Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Advisor, Nigeria

Project Overview and Role:

The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year and €134 million programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that aims to create a prosperous future for 230,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa, and Horn of Africa regions. The Fund will be supporting initiatives in 12 focus countries that will offer youth, in particular young women, opportunities for work that is demand-driven and productive, offering a stable income and safe working conditions, and that is contributing to their personal development and social protection.
The portfolio of projects is selected from business cases that were proposed by private sector, civil society, and knowledge institutions. Each business case has outlined scalable solutions for creating more and better jobs and income generating opportunities for youth. Solutions in particular focus on an integrated approach that addresses the shortcomings on the demand side (jobs) and supply side (skills) and bridging the mismatch between these two in the labour market.

Role Overview:

CFYE seeks a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Advisor to support monitoring, evaluation and learning for Nigeria’s country portfolio at 60% LOE, and to support the implementation of the Fund MEL Strategy at central level at 40% LOE.
At country level (60% LOE), the Advisor will provide MEL capacity building support as needed to Implementing Partners. This entails ensuring that CFYE’s MEL strategy is carried out consistently and that standards are adhered to across projects, identifying and helping to mitigate reporting/data quality risks, supporting the project reporting and review process, and contributing to program learning. At project level, the role involves working closely with Implementing Partners to assess and build their capacity to design fit-for-purpose MEL frameworks/approaches for their projects, and report results in line with CFYE requirements. This position is suitable for a mid-level MEL professional who is highly proactive, able to quickly learn and integrate new information, strong in coaching/capacity-building, and able to operate independently after initial training/onboarding (while maintaining good communication about progress and reaching out for support as needed on technical or operational questions).
At the central MEL activities level (40% LOE), the Advisor will focus on ensuring the strategy is carried out consistently and that standards are adhered to across portfolios/projects. This position is suitable for a mid-level MEL professional who is highly proactive, able to quickly learn and integrate new information, strong in coaching/capacity-building, and able to operate independently after initial training/onboarding (while maintaining good communication about progress and reaching out for support as needed on technical or operational questions).

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Specific Activities & Deliverables at Country Level (60% LOE)

Portfolio-level monitoring and data quality assurance

– Attend onboarding and follow-up trainings, as well as routine MEL Advisor meetings to develop a sound understanding of (and stay up-to-date on any changes to) CFYE’s MEL strategy, system and tools.
– Provide support in the planning and running a MEL Kick-Off Workshop for all Implementing Partners (preparation includes careful review of business cases for all projects in the portfolio, and identifying key questions about the project design and expected outcomes to discuss with Implementing Partners).
– Conduct 1:1 MEL strategy workshops with each IP to orient them to CFYE’s MEL/reporting requirements and standards, co-define the logical causal pathways to the job outcomes (results chain) and identify and interrogate the underlying assumptions, based on a thorough understanding of the project delivery approach.
– Coordinate closely with the Central MEL team to review project MEL templates of each Implementing Partner in Nigeria at key points during Inception Phase, ensuring these adhere to CFYE definitions and standards.
– Conduct (and document findings from) a MEL System Assessment with each IP in the country portfolio to ensure readiness to report quality data against their result framework, and identify specific reporting or data risks, and propose appropriate mitigation strategies where needed.
a) Present the findings back to the CFYE MEL team and to each IP, and contribute to TA Plans for each IP with prioritised MEL  support needs.
b) Follow up on IP progress in addressing any identified gaps, and conduct follow up assessments as required.
– Support the Central MEL team to apply relevant ‘tags‘ to projects and indicators in CFYE’s Data Management System, based on key project/job characteristics.
– Contribute to efforts for building the capacity of Implementing Partners on MEL related activities, which may include tools development, data collection, utilization, and dissemination.
– Review results (outputs and outcomes) submitted by Implementing Partners and conduct data quality assurance activities as per CFYE processes and guidelines (output validation, outcome verification, spot checks, site visits).
– Attend project progress review meetings (quarterly), and prompt IPs to reflect on/discuss learning related to their Results Chain (what’s working or not working within the project design).
– Support projects to update MEL Templates as required during implementation, based on learning and/or project design changes (in accordance with CFYE project change request process).
– Support the Central MEL team to collect evidence of impact for select projects through targeted research/evaluation activities (e.g. in-depth interviews with IPs, youth beneficiaries or other stakeholders) to generate insights and learning, and identify success stories.
– Liaise with the CFYE MEL team on identifying specific learning opportunities within the projects/portfolio, and help to draw out relevant insights related to the CFYE Theory of Change and Learning Agenda.  

