Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Officer

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Department Program Operations (PrOps) - Pact exists to help create a world where those who are poor and marginalized exercise their voice, build their own solutions, and take ownership of their future. The Program Operations teams contribute to realizing this by: ensuring effective project management through supporting project startups, implementation, reporting and financial management as well as closeouts; portfolio coordination: providing a coordinating role across departments in DC that support country offices and programs; working with country teams to develop, refine and pursue their strategies by leveraging technical knowledge (our own and others) and supporting business development as needed; knowledge sharing and learning: enhancing communication between country offices and DC-based teams to ensure better understanding of the diverse operating environments and program approaches.

Position Overview

Pact is recruiting a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Officer for an upcoming 4.5 year, USDOL-funded child labor reduction project in critical mineral-producing communities in Zambia. The project will aim to achieve the following outcomes: (1) Increased capacity of government to address child labor and forced labor in critical mineral producing communities and (2) Increased resiliency of members of vulnerable households in communities producing critical minerals.

Reporting to the Project Director, the M&E Officer provides strategic guidance, vision, and management for successful monitoring and evaluation of the program. This individual also supervises monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) staff and ensures the strategic and functional integration of all MERL activities as well as active collaboration with sub-awardees and USDOL. