Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer – Luapula Province

USAID SCALING UP NUTRITION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (SUN TA)
PROVINCIAL MONITORING AND EVALUATION OFFICER

LUAPULA PROVINCE

DAI works at the cutting edge of international development, combining technical excellence, professional project management, and exceptional customer service to solve our clients’ most complex problems. Since 1970, DAI has worked in 150 developing and transition countries, providing comprehensive development solutions in areas including crisis mitigation and stability operations, democratic governance and public sector management, agriculture and agribusiness, private sector development and financial services, economics and trade, health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS, avian influenza control, water and sanitation, natural resources management, and energy and climate change. Clients include international development agencies, international lending institutions, private corporations and philanthropies, and host-country governments.

1. Project Background:

The Scaling Up Nutrition Program is a cross-ministry and multi-donor program to reduce stunting in Zambia through implementation of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) 1,000 Most Critical Days Program.

SUN TA provides support and direct technical assistance to sub-national local government departments in target districts to plan, implement, coordinate, and monitor integrated nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific activities to reduce the rate of stunting among Zambian children under two and improve the nutritional status of pregnant and lactating mothers. USAID has identified two main objectives that address stunting, including (1) Adequate Quantity and Quality of Dietary Intake among Target Groups; and (2) Adequate Health Conditions for Biological Utilization of Nutrients. SUN TA interventions increases access and availability of safe, diverse, nutritious food; adoption of better child feeding and household hygiene practices; and access to improved health, water and sanitation services. The project prioritizes sustainability by improving intra-household joint decision making and building the capacity of local government and their stakeholders to ensure coordination, accountability, and learning, following the Scaling Up Nutrition model.

1. Location:

Luapula Province: The Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will be based in Mansa and will be covering the Luapula Province with frequent (more than 50% of time) travel throughout assigned districts: Mansa, Samfya and Nchelenge.

2. Objective:

The Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will work directly with the MEL Team Lead to implement the SUN TA monitoring and evaluation function at the provincial level. S/he will be responsible for data collection, collation, data quality assurance, data entry and reporting. S/he will work in close coordination with the SUN TA district technical team and focal persons from the line ministries at the district level to ensure timeliness, effectiveness and efficiency in data collection and subsequent upload onto the online database management system. S/he will also be required to be in constant touch with the focal persons of the subdistrict structures to ensure smooth and timeous flow of data from the subdistrict, district through to the national level.

3. Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Operationalize the project monitoring and evaluation system at the district level to support learning, decision making and accountability.
• Spear head the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation activities at the district level and ensure MEL plan/strategy is implemented according to plan.
• Provide regular feedback and updates to the MEL Team Lead on MEL activities at the district level.
• Train and support community-based volunteers and subdistrict structure in the collection of accurate and reliable data, and reporting.
• Manage the collection, storage and retrieval of project data at the district level to support learning and decision making.
• Support the district and subdistrict structures in the collection of monitoring data using the devised data collection forms and transpose it on the online database management system.
• Support the SUN TA district team, District Nutrition Coordination Committee (DNCC) and Subdistrict structures in the verification, and update of data, including ensuring data is accuracy and reliability.
• Support the DNCC and the subdistrict structure in conducting M&E review meetings.
• Supervise studies and surveys at the district level.
• Liaise with the key stakeholders at the district with the view of gathering feedback on the data collection tools for possible improvement.
• Undertake other monitoring and evaluation functions as needed.

4. Reporting and Supervision:

The Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will report directly to the Director-Monitoring and Learning and will be supported by District Managers at District level.

5. Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience

Required

• Bachelor’s degree, Development Studies, Economics, or any related social sciences.
• At least 3 years of working experience in Monitoring and Evaluation or other related field.
• Computer skills in spread sheets, database management, word processing, SPSS or other statistical packages.
• Competence in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Proven record of data and information collection, collation, review, analysis, presentation skills and data visualization.
• Previous experience working in the international development or humanitarian sector in in a MEL, data analytics or research capacity.
• Strong computer skills, including the ability operate management systems.

Desired

• Formal training in monitoring and evaluation.
• Experience with data collection using Open Data Kit, KoBoTool box or other online or offline data collection solutions.