Senior MEL Specialist

JOB DESCRIPTION

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

The Senior MEL specialist will support MEL implementation for the project, including:

• Execute a work plan for data capture and reporting against project performance indicators and emergent project information needs.
• Implement qualitative and quantitative methods to inform knowledge gaps.
• Participate in the data collection and management process from primary data source to final reporting, ensuring quality throughout.
• Contribute to the design of forms, surveys, and indices as well as the data management system.
• Ensure databases are updated regularly, ensuring coherence and alignment with TechnoServe data quality standards.
• Able to merge/munge data from a variety of sources, verifying its validity, to produce cohesive analysis.
• Perform regular data quality assessments, data cleaning and preliminary data analysis.
• Share and discuss findings to M&E team in order to help identify insights to inform project implementation strategy.
• Conduct field visits to understand the context and identify new areas of investigation.
• Provide technical assistance and training to field staff on their role in performing data collection, analysis, review, and use.

Provide inputs to data-driven decision-making:

• Actively participate in a culture of reflection and data use.
• Support the documentation of best practices.
• Produce information to share lessons learned and for advocacy purposes.
• Provide primary inputs (qualitative and quantitative) for periodic reviews of the project’s logical framework.
• Support information flows across the implementation team and the sharing and analysis of new information.
• Actively engage with field staff on areas for course correction, serving as a collaborative and reflective source of information to inform project progress.
• Contribute to the internal reports by drafting it with M&E findings.

Participate in the broader MEL ecosystem at TechnoServe:

• Attend capacity building meetings and other relevant events related to MEL.
• Support access and insight into the project’s M&E approach to facilitate the Impact Team’s assessment of the project against organizational standards and annual impact reporting.
• Provide inputs to lessons learned that are shared across the project and the broader TechnoServe community.

Basic Qualifications:

These are the requirements that any qualified candidate must meet. Typically includes

• A bachelor’s degree with minimum of 5 years MEL experience or a Master’s degree with minimum of 3 years MEL experience in a relevant field, such as economics or other social science, business administration, agronomy or relevant field and minimum of 3 years of experience in program management or implementing results-based M&E systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

Additional qualifications that would make a candidate more desirable.

• Experience working on USDA-funded projects in Nigeria.
• Experience working with an INGO.
• Experience working on an agronomy donor-funded project.

Required Languages Excellent written and spoken English.

Travel Willingness to travel to field locations.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

This section should highlight the competencies that would make a candidate successful in the role such as:

• Strong interpersonal skill.
• Knowledge of donor (USDA) MEL requirements a plus (standard indicators, expectations for evaluations and reporting, etc.)
• Experience participating in the implementation of M&E methods and methodologies (such as qualitative, quantitative, and participatory methods.
• Knowledge of and capacity to learn data collection and analytical software (e.g. Commcare, Power BI, Excel, Looker Studio, Big Query, or others).
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and a capability to produce clear and concise reports.
• Strong skills in data management, cleaning, analysis, and interpretation; ability to present data in simple and straightforward graphs and tables.
• Take an inquisitive and creative approach to problem-solving.
• Time management skills.
• Inherent value and respect for voices of staff at all organizational levels, external stakeholders, and the women and men we work with.
• Ability to work well independently, and function effectively as a member of a geographically dispersed team.