Altynai Kussainova

I would like to state that I have the relevant academic background to successfully perform the functions and duties envisioned: I studied sociology, statistics, management, program evaluation and analysis at the Moscow State University in Russia and the New York University in the United States. I have a scholarly degree in sociology (PhD from Moscow State University, 1995) and a Masters degree in management from New York University (2000). From August 2009 I had been working in Monitoring and Evaluation Department of BOTA Foundation, in the beginning as Impact Evaluation Specialist, and then as Manager for Monitoring and Evaluation and as M&E Department Director, from 4th January 2012. The BOTA Foundation was an independent non-profit organization registered in Kazakhstan and operating according to the Law on Non-Commercial Organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan. BOTA was set up on May 14, 2008 upon an agreement of the governments of Kazakhstan, the United States, and Swiss Confederation. In the course of BOTA programs' implementation, I have obtained valuable and proven experience in designing, adjusting and implementing M&E Systems for the three BOTA program components, - CCT (Conditional Cash Transfers Program), TAP (Tuition Assistance Program) and SSP (Social Service Program), - serving more than 200 000 direct beneficiaries and more than half million indirect beneficiaries and distributing 115 million dollars, to fulfill its mission in providing assistance to impoverished families and individuals in Kazakhstan within 5 years, under close supervision of the three Governments of Kazakhstan, USA and Switzerland, the World Bank and two international US organizations IREX and Save The Children. I was closely involved in working with BOTA MIS (Management Information System ) as one of the critical and innovative tools used by M&E Department to ensure three programs monitoring and evaluation; fulfillment of conditionalities by beneficiaries, distribution of payments by months, monitoring and evaluating intended and unintended outputs, effects and outcomes ; with BOTA targeting tool PMT (Proxy Means Test), which was another innovative tool used by BOTA programs for targeting the poorest population (the bottom 30%); in all 16 regions of Kazakhstan. I believe I have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform M&E jobs, using methods, instruments and other means of the contemporary project and program design, management, monitoring and evaluation, and would strive to add value to your division. I am well acquainted with special software packages for statistical data processing (SPSS), and experienced in Microsoft Office programs (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point, and others). My previous work experience included as a requisite effective English communication skills, both oral and written, in a diverse team of project participants and partners, including international experts from Save The Children, IREX, Oxford Policy Management. The key skills that constitute my success in the workplace are - thorough knowledge and understanding of key M&E principles and approaches for designing, monitoring and evaluating the program outputs, effects and impacts, with the use of Logical Framework methodology; careful drafting of the detailed M&E plans translating the higher level hierarchical goals into routine tasks, and monitoring and evaluating performance at different stages of the program implementation, with the use of Results Monitoring Framework approach; combining skills for quantitative and qualitative M&E, working in different dataset analysis software, using the advanced program functions for analyzing the extensive arrays of quantitative and qualitative data, including Excel, SPSS (version 19); participating in developing, organizing and maintaining the highly responsive Management Information System, setting tasks, coordinating with the programs for specifying the demand for data, and constantly upgrading MIS, along with the updating the manuals and guidelines on different functions and for categories of users. Upon request, I can provide three references from my previous work place.