Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist - ARE Program

. BACKGROUND

The Lebanon Agriculture and Rural Empowerment (ARE) program is a multi-year project funded by USAID to develop rural economics in Lebanon through support to the agro-food sector and other industries to unlock local and export sales potential while also creating jobs and increasing farmers’ and worker’s incomes. ARE will increase jobs; improve incomes; improve female participation and employment opportunities; increase domestic and export sales; increase private sector investment; improve access to finance; link value chain actors to domestic and international markets; and improve farm production through improved practices, technology, increased volume, and/or decreased cost. 

II. POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist will support the project’s MEL efforts across all technical areas of the ARE project to ensure monitoring and evaluation procedures are done in compliance with the projects approved MEL plan and USAID standards and regulations. The MEL Specialist will be responsible for implementing the MEL plan and designing and populating the project’s MEL systems in coordination with the project’s MEL Director. The specialist will work with technical staff to develop and oversee tools for data collection, storage, and analysis. The Specialist will assist in training staff and partners on MEL system operations, collection methods, and tools. In collaboration with the MEL Director and project leadership, the specialist will analyze and report on lessons learned from project interventions to aide the design and implementation of future project activities.

III. DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES

• Assist the MEL Director to lead implementation of the Lebanon ARE MEL plan, ensuring it aligns with contract requirements and client objectives
• Under supervision of the MEL Director, develop data collection tools necessary for capturing and reporting on project indicator data, and coordinate development and utilization of tools with Data Collection Assistants as necessary
• Maintain project data in Chemonics’ Monitoring and Evaluation Software (DevResults)
• Identify opportunities for integration of new technology into MEL tasks
• Ensure that project staff are considering and applying data to maximize learning from data and using data in making project decisions  
• Oversee and organize the collection of data in accordance with the approved MEL plan; Works closely with the Data Collection Assistant(s) in the collection and analysis of project specific data
• Ensure that data is collected and analyzed according to the Data Quality Assurance (DQA) system specified in the MEL plan
• Participate in training project staff on general MEL concepts and terms, data collection, and reporting procedures
• Contribute to the development of annual work plans and regular project reports, and reviewing the MEL plan accordingly.
• In coordination with the Data Collection Assistant, compile and analyze data on project indicators for contractual reports to show the progress against project objectives and targets, and report findings to project senior leaderships, as well as prepare reports for submission to USAID
• Respond to ad-hoc requests from USAID to provide MEL data in a timely manner
• Support the technical teams in refining and finalizing the project’s results framework, theory of change, and other MEL frameworks during work planning sessions
• Collect and disseminate lessons learned and best practices to internal (home office) and external stakeholders, as appropriate
• Review MEL systems periodically to evaluate effectiveness, and adjust tools and procedures as necessary to provide the project with accurate and useful data
• Attend, with the MEL Director, data verification and data quality assurance meetings with USAID’s third party MEL auditors
• Perform other duties as necessary and as assigned by the MEL Director or Chief of Party

IV. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, including international development, nature or social science, research, etc.
• Minimum three years of experience with monitoring and evaluation functions
• Familiarity and knowledge of USAID, or other donor, monitoring and evaluation standards, rules and regulations preferred
• Relevant experience with economic growth, agriculture, or another relevant technical field to the ARE project preferred
• Strong analytical skills
• Computer skills in Word, Excel and other program required, familiarity with relational databases preferred; experience with mobile data collection (tablet or phone-based application) preferred
• Excellent writing and spoken communication in English, fluency in Arabic

V. LOCATION OF ASSIGNMENT

The MEL Specialist will be based in the project’s main office in Beirut, Lebanon and travel throughout the country as required.

VI. REPORTING

The MEL Specialist will report directly to the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director, or their designee.