Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator

About Self Help Africa & United Purpose

In late 2021, Self Help Africa (SHA) and United Purpose (UP) merged. The two organisations – one headquartered in Ireland and the other in Wales – implement projects to end extreme hunger and poverty.

This merger doubled our size and reach – and means that in 2022 we are implementing poverty eradication projects in 17 countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Collectively, we are also part of a group that includes social enterprise subsidiaries Partner Africa, TruTrade and Cumo Microfinance.

In 2022, our work reached more than six million people and invest upwards of €45m in more than 100 development programmes designed to improve food systems, facilitate access to markets and financial services, combat climate change, and gender inequality, and improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.

This is an exciting time to join us as we unite two like-minded and entrepreneurial organisations seeking to tackle global challenges in progressive and innovative ways.

We are looking for a dynamic, proactive and results-oriented Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator to lead the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) for the Scaling Rural Women Entrepreneurs for Community-Led Digital Adaptation & Resilience in Africa (RWE) Project in Benue and Cross River States in Nigeria.

RWE Project, which will be implemented in Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, combines the lessons learned in Bangladesh from the women-led social enterprise model and the collaborative development practices honed through the GIZ-funded Mobilizing Rural Women Entrepreneurs for COVID-19 Response and Recovery in Rural Bangladesh project. Via the digilab Scaling Lab sprint process, United Purpose-Self Help Africa (UP-SHA) has been working with the digilab and GIZ staff in various departments and across Africa over the last nine months to explore and codevelop the foundation for scaling the RWE approach in Africa. The 12-month pilot will take an adaptive approach to implement the model, evolving at each stage to respond to the unique contexts and demands of the three proposed pilot countries.

Women’s Business Centres (WBCs) have been a growing platform for digital service delivery in remote regions that respond directly to chronic disconnection of the most under-resourced members of rural communities. As women-led organisations, WBCs offer access to skill development opportunities and aggregation services in a friendly, safe, and trusted environment which fosters community and well-being. As the network of entrepreneurs has grown, they have also created new access to digital resources and, more recently, have begun offering fee-for-service training and services to their communities by facilitating access to the growing number of mobile applications developed by both the public and private sectors.

While the introduction of digital service delivery and eLearning is not new in many rural contexts, what is unique is the skilled facilitatory capacity of the WBC entrepreneurs as community leaders and the robust business models which support and sustain new and innovative business ideas. In order to scale this model, the pilot will seek to engage with and strengthen existing community structures, identifying key women entrepreneurs who can lead cooperative social enterprise centres in the WBC model. The pilot will work collaboratively with these entrepreneurs to create market-based strategies and approaches to identify and respond to contextual opportunities in food security, nutrition, WASH, family planning and beyond, integrating their existing business activities in such a way that they are able to build lasting connections and incentives as well as adaptive local structures that are increasingly resilient to disruptions in global supply chains created by the interlinked food and climate crises.

The MEAL Coordinator will contribute to the implementation of activities for the Scaling Rural Women Entrepreneurs for Community-Led Digital Adaptation & Resilience in Africa project. This innovative pilot is testing the relevance and efficacy of a women-led social enterprise model for digital health service delivery in Nigeria. Using a range of participatory mixed methods, the project will map existing market systems in Benue and Cross River states, evaluate care seeker needs, and build marketing strategies from consumer needs, best practices, and contextual perspectives. The MEAL Coordinator will be responsible for the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation strategies, frameworks, and tools that will ensure accurate and timely information and feedback to stakeholders, and for planning and conducting data quality assurance and monitoring activities. This position will be based in Benue with frequent travels to Cross River State and other locations within the country.

Technical M&E lead and advice:

• Develop and adopt M&E tools for measuring and reporting against progress and impact indicators.
• Identify community-derived impact indicators using participatory methods.
• Provide technical support in developing/refining participatory assessment tools.
• Contribute to updating the log frame and results against programme indicators with more detailed input provided towards preparing annual reports.
• Conduct participatory data gathering and analysis focus groups with various stakeholders involved in the project.
• Jointly define market assessment strategies with community partners and other project staff.
• Visit project sites for monitoring and quality assurance of water point construction and repairs.
• Monitoring and data checks on digital health service delivery via Primary Healthcare Clinics to ensure reporting compliance.
• Work collaboratively with other programmes to strengthen integration and cross-learning in the country programme and with Donors.
• Represent the project to community partners and stakeholders.

Training and supporting partners:

• Capacity building of partners and local government authorities.
• To supervise regular data collection and ensure the quality of the data through verifications and validations.
• Provide feedback to staff on project performance based on data collected and findings, and lead partner staff in reviewing project plans as part of the learning and sharing process.

Reporting:

• Provide regular updates reports as per the guidance of the Project Manager, summarising the progress made in project implementation, lessons learned, recommendations for improvement, and case studies.

Documentation and learning:

• Set up and manage the Program Monitoring & Evaluation and learning system for UP-SHA while ensuring adequate technical capacity to enhance the system’s performance to achieve optimal project reporting.
• Participate in regular meetings with key stakeholders at the community/civil society/Local Government level, ensuring a common understanding of the project’s objectives and outcomes.

Team management:

• Supervise and provide guidance to the Project team (M & E Officers & Field Facilitators), implement performance planning and tracking for team members.
• Ensure coordination and teamwork and cohesive team spirit amongst the team’s members.
• Maintain periodic/schedule coordination and project progress review meeting with the team members.
• Ensure Safeguarding at all levels of project implementation.
• Other reasonable duties may be assigned to you that are consistent with the job and its level of responsibility. These will require pre-approval by your line manager.

Internal and External

Education and other qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant subject, or demonstrable work experience in Monitoring and Impact Evaluation, Qualitative and Quantitative research methods, or Marketing Analytics.
• Knowledge of the current M&E trends and especially M&E systems in development organisations.
• Effective communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• Respect for cultural diversity and gender sensitivity.
• Ability to work under pressure.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in Monitoring and Evaluation in the development sector
• Experience in participatory learning and analysis methods
• Knowledge and understanding of project monitoring and evaluation, including data management tools
• Must be a good team player, honest, dependable and willing to be flexible with work hours

Experience in working with culturally diverse teams.

Skills:

• Project management and implementation
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Skills in ICT operation, and proficiency in using MS Office
• Good training, mentoring, and coaching skills (supervising enumerators and field staff)
• Good technical writing skills, presentation, facilitation, abilities for synthesis
• Proactive, resourceful and results-oriented
• Reporting and documentation

Language Requirements:

Written and oral proficiency in English and the relevant local language (Tiv, pidgin English) is required.