Field Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at Food and Agriculture Organization

Job Description

The Field Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist is recruited to contribute to the implementation of a USAID funded project which is on Increasing Smallholder Productivity and Profitability (ISPP) and implemented by FAO Kenya in five counties – Machakos, Makueni, Taita Taveta, Tharaka Nithi and Kitui.

The Field Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist is expected to work closely with the FAO County Programme Officers (CPOs) based in the five project counties to implement a monitoring and evaluation system for the project, and to support all related monitoring and evaluation activities.

Reporting Lines

The Field Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will be under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the Project Manager and the Nairobi M&E personnel.

Technical Focus

Provides analytical and operational support to field offices and monitoring and evaluation results-based governance work of FAO Kenya programmes

Tasks And Responsibilities

• Support in implementing the framework and procedures for the monitoring and evaluation of Increasing Smallholder Productivity and Profitability (ISPP) project activities, based on international best practices in M&E approaches;
• Assist the Project manager with the coordination and management of the Project monitoring & evaluation framework and deliver reliable, relevant and timely monitoring reports according to the USAID and FAO reporting calendar, while ensuring that the different project outcome and output indicators are integrated and support each other to optimize project outcomes;
• Support in implementation of tools and/or their revisions as well as data collection procedures under the supervision of the M&E Officer (e.g. logical framework, project performance tracking, indicators, data flow chart, M&E Plans),
• Collate, supervise and organize the farm-based data collection and reports from Trainers of Farmers (ToFs), including the other project teams involved in the data collection, besides overall data management and the documentation and filing of all M&E data, reports and tools to support the findings and figures;
• Track project's output and outcome level results on the periodic basis in close coordination with project's implementing team and report regularly to the Project Manager
• Undertake regular visits to the other field duty stations (five counties) besides her/his residing duty station, to monitor project processes, ensure quality of data collected and to verify accuracy of reported data.
• Assist in identifying capacity needs of project teams (staff and partners) and subsequently enhancing their capacity on data collection, analysis and reporting
• Review ToF’s reports with a focus on checking the quality and reliability of project data and analysis and ensure data is reported on the online system as required;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• At least University degree or equivalent in agriculture, agriculture economics, Home economics, social sciences or related field, with solid background/understanding of the applied economics, livestock production, children nutrition, statistics, M&E, food security and sustainable rural development sectors.
• 6-10 years of relevant working experience with University Degree or 3-4 years relevant working experience with Advanced University Degree .
• Working (written and oral) knowledge (level C) of English and knowledge of Swahili is an advantage.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in work areas, particularly in big data management with focus on data collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting
• Relevant experience in coordinating and manage databases in agriculture
• Experience in leading focus group discussions and collective actions
• Extent and relevant experience in USAID data collection systems and reporting
• Clear understanding of the key sustainable development goals in agricultural sector

Selection Criteria

• Relevant working experience with responsibilities in M&E activities in a USAID project or an international development or humanitarian organisation;
• Proven experience in development of data collection/entry platforms in Kobo toolbox/ODK/survey solutions/EpiData.
• Proven experience in managing field data collection activities using mobiles phones or tablets
• Proven experience in undertaking and managing monitoring & evaluation exercises including data analysis (using relevant statistical packages e.g. Stata, R and SPSS) and reporting;
• Ability to use a logical and structured approach to collate, archive and synthesis information;
• Experience in undertaking primary and secondary data reviews, data collection and analysis;
• Computer literacy of the Microsoft package including Word, Excel and PowerPoint and database software;
• Initiative, judgment, organizational ability and a good sense of teamwork and human relations;
• Experience in development work in remote areas is highly desirable;

Additional Information

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing).
• Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list.
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
• Candidates with acceptable language certificate/s should upload them when submitting their application. For details, visit http://www.fao.org/3/I8446EN/i8446en.pdf
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page.