Presentation

Founded in 1982,Search for Common Ground (Search) is an international non-profit organization working to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies. Using innovative tools, Search seeks to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches, towards cooperative solutions. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium and Washington, DC, Search is present in more than 30 countries with over 800 employees worldwide. 

 Search has been working in Burundi since 1995 and works at the individual, institutional and community levels to promote inclusive decision-making and management mechanisms and to strengthen the capacity of all components of Burundian society to participate in a meaningful, effective and responsible manner. Its objective is to promote inclusive, effective and responsible participation in the process of social transformation for a just and equitable society.

Search for Common Ground has made Design, Monitoring & Evaluation (DME) a priority within the organization. As an agency, the Strategy Alignment Team (Evidence and Learning) and country programs are upgrading techniques, skills, and expectations in the area of MEARL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Research and Learning)  to further improve our ability to design, monitor, conduct and evaluate intelligent, effective and meaningful programs to make our mission a reality.

Position Summary:

Search Burundi is seeking a DM&E Senior Officer who would lead efforts around design, monitoring, and evaluation in the Burundi program. She/he would work closely with the Strategy Alignment focal point for Great Lakes  , the Country Director, Burundi team , and project partners to implement baseline, midterm and endline  evaluations, conduct regular conflict scans, track project monitoring data, and ensure documentation of results. She/he would be a member of the leadership management team, contributing to Search’s overall strategy and implementation in Burundi. She/he would report to the Country Director.

The DME Senior Officer will be dedicated to the following responsibilities, liaising daily with different project coordinators to meet their specific DM&E needs. The DME Senior Officer will be the primary person responsible for coordinating the research, design, monitoring and evaluation, and organizational learning efforts of Search projects conducted. 

Responsibilities

Help develop the setting up of the M&E systems of the Search Burundi projects and implementation of the M&E plans;

Develop and implement projects’ Monitoring and Evaluation Plans and data collection tools;

Guide and provide organizational support to baseline, mid-term and end line evaluations of Search’s projects, the dissemination of their findings and the development of related action plans;

  Provide technical assistance to the implementing partners, particularly in relation to monitoring, reporting and management issues;

Ensure the availability and lead the development of strong monitoring systems; e.g. create and implement projects logic frameworks, indicators, targets, data collection tools, M&E plans;

Provide timely, quality support and coaching to the different project coordinators and other staff  to meet their specific DM&E needs;

Contribute to identify and synthesize good practices and lessons learned, and organize quarterly reflection meetings for each project;

Conduct regular monitoring missions in the project’s target areas and share findings with the program staff as part of reflection sessions to inform programming;

Oversee internal baseline and evaluation processes, developing terms of reference and supporting the data collection and analysis as well as timely delivery;

Coordinate and manage external evaluation contracts and teams;

Maintain a database to ensure all program outputs and results are accurately recorded to inform programming and reporting; 

Assist Project Coordinators in providing monthly and quarterly reports on all activities, outputs and relevant outcome indicators to the Team Leader and ILT; 

Assist with creating a Knowledge Management strategy for the Burundi program;

Review the quality of the data collected by other staff members and partners during activities and provide them with guidance;

Analyze data collected and share findings with key internal stakeholders;

Work with different partners to ensure that their monitoring tools are used appropriately and data collection has maximum value for the partners, and contribute to strengthening the M&E capacity of partners;

Work with the Strategy Alignment Focal point for Great Lakes to provide support and guidance to the different projects and country strategy in the development and implementation of their M&E plans and support their implementation;

Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the organisation, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge;

Contribute to design, monitoring and evaluation for new projects development and proposal development (developing logical frameworks and proposals);

Participate in regional DME conference calls;

Contributions

Assist in the revision of the project log frame matrix, particularly in the areas of performance indicators and their measurement;

Assist in the development and/or finalization of the project Work Plan and keep it updated in accordance with project activities and timeframes as relevant;

Develop the overall framework, for project M&E, for example mid-term project review, impact assessment, final evaluation, develop project Performance Monitoring Plan with relevant data collection systems;

Conduct quarterly monitoring missions to collect M&E data, and share the findings with program staff;

Maintain a web-based information system (salesforce) to ensure all project indicators have integrated in the information system(GMS/Salesforce) and all results indicators are updated in the system as per MEL plan;

Maintain M&E system to ensure all project outputs and results are accurately recorded and coordinated to inform project staff, and meet regularly with project staff to ensure that their data collection tools are being used appropriately;

Contribute to, identify and synthesize good practices and lessons learned to share as part of quarterly reflection meetings;

Ensure donor reports include strong M&E data showing progress towards our results, and produce regular written and oral reporting to the Country Director on project progress and key M&E issues;

Work with the Regional Focal point within Strategy Alignment Team to provide additional tasks as needed

Analyze data collected through program monitoring and share findings with key internal and external stakeholders on a regular basis.

Review the quality of existing data in the project subject areas, the methods of collecting it, and the degree to which it will provide good baseline statistics for impact evaluation.

Identify areas where technical support to project partners is required. Organize refresher training on M&E for partners as required.

Identify lessons learned and develop case studies to capture qualitative outputs of the project. Provide advice to the supervisor on improving project performance using M&E findings.

Produce reports on M&E findings and prepare presentations based on M&E data as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum of seven (7) years of work experience in a civil society or NGO setting

At least five (5) years of field-based data collection and analysis experience

At least two (4) years of work experience in design, monitoring, and evaluation methodologies

Bachelor’s Degree in a related area required

Knowledge of logical framework and results framework planning and evaluation methodologies, and the ability to coach and train others in their use

Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, as well as the ability to conduct professional relationships

Strong commitment to values in data based decision making, transparency, community empowerment, and program learning

High standards of integrity, professionalism, and impartiality

Able to work independently and effectively in a team environment

Detail-oriented and highly organized, with a proactive approach

Ability to multi-task and work to meet tight deadlines

Proficient in use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel

Excellent ability to communicate effectively in Kirundi, English and French, both verbally and in writing

Ability to travel within and outside of the country

Highly Desirable:

Prior experience as a trainer

Demonstrated technical capacity to provide support and guidance to project staff on design, monitoring and evaluation

Demonstrated technical capacity in the design, implementation, and analysis of various data collection tools including interviews, surveys, focus group discussions, and pre/post -tests.

Demonstrated capacity to coordinate evaluations and research , including experience developing evaluation terms of reference, and recruiting and managing consultants

Demonstrated capacities to analyze the assessment results and suggest some recommendations et show the lessons

Experience working internationally and specifically in conflict/fragile state environments

Knowledge of data analysis software (e.g. SAS, SPSS, Nvivo)

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application (CV and covering letter) online.

The closing date for applications is January 24, 2025.

Only candidates shortlisted for the written test will be contacted.