arrangements comply with the project agreement and, in particular, the provisions of this agreement are fully observed in the design of project M&E;
• Inform and join external supervision and evaluation missions – of funding and other agencies – by screening and analyzing monitoring reports as well as by furnishing direct personal knowledge of the field situation;
• Organise (and provide) refresher training in M&E for project and implementing partner staff, local organizations and primary stakeholders;
• Ensure that follow up procedures are in place and are regularly followed;
• Plan for regular opportunities to identify lessons learned and implications for the project’s next steps. Participate in these events when possible.

Communication

• Prepare reports on M&E findings, as required, working closely with Finance Manager, technical staff and other partners;
• Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E and to identify where adaptations might be needed;
• Guide the regular sharing of the outputs of M&E findings with project staff, partner organizations and primary stakeholders.
• In collaboration with the Finance Officer assess the budget expenditure against annual work plan and contribute to analysis as to causes behind the differences between planned and actual achievements; plus communicate relevant project managers and Head of Programme with necessary management information;
• Develop regular reports for the information of Programme and Department Heads highlighting areas of concern and preparing the documentation for review at meetings;
• Communicate departments evaluation priorities for subsequent years;
• Check regularly that monitoring data are discussed and mainstreamed in programme and project implementation. If necessary, create such discussion forums to fill any gaps.

Participate in external missions and facilitate mission team members’ access to M&E data and to stakeholders.