Position: Beneficiary Services Manager
Reports to: Country Representative
Location: Addis Ababa
The Beneficiary Service Manager is responsible for leading all monitoring, evaluation and reporting activities related to MEDA’s EMERTA program in Ethiopia. He/she will play a key role in promoting internal processes that encourage continuous learning and growth through information tracking and sharing. The Beneficiary Services Manager will lead a team of professionals in formulating and understanding indicators of progress in EMERTA, gathering project information and disseminating internally and externally to relevant parties, training and informing EMERTA staff about project tools and approaches that inform and guide the project successfully. He/she will be a key player in the assembling of reports and other documents that accurately reflect the project both internally and externally. The Beneficiary Services Manager acts as a member of the Senior Management Team and will advise on senior-level issues affecting the project and, in turn, MEDA’s partners, donors and beneficiaries in Ethiopia.
Major responsibilities include:
1) Establishing a clear understanding of project objectives, plans and strategies and promoting continuous learning through the use of tools, observation, reflection and adjustments to deliver on project objectives
2) Guiding the Beneficiary Services team in learning and documenting lessons that will best serve the project, staff and partners.
Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:
· Implement systems for monitoring of performance against objectives and identification of areas requiring improvement. Evaluate and improve on these M&E systems periodically, adapting them to meet changing project needs as required.
· Encourage continuous learning within the organization and project and maintain links to other project and MEDA staff to document and disseminate ongoing learning.
· Establish and maintain a data quality assurance system which includes supervision at regional and headquarter level;
· Develop Terms of Reference for Mid-Term and Terminal Evaluations and support the overall mission of the evaluation consultant.
· Ensure that reporting, data quality and reporting systems of MEDA are standardized and harmonized with those of donors and peer Value Chain implementers;
· Ensure that gender and environmental impact considerations are effectively integrated at design, implementation, analysis and report writing stages for all produced M&E products. Support project management and technical staff in incorporating gender and environmental issues in the project M&E system (performance questions, indicators, sampling, procedures, analysis of gender-differentiated implementation and impact, etc).
· Build the capacity of field staff in data collection and routine monitoring of project activities; provide tools and training as needed;
· Coordinate with other project partners and M&E institutions in Ethiopia to share resources and ideas in areas of M&E related to training, logistics and behavior change activities; liaise routinely with MEDA headquarters M&E staff to share experiences, tools and opportunities;
· Compare actual project performance against plans through performance reviews, variance analysis, data quality audits and other performance verification/assessment processes;
· Based on performance monitoring results, determine whether any corrective or preventative actions are indicated, and recommend those actions as necessary;
· Identify new risks and analyze, track and monitor existing risks to make sure the risks are identified, their status is reported and that appropriate risk management plans are being executed;
· Maintain an accurate, timely information base concerning the project and its associated documentation through completion;
· Monitor implementation of approved changes to the project as they occur;
· Act as a member of the EMERTA project Senior Management Team
· Perform other duties as assigned by immediate supervisor.
Essential: Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Statistics, Social Sciences or other relevant discipline
Desirable: Master of Arts or Science, training or meaningful experience in M&E for donor funded projects. Experience with gender or environmental impact assessments, and/or household economic impact/profile experience.
Desired Experience:
· At least 7 years working in a non-governmental organization or other relevant organization, demonstrating increasing responsibilities
· Experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation of major donor funded projects
· Organizational experience at a senior level and ability to gather and analyze information and communicate effectively regarding project performance.
· Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Amharic, including report writing
· Computer skills: Microsoft Office Applications, specifically Excel and Word and Access, experience with applications such as SPSS or EpiInfo an asset; MS-power BI, iFORM Builder
· Results oriented and able to work in a team
· Demonstrating accountability and commitment
· Ability to communicate effectively and build positive relationships; experience in training others.
· Knowledge of information gathering/research and analysis techniques
· Sound decision making
· Experience in supervising and guiding a team.