Regional Technical Advisor - Monitoring and Evaluation, SARO

JOB SUMMARY: 

The M&E RTA will provide leadership within SARO to strengthen organizational and staff capacity to design and implement effective monitoring and evaluation systems. S/he will provide technical assistance to SARO Country Programs, their partners and staff to: a) ensure that projects/programs are monitored as needed, b) scopes for evaluation reflect key learning questions, c) high quality external or internal evaluators undertake evaluations, d) recommendations are adopted and lessons learned are disseminated, and e) ICT4D is strategically coordinated and advanced in SARO.  S/he will work closely with other RTAs in SARO, and be part of a network of technical advisors for M&E within CRS, liaising with her/his counterparts to develop and disseminate tools, best practices and policies.  

Overall responsibilities include: 

1. Providing leadership in their portfolio consisting of M&E, learning and ICT4D;
2. Developing and implementing a strategic plan for strengthening capacity of Country Program and Regional staff to design, implement and utilize CRS M&E systems to improve program quality;
3. Assisting Country Programs to strengthen capacity of Local Partner staff to implement and utilize M&E standards and systems to improve program quality;
4. Assisting Country Programs and the Regional team in project design and the development and review of strategies;
5. Collaborating with Regional and Country Program staff to realize a learning agenda rooted in evidenced-based approaches;
6. Developing M&E resources that benefit SARO staff primarily, but that also have wider agency resonance; and
7. Actively lead the SARO M&E community and participate in the agency M&E community to strengthen CRS M&E globally.

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND SARO has a wide range of programs funded by multiple donors, and Country Programs are increasingly requested to provide additional information to demonstrate the impacts of their programs.  These programs include significant programming in Health, HIV, OVC, water, agriculture, peacebuilding and emergency.   The program quality group provides technical assistance in a wide range of areas.  The group is led by the Deputy Regional Director for Program Quality and includes Technical Advisors for Health, OVC, agriculture and environment, peacebuilding and growth/business development.   In most cases, monitoring and evaluation support is provided cross sectoral lines.  The M&E RTA is in a unique position to work with other TAs to develop and strengthen systems for monitoring and evaluation, both within specific projects, across program areas and organizationally at the Country Program level.  Equally, the other RTAs are well-equipped to contribute to the development of effective monitoring and evaluation systems and tools within their sectors. CRS has a good set of project related guides, tools and resources including: ProPack I, II and II, focusing on project design, implementation and monitoring, respectively.  In addition, CRS has a set of M&E standards for its projects and Country Programs.  These Standards represent an agency-wide initiative that responds to the mid-term review of the M&E 10-year action plan and they reflect agency values and guiding principles and build directly upon ongoing activities in several CRS Regions. These Standards are a key element in the CRS’ Organizational Change strategy that addresses accountability, innovation and learning. Within this context, the M&E RTA will provide technical support to Country Programs in the implementation of these guides, tools, resources and standards to positively impact on the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems that improve program quality. S/he will also assist Country Programs in helping strengthen the capacity of local partners’ monitoring and evaluation systems.  The M&E RTA will work closely with the DRD/PQ and other TAs to advance a learning agenda for the Region. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES  

1. Improving Program Quality:The primary responsibility for the M&E RTA is to strengthen the capacity of Country Program staff to design, implement and utilize M&E systems to improve program quality.  S/he will work directly with Heads of Programming, M&E staff and Program Managers at the Country Program level to build capacity and to develop, implement and/or revise systems, as needed.  The M&E RTA will work closely with sectoral Regional Technical Advisors to support the implementation and utilization of M&E systems for improving program quality.  This will enable the Region to have greater impact in helping Country Programs implement systems more broadly, across a variety of program indicators.  The M&E RTA will work closely with the other TAs to understand and address specific issues they face, and to assist them to improve M&E within their sectors of intervention. Specifically, the M&E RTA will: 

1. Support Country Programs to implement the CRS M&E standards, and other agency-wide M&E initiatives;
2. Support Country Programs to design, manage and use moniting data that includes data quality and verification systems which meet stakeholder information needs
3. Support Country Programs to collect data, e.g. field assessments, baseline, mid-term and final evaluations), including:
   1. Advising on sampling methodologies;
   2. Developing appropriate instruments for data collection;
   3. Designing data management systems;
   4. Advising on data entry needs and requirements;
4. Support Country Programs to analyze and report on data collected, including training in quantitative and/or qualitative methods, as appropriate;
5. Lead and provide support to the regional office and Country Programs in the strategic use of appropriate ICT4D, and document learning;
6. Support Country Programs to recruit and hire M&E staff; mentor Country Program staff.

 2. Supporting Program Growth:Fundamental to realizing growth will be to support the Country Program to:

1. Design projects that ensure rigorous logic between activities, outputs, results and indicators;
2. Develop strategies that are based on rigorous internal logic;
3. Develop appropriate field assessments to collect the information necessary for project design and strategy development;
4. Develop strong links with appropriate staff in donor and other agencies;

 As proposal deadlines often require short submission timeframes, the M&E RTA will need to utilize both formal and on-the-job mentoring opportunities to help build capacity.  The M&E RTA again will work closely with other SARO TA staff to develop strong proposal submissions. 

3. Strengthening Partner Capacity:The M&E RTA will assist Country Programs in strengthening the capacity of local partner organizations and staff to implement and utilize M&E systems to improve program quality.   Specifically:

1. Support Country Programs to assess local partner capacity in the use of M&E systems to improve program quality;
2. Collaborate with Country Program staff to identify and develop action plans to strengthen local partner capacity based on the assessment results;
3. Mentor Country Program staff to strengthen the capacity of local partner organizations and staff through M&E training, supportive supervision and other activities;
4. Identify opportunities and support other TA staff to provide similar assistance and mentoring to Country Program staff.

 4. Supporting Agency Learning:The M&E RTA will collaborate with Regional and Country Program staff to realize a learning agenda rooted in evidenced-based approaches.  Specifically, the M&E RTA will support Country Program and Regional staff to:

1. Establish and manage a M&E community of practice for interested staff working in the region;
2. Identify strategic opportunities for learning;
3. Design and implement systems that will enable evidenced-based learning;
4. Analyze results and draw appropriate conclusions;
5. Disseminate findings, as appropriate;
6. Improve systems for disseminating this information;
7. Identify and develop framework tools with applicability across countries and across programs; develop guidance to support the consistent use of these tools.

 The M&E RTA will also be part of a broader learning agenda linked to M&E for the Agency as a whole, and may participate in various fora from time to time to support this broader agenda.  S/he will also be expected to represent Country Programs, the Region and the Agency to external donors and stakeholders, as well as colleague PVOs, universities, research institutions, and other actors.  The M&E RTA will network with other counterparts within her/his community of practice, and will serve as a key link for the Country Programs to external sources of knowledge and information. 

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and to achieve the desired results.

·         Serves with Integrity

·         Models Stewardship

·         Cultivates Constructive Relationships

·         Promotes Learning

Supervisory Responsibilities:The M&E RTA has no direct reports; however, s/he may be required to supervise consultants, as needed. 

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS Internal: Country Program M&E staff, Heads of Programming, Country Representatives, other TAs within SARO, PQSD M&E advisors, TAs for M&E in other regions, CRS’ Chief Learning Officer and the DRD PQ. 

External: Local Partners, other PVOs; consultants working in M&E; USG, especially USAID, and other donor agencies; professional associations (e.g. National Evaluation Associations) 

 QUALIFICATIONS

Technical/Professional:

1. PhD preferred, or Masters degree and equivalent experience, in a field relevant to a senior M&E position in an international NGO.
2. 7-10 years of progressive responsibility in overseas relief and development programs; at least 5 years experience working for an international agency on monitoring and evaluation.
3. Thorough familiarity with principles and current approaches to monitoring & evaluation of relief and development programs using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
4. Experience in data collection, including survey design and training enumerators.
5. Understanding and experience with data management, including database design.
6. Strong experience analyzing data, including both qualitative and quantitative methods, and experience with appropriate software.
7. Experience training others in M&E, including developing and leading workshops.
8. Understanding of donor expectations and trends for M&E, especially by key donors, FFP, and PEPFAR.
9. Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods.
10. Excellent written and verbal communication
11. Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30% of her/his time.
12. Prior experience in sub-Saharan Africa preferred.

 Personal Competencies:

1. Skilled in working collaboratively with others
2. Able to work with diverse groups of people in a multicultural, team environment.
3. Excellent interpersonal communication skills
4. Self-motivated and able to work without close supervision, including prioritizing work and multi-tasking to meet deadlines.
5. Excellent organization, planning and analytical skills; detail oriented.

 To apply, please visit

EOE/M/F/D/V