Monitoring and Evaluation Director

POSITION TITLE: Monitoring and Evaluation Director

LOCATION: Kathmandu, Nepal

UNIT: Agriculture

REPORTS TO: Chief of Party

BACKGROUND:

The USAID/Nepal funded KISAN project is improving food security in twenty Hill and Terai districts in the Western, Mid-Western and Far-Western regions of the country. The project is in its third of five years. The goal of the project is to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in Nepal by achieving inclusive growth in the agriculture sector, increasing income of farm families, and improving the participation of the private sector in promoting agriculture growth. Many farmers in Nepal, particularly smallholder farmers in rural areas, lack access to quality inputs, technologies, information, and markets. KISAN is interested in improving the efficiency of key supply and value chains, and expanding their reach to rural farmers, to help increase smallholder farmers’ productivity and income.  To ensure sustainability, the KISAN project is working with the private sector to take on the role of engaging famers in commercial or semi-commercial agriculture.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The M&E Director will have primary responsibility for implementing the approved KISAN M&E Plan and complying with USAID and Feed the Future’s data collection and reporting requirements with respect to data quality and timeliness. S/he will manage M&E staff and systems to track project outputs and outcomes and assess progress in achieving annual and life of project targets. S/he will work closely with the COP, KISAN technical experts, USAID, and project partners to ensure that project performance data is accurate, timely, complete, and used in a strategic manner.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technical leadership to the project team to ensure compliance with USAID and Feed the Future data requirements and KISAN’s approved M&E Plan
• Lead the M&E Team in data analysis and reporting, including providing performance data tables for monthly, quarterly, and annual reports
• Strengthen M&E capacities across the project team, including but not limited to developing training curriculum and overseeing training activities related to data collection and reporting for field and partner staff
• Oversee data quality analysis (e.g. field visits, spot checks to assess data accuracy and backup documentation)
• Oversee data management in Winrock WIKISAN database
• Oversee field survey activities to track KISAN’s key performance indicators related to project outcomes
• Ensure that all project data submitted to USAID includes a detailed narrative that documents data sources, assumptions, deviations from prior reports, and other potential data issues
• Update M&E Plan as needed
• Supervise the M&E Manager and GIS & DQA Expert and Other M&E Staff
• Develop decision-support tools and performance feedback mechanisms for project managers, partners, and beneficiaries
• Identify and document potential case study topics and lessons learned
• Serve as the primary liaison to the third party evaluation team and ensure that the project is evaluation-ready through ongoing data quality assessment
• Other tasks assigned by the COP

QUALIFICATIONS

The M&E Director must have the following qualifications:

EDUCATION: A masters degree that includes coursework in statistics and other analytical methods, such as sociology, economics, and public policy. The candidate does not need to use statistical software, but must be highly analytical and data savvy.

EXPERIENCE: Minimum of five years experience managing monitoring systems for donor-funded projects in Nepal. Preference will be given to applicants with USAID experience, experience designing and managing surveys and interview questions, and/or experience in the agriculture, small business development, or natural resource management sectors.

ANALYTICAL SKILLS: The applicant must be a strategic thinker, capable of understanding “the big picture” and working out detailed data collection solutions. He/she should be experienced in using data to support evidence-based decision-making.
Language:  Fluency in spoken and written English. Must be able to clearly communicate complex ideas in English.

COMPUTER/IT: Proficiency in MS Office: Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

OTHER: The candidate must be a team player and effective manager who is committed to capacity building and able to work in a multicultural environment. Must also be very detail-oriented. Must be willing to travel to the West, Midwest, and Far West regions. We encourage women and individuals from disadvantaged communities to apply.

How to Apply

Interested candidates can post their CV to Jobs.KISAN@winrock.org within April 25, 2015. Mails received after the stipulated date will not be entertained.