Implementing Partner capacity building

– Assess MEL capacity to determine level of support needed during Inception Phase and beyond
– Provide support to IPs (as needed) to complete their MEL template in accordance with CFYE requirements. This includes:
a) A results chain that aligns to CFYE’s TOC and clearly depicts the project logic, from activities to outcomes
b) A results framework with indicators that align to CFYE’s Results Framework, and clear definitions and counting guidelines  (e.g., including thresholds/minimum standards that must be met for jobs to be counted)
c) Sensible targets across the project lifetime
d) A set of output milestones for payment, linked to the results framework
– As needed, work with Implementing Partners to design appropriate data collection methods and data capture or monitoring tools (including approaches for establishing baselines, measuring job quality improvement, indicator progress tracking, etc.)
– Ensure Implementing Partners understand CFYE reporting requirements and processes (including how to complete results sheets and requirements for validation documents).

Learning

– Working closely with Country and Central teams to contribute to strategy development for documenting existing situation and any good practices that have evolved
– Keep up to date with emerging and trending best practices among different Implementing Partners in their process of project implementation, in M & E tools and templates
– Extract and consolidate evidence and learning from the various consultants and partners / grantees involved in the project to identify best practice across the project;
– Participate in the design and maintainance the overall learning strategy with a focus on promoting knowledge acquisition, management, documentation, and dissemination. This entails ensuring the country’s learning agenda aligns and complements CFYE learning strategy and objectives, setting and executing of the appropriate learning system/functions for the project (facilitating regular meetings with IPs, collection, analysis, documentation, sharing relevant information, and support in documenting processes) in consultation with country and central teams
– Support Country team to facilitate learning events to ensure promising practices, success/failure factors, lessons learned, and recommendations are identified across the Country portfolio. This will include participation in cross-country learning events, organizing reflection sessions (after-action reviews, learning to action discussions, quarterly reflection, etc.) with IPs (assessment workshops and self-evaluation sessions for various IPs), Country and Central teams, consolidating lessons learned, and capturing key successes within the project to promote adaptive management into project design and implementation.

Specific Activities & Deliverables at Central Level (40% LOE)

– Serve as the Results, Data and Impact representative for a set of country portfolios/projects, and provide technical backstopping on MEL:
– Provide training, guidance and support for country teams (MEL Advisors Country Leads or Deputy Country Leads) during inception to develop CFYE-aligned Results Chains and Results Frameworks at project level, and carry out MEL System Assessment
– Review and approve MEL templates for all projects in the assigned portfolio, in line with CFYE standards and requirements
– Ensure CFYE’s data quality assurance approach is understood and routinely followed by the country team (includes conducting periodic reviews of project data)
– Participate in project progress review meetings (annually, or more often if needed) and as needed, support country teams to prepare for and deliver portfolio review sessions (quarterly)
– Review narrative reports to capture learning (in relation to the Fund Theory of Change) across the portfolio
– Collaborate with the country team to design approaches and conduct in-depth monitoring or develop case studies (in line with the CFYE learning agenda) on a sample of projects in the portfolio
– As needed, support country teams to design and carry out learning events/activities linked to the CFYE learning agenda
– Support the RDI Manager, country teams and MIS System Administrator to ensure project-level MEL information is captured appropriately (ensure project indicators and disaggregation categories are correctly aligned to the CFYE MEL Framework, and project and indicator-level tags are applied in the data system)
– Identify and draw lessons and patterns emerging from IPs across different projects and countries and ensure that information captured through the MEL system feeds into learning
– Support the RDI Lead and MEL Manager to adapt the MEL Strategy, processes and tools as required.
– Support development and delivery of Standard TA Packages on MEL for Implementing Partners
– Support the annual outcome verification process for select countries (where required)

Level of effort & Contract Period:

Yearly contract, with extension till closure of the project. 

Reporting:

The MEL Advisor will report directly to the Country Lead with technical oversight and support for central activities from the RDI Manager.

Role requirements:

– This role will be based in Nigeria and requires the incumbent to have understanding of the Nigerian context.
– Expertise in MEL, including experience developing and refining Results Chains/Theories of Change and Results Frameworks, indicator selection, baseline assessments, and setting targets.
– Demonstrated experience in capacity-building and supporting programme partners (preferably including private sector partners, such as SMEs) to develop and apply suitable MEL processes and tools, including creating an overall MEL strategy and plan to operationalise it.
– Experience working on job creation, youth, or women economic programmes and knowledge of the key data quality risks in job creation, youth, or women economic programmes preferable.
– Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisations.
– Excellent attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities while meeting timelines.
– Experience using both qualitative and quantitative data collection/research techniques, and advising programme partners on the use of appropriate research techniques.
– Familiarity with the DCED Standard of Results Measurement preferable.
– Willing to travel to IPs around the country.
– Fluency in written and spoken English is compulsory.

Deadline: March 20, 2024