Senior MEL Specialist- IGNITE

Job Title: Senior MEL Specialist, Inspiring Good Nutrition Initiatives Through Enterprise (IGNITE) Program

Location: Lagos , Nigera

Reporting to: Senior Program Manager (IGNITE)

TechnoServe Background:

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of businesses and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase, and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off. 

Program Description:

The Inspiring Good Nutrition Initiatives Through Enterprise (IGNITE) will build on the foundations of the Technical Assistance Accelerator Prelude (TAAP) program to achieve increased motivation and fortification capability of millers leading to increased proportion of fortified staple foods and conversion of a critical mass of millers to improved food fortification practices across at least eight countries.

IGNITE will facilitate the activation and expansion of a catalytic collective impact initiative â the Millers 4 Nutrition (M4N) coalition â to globally coordinate and locally implement an ultimately sustainable model for delivery of technical assistance (TA) and other services to millers. These TA services, and associated engagement platforms, will establish business cases and motivate and develop capabilities of food processors to improve their performance in the fortification of selected staple foods and condiments, and thereby to achieve large-scale and relevant (contributing to the diets of large proportions of populations in countries where staple food fortification has been identified as part of national nutrition strategies) coverage on a sustained basis. The IGNITE program will be implemented in eight priority countries namely Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania with Nigeria, Kenya, and India serving as the operational hubs.

Job Summary:

Under the overall guidance of the Hub Country (Nigeria) Senior Program Manager and Global MEL Manager, the Senior MEL Specialist will plan and implement the proper systems and procedures that generate timely, high quality data and analysis that enables adaptive management within the IGNITE program across the 4 program geographies in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania). They will perform the technical activities related to monitoring & evaluation and serve as the primary point of contact for data collection and aggregation that supports project reporting and will provide inputs to inform project decision-making.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Establish the MEL approach for the project, including:

Develop and execute a work plan for data capture and reporting against project performance indicators and emergent project information needs. Identify and implement the appropriate information-gathering approach to inform emergent knowledge gaps that are relevant for project decision-making such as processor market share data, stakeholder engagement mapping, and tracking of Strategic Fortification Partner (SFP) collaboration objectives Manage the data collection and management process from primary data sources provided and validated by the country teams in the aforementioned 4 African countries under IGNITE for final reporting to ensure quality Design additional input forms, feedback surveys, and data gathering mechanism that may be required to enhance the centralized database- Relationship Management and Activity Tracking Tool (RMATT). Develop and manage regular data quality assessments, data cleaning and data analysis to produce data visualization sets for reporting and presentations Provide technical assistance and training to responsible staff on their role in performing data collection, analysis, review, and use. Working closely with the global MEL Manager and Advocacy, Knowledge Management, and Learning Manager to review, analyze, and present findings from monitoring reports and other collected data to identify insights that can inform project implementation strategy Contribute to the building and maintenance of dynamic country level dashboard of the project.

Contribute to the Adaptive Management Approach:

Provide leadership to relevant program team members to ensure comprehensive understanding of the role of MEL in adaptive management. In collaboration with the Senior Program Manager, regularly review and revise the projectâs logical framework, ensuring itâs updated in accordance with knowledge gained during implementation. Ensure information flows across the program country team through the sharing and analysis of new information. Actively engage with global leadership team on areas for course correction, serving as an embedded evaluator to source opportunities for improvement and lessons learned. Coordinate data collection and reporting on project learning agenda under the leadership of the Senior Program Manager and Global MEL Manager.

Required skill and experience:

A Bachelorâs degree in a relevant field, such as economics or other social science, business administration, agronomy or relevant field and a minimum of 5 years of experience in program management or implementing multidisciplinary and results-based M&E systems OR a master's degree and 3 years of similar experience Experience utilizing M&E methods and methodologies (including qualitative, quantitative, and participatory methods as well as the use of causal logic in designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating projects) Knowledge of and capacity to learn data collection and analytical software (e.g. Commcare, Excel, NVivo, SPSS, or others) Strong written and oral communication skills and experience producing clear and concise reports. Capacity to translate research, methodologies, and data into accessible formats for colleagues with non-technical backgrounds Expertise in data management, analysis, and interpretation, skilled at data visualization. Takes an inquisitive and creative approach to problem-solving. Management skills, such as project management, personnel management, work plan management, and/or financial management Willingness and availability to undertake field visits

Required Languages  Proficiency in English.

Travel Willingness and availability to undertake field visits.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Strong written and oral communication skills and experience producing clear and concise reports. Capacity to translate research, methodologies, and data into accessible formats for colleagues with non-technical backgrounds Knowledge of and capacity to learn data collection and analytical software (e.g. Commcare, Excel, NVivo, SPSS, or others) Expertise in data management, analysis, and interpretation, skilled at data visualization. Takes an inquisitive and creative approach to problem-solving. Management skills, such as project management, personnel management, work plan management, and/or financial management

Supervisory Responsibilities â Not applicable

Closing statement:

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.