MEAL Assistant - Nandi at Save the Children

Project Context 

The Building Climate Resilience and Adaptive Capacities of Tea Producing Communities in Nandi project aims to strengthen Agro-economies, climate resilience and well-being of smallholder tea farmers, women and children, in Nandi County through enhanced integration of climate sensitive sustainable land-management practices and access to carbon market finance. The project aims to reach smallholder farmers with climate-smart agriculture extension services and agroforestry, enhance reforestation/afforestation in community and protected areas, strengthening market linkages and supply chain infrastructure. This will be complemented by targeted nutrition awareness interventions.

ROLE PURPOSE

Under the general guidance and direction of the MEAL Coordinator and close working with Programme Manager; the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Assistant will work as part of the Nandi Carbon project team responsible for program quality assurance, accountability, documentation and learning. S/he will be involved in day-to-day implementation of the M & E system of the project including data collection, collation, entry, analysis and use for decision-making. The Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant will conduct quality assurance activities of field-based data collection mechanisms, program implementation and community accountability process. In addition, the MEAL assistant will support M&E systems at project level (PRIME), and other field-based data processes to produce reliable/quality data and support platforms for data use platforms for decision-making for the project. 

SCOPE OF ROLE: 

Reports to: MEAL Coordinator

Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH. Save the Children now has an operational presence in Bungoma, Nandi Refugee Camp, Garissa, Nandi, Mandera and Wajir and we work through partners in many other parts of the country. Save the Children’s humanitarian response to the current drought focuses on Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL), nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), health, Education and Child Protection.

Staff directly reporting to this post: None

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Work with the MEAL Coordinator, contracted carbon development MVR service provider and program team in all processes of ensuring efficient project data Management including collecting, organizing, and verifying accuracy of data (QAQC) before it is captured into database.
• Work with the MEAL Coordinator, contracted carbon development MVR service provider and program team to troubleshoot and maintain the sustained effective operation of the MRV (CommCare) system. 
• Oversee data reporting and entry and provide summaries and regular trend monitoring as requested by program teams in CommCare data system and in any other tool.
• Maintain and share updated database of all program data on regular basis and help retrieve information to inform project reporting.
• Participate in regular report writing and provide appropriate feedback to the supervisor and the field staffs accordingly.
• Participate and lead in facilitating Community feedback sessions and beneficiary Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews and follow up on feedback with the relevant departments.
• Assist in collecting and documenting human interest stories and case studies as benchmarks for best practices for use in periodic newsletters and other Assistant al(??) publications.
• Assist in undertaking data quality audit, spot checks and on-job trainings on proper data/information keeping for the various supported health facilities and community units.
• Assist in developing a system of analysing and managing information on beneficiary lists and training databases.
• Support in planning and organizing for surveys/evaluations, operational research and supervising data collection.
• Maintaining Monitoring action Tracker and the Indicator Performance Tracking Table for all projects in PRIME and output tracker.
• Support Beneficiary Accountability across all programmes in keeping with the Accountability Framework, ensure prompt follow-up on feedback received.
• Maintain the CFM database and conduct regular analysis to inform decision making and future project designs.
• Support the process of testing and adopting relevant technologies for improving the efficiency of the program’s MEAL function. 
• Any other task as advised by the supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Must hold at least a bachelor’s degree /Diploma in Social Sciences, Agriculture, Environmental Science, Development Studies, or Population Studies, or relevant field (with coursework in M&E, research and evaluation methodologies, statistical analysis or organizational development) or similar field of study.
• At least 1-3 years of program monitoring and evaluation experience 
• Certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation from University of Nairobi, AMREF or Kenya Institute of Management will be an added advantage
• Proven experience of undertaking evaluations/research with outstanding skills in qualitative and quantitative research and data analysis using relevant software such as STATA or SPSS and ATLAS.
• Good communication skills in English and Kiswahili. Local language (Nandi) preferred

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Minimum of 3 years of experience working in INGO’s and or UN Agencies in developmental programmes, with 2+ years in field postings, and 2+ years working for an international agency on monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Experience of, and commitment to working through systems of community participation and accountability
• Demonstrated strong monitoring and evaluation skills, including planning/participating in evaluations
• Ability to write clear and well-argued assessment and project reports
• Technical expertise in various data analysis software and proven experience using mobile technology for data collection with experience of electronic data collection using tablets or other devices.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills and experience with statistical/graphical software or spatial software. 
• Proven experience with current technologies, such as web-based data management and analysis tools, digital data collection (CommCare, Kobo collect etc), mapping, Google applications, data visualization, interactive dashboards, etc
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with experience working in multicultural, multi -location, values driven teams.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children International’s aims, values and principles.

Desirable

• Experience working in agricultural farm settings preferred.
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Experience of managing private and international donor funded projects
• Experience of training and capacity building.
• Some experience of representation and ability to represent SC effectively in external forums.