• Title: MEL Coordinator
• Reporting Unit/Supervisor : MEL Manager
• Location :Gitega
• Grade : 5
• Travel : Domestic: 30-50%

TechnoServe Background:

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business 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.

About the project:

TechnoServe is currently implementing a 5-year, multi-million-dollar USDA-funded coffee sector development project in Burundi. The Burundi Better Coffee Initiative (BBCI) aims to strengthen the competitiveness of Burundi’s coffee sector by improving on-farm production, local processing, marketing, and the supportive ecosystem. A big team which is managing and delivering field project operations of different program components is active in the project area. Inclusion of women and youth in all components and activities of the project is critical.

Position Description

Under the overall guidance of the MEL Manager, the MEL Coordinator will perform the technical activities related to monitoring & evaluation for the project. In collaboration with the MEL Manager, He/She will 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.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Support MEL implementation for the project, including:

• ● Manage and execute a work plan for data capture and reporting against project performance indicators and emergent project information needs.
• ● Contribute to the design of forms, surveys, and indices as well as the data management system
• ● Draft pre-populated Attendance sheet templates and ensure proper translations and all feedback is incorporated
• ● Provide essential tools and training for use to the field team for their daily data collection reporting such as paper attendance sheets an digital applications;
• ● Provide technical assistance and training to field staff like farmer trainers and agronomy team on accuracy of data collected on their daily activities;
• ● Correct and provide feedbacks to the field teams for improvement in terms of data collection and submissions
• ● Conduct field visits to understand the context and identify new areas of investigation
• ● Participate in the data collection and management process from primary data source to final reporting, ensuring quality throughout.
• ● Daily management of the Farm College Attendance Database of different cohorts and for different needs.
• ● Supervise data collected and submitted through digital monitoring tools on a regular basis.
• ● Perform regular data quality assessments, data cleaning and preliminary data analysis in accordance with the validated and established mechanism.
• ● Conduct visual check and compare submitted data in the MEL system with the reported ones on paper attendance paper sheets.
• ● Conduct frequent data checks on attendance, surveys and field visits of the Farm College
• ● Compare regular reports of data on attendance both from manual and digital MEL tools and flag any inconsistency
• ● Running the STATA do-file and generating Excel mail merge files for Attendance purposes
• ● Prepare or review attendance Back-Check reports based on TechnoServe Coffee program Scope of Performance.
• ● Implement qualitative and quantitative methods to inform knowledge gaps.

Provide inputs to data-driven decision-making:

● Actively participate in a culture of reflection and data use.

● Share and discuss findings to help identify insights to inform project implementation strategy.

● Provide primary inputs (qualitative and quantitative) for periodic reviews of the project’s logical framework.

● Support information flows across the implementation team and the sharing and analysis of new information.

● Actively engage with field staff on areas for course correction, serving as a collaborative and reflective source of information to inform project progress.

Participate in the broader M&E ecosystem at TechnoServe:

• ● Attend capacity building meetings and other relevant events related to MEL
• ● Support access and insight into the project’s M&E approach to facilitate the Regional MEL’s assessment of the project against organizational standards and annual impact reporting
• ● Provide inputs to lessons learned that are shared across the project and the broader TechnoServe community
• The above listed tasks are not exhaustive but constitute the major binding scope of s/his/er work, s/he might be requested to support the project‘s activities helping to reach its goals.

Required Skills & Experience:

• ● A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as economics or other social science, business administration, agronomy or relevant field and a minimum of 2 years of experience in program management or implementing results-based M&E systems
• ● Knowledge of agricultural value chains in general, with specificity to coffee sector, including market actors, characteristics, norms and institutions
• ● Experience participating in the implementation of M&E methods and methodologies (such as qualitative, quantitative, and participatory methods)
• ● Knowledge of and capacity to learn data collection and analytical software (e.g. CommCare, Excel, SPSS, Stata or others)
• ● Written and oral communication skills and a capability to produce clear and concise reports.
• ● Strong skills in data management, analysis, and interpretation; ability to present data in simple and straightforward graphs and tables.
• ● Takes an inquisitive and creative approach to problem-solving.
• ● Time management skills
• ● Inherent value and respect for voices of staff at all organizational levels, external stakeholders, and the women and men we work with.
• ● Fluency in English strongly preferred; full proficiency in French and Kirundi are mandatory.
• ● Willingness to undertake regular field visits
• ● Ability to work well independently, and function effectively as a member of a geographically dispersed team.

Preferred Qualifications:

• ● Proficiency in English is preferred.

Required Languages:

• ● Fluency in French with excellent oral and written communication skills and good knowledge of English required.

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 affirmative action employer 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. If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.

NOTE:

• - Only selected candidates will be invited to take the recruitment tests.
• - Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.