Vacancy Announcement: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Specialist

Download PDF version here

Title: Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Specialist

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Type of contract: Project-based (2 years), renewable

Application deadline: Monday, June 11, 2018 (Deadline extended)

Background

Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PedaL) is one of nine partnerships supported by Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education Innovation and Reform (SPHEIR). SPHEIR was established by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to deliver systemic and sustainable change within higher education systems, enabling them to meet labour market needs and generate the job-ready, entrepreneurial graduates needed to accelerate development, build inclusive societies and promote strong economic growth. SPHEIR partnerships seek to transform the quality, relevance, access and affordability of higher education to achieve sustainable, systemic change.

Consistent with the objectives of SPHEIR; PedaL is premised on the need to catalyse systemic change in teaching and learning in African universities. PedaL will be implemented by a partnership of eight institutions over a period of approximately three and a half years. The partner institutions are: Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR); Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA); University of Ghana (Ghana); University of Ibadan (Nigeria); University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania); Egerton University (Kenya); and, Uganda Martyrs University (Uganda).

The partnership has designed a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan to be operationalized upon commencement of PedaL in early 2018. The MEL plan is critical for tracking, assessing and reporting progress as well as harnessing lessons from emerging intentional and unintentional results to enhance the expected impact of PedaL.

It is envisaged that the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer will work across the partnership under the direct supervision of PASGR, the lead partner. She/he will also work closely with the teams responsible for implementation of PedaL in respective partner universities. She/he will report to the PedaL Project Lead at PASGR who has the overall responsibility for the MEL plan and its successful implementation.

Role Profile

Summary of Key Responsibilities:

1. Coordinate implementation of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan across the partnership;
2. Ensuring quality and accountability of MEL;
3. Provision of technical support to the University PedaL Implementation Teams (UPITs);
4. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing on MEL; and,
5. Information Management.

1. Coordinate implementation of MEL plan across the partnership:

• Monitor progress and effects of PedaL against the strategic priorities;

• Support UPITs to monitor and evaluate progress and effect of PedaL in respective universities as well as coherence with the overall strategic priorities; and,
• Facilitate monitoring of cross cutting issues by all stakeholders at all levels.

2. Ensuring quality and accountability of MEL:

• Ensure the systems used to collect data on indicators and to generate relevant MEL reports comply with established quality standards;
• Analyse lessons learned for quality and accountability; and,
• Propose and facilitate external reviews/audits as agreed with UPITs and PedaL Steering Committee.

3. Provision of technical support to each of the UPITs to:

• Monitor and evaluate the indicators of success and set milestones;
• Identify best practices, develop and use simple and value-adding monitoring strategies and tools;
• Design and execute in-depth case studies and quasi experiments as necessary;
• Undertake reporting responsibilities ensuring coherence with existing reporting requirements; and,
• Carry out MEL capacity building.

4. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing on MEL:

• Lead on the analysis, interpretation and reporting of MEL results;
• Identify and formulate MEL findings, lessons learned and recommendations and integrate results into decision-making processes for further project development;
• Transform MEL results into learning in a way that engages and capacity-builds partners;
• Facilitate dissemination of learning through effectively communicating with partners, other SPHEIR partnerships, donors and other stakeholders.

5. Information Management:

• Oversee the design of the PedaL database and facilitate its establishment;
• Liaise with UPITs to provide data; lead the aggregation of data across the partnership and facilitate access.

Competencies

1. Education:

• Master’s Degree or above in the social sciences or any other relevant discipline.

2. Knowledge / skills:

• Knowledge of principles and current approaches to MEL;
• Strong skills in collecting, analysing, interpreting qualitative and quantitative data;
• Knowledge of stakeholder engagement;
• A high level of written and verbal communication, including an ability to write clear and concise reports; and,
• Sound knowledge of design and delivery of higher education programmes.

3. Experience:

• Demonstrable hands-on experience at the national or international level in design, monitoring and evaluation of complex projects, preferably across multiple locations;
• Proven capacity to build the MEL skills of colleagues and/or partners;
• Experience in evaluation of higher education programmes; and,
• Experience in the use of office software packages and handling of web based project management systems.

4. Personal characteristics:

• Excellent interpersonal and intercultural skills and ability to interact professionally with partners, donors, stakeholders and staff at all levels of the organisation;
• Skilled at multitasking and prioritising, working independently with minimal supervision, leading and designing projects autonomously;
• Team player, facilitating open communication in the team and building relationships;
• Flexible and adaptable: willing work irregular hours in accordance with the needs of the role;
• Initiative taker, makes sound judgment, creates synergy and manages conflict; and,
• Open to learning and sharing knowledge.

5. Functional Competencies

• Building partnerships: maintains an established network of contacts for data collection as well as general information sharing and remains up-to-date on partnership related issues;
• Innovative: documents and analyses innovative strategies and new approaches for purposes of updating the MEL plan; and,
• Stakeholder orientation: establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit, partnership, and with internal and external stakeholders; anticipates the needs of partners and addresses them promptly.

Salary

This position attracts a competitive package that includes basic salary, medical, group life and group personal accident insurance and provident fund up to pre-set limits.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted electronically via email to PASGR (recruitment@www.pasgr.org ) by Monday, June 11, 2018 at 1700hrs. All applications must contain a detailed Curriculum Vitae and the contacts (telephone and email address) of three references. The subject line should read “Recruitment of MEL Specialist.”

 About PedaL

The PedaL partnership will design, deliver and entrench PedaL pedagogy across programmes in African universities. PedaL pedagogy is a suite of intentional and integrated interventions in design, context, processes and content of teaching and learning through strategies such as use of case studies, flipped classroom, role plays, and a range of problem based learning activities.

PedaL aims at introducing original, intense and exceptional learning moments and events. The purpose is to substantially improve student learning outcomes and to produce quality students who are able to create and sustain opportunities that stimulate economic growth and wellbeing. This will be achieved through the following four specific objectives:

1. a) Designing features, supporting materials and processes that drive PedaL pedagogy in university programmes;
2. b) Developing the capacity of university teaching staff to utilize PedaL pedagogy and establishing a network of academics committed to the transformation of teaching and learning in African universities;
3. c) Institutionalizing PedaL in universities and mainstreaming it for social science programmes; and,
4. d) Designing and implementing a robust Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning process to ensure effective delivery and sharing of learning.

About PASGR

The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) is an independent, non-partisan pan-African 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organisation established in 2011 and located in Nairobi, Kenya. PASGR’s vision is a ‘vibrant African social science community addressing the continent’s public policy issues’. PASGR seeks excellence in social science research for public policy.

In partnership with individual academics and researchers, higher education institutions, research think tanks, civil society organisations, business and policy communities both in the region and internationally, PASGR supports the production and dissemination of policy relevant research; designs and delivers suites of short professional development courses for researchers and policy actors; and facilitates the development of collaborative higher education programmes.

PASGR focuses on the production and dissemination of policy relevant research; designing and delivery of suites of short professional development courses for researchers and policy actors; and development of collaborative higher education programmes relevant to governance and policy. Through three core programmes (Research, Professional Development and Training, and Higher Education), and in collaboration with the right mix of universities, research institutions, government, policy actors, researchers and academics; PASGR works towards a vibrant African social science community addressing the continent’s public policy issues.

PASGR utilizes partnerships to advance higher education programmes, research and training as well as to facilitate research-policy communities across the continent. The Higher Education Programme, for instance, strengthens social science research and public policy graduate-level teaching and practice through a partnership with 13 universities in 7 African countries to deliver a collaborative Master of Research and Public Policy (MRPP) programme. Over the next three years and beyond, the PedaL will form the core of the Higher Education programme, implemented simultaneously with and reinforcing other ongoing initiatives such as the MRPP and the doctoral programme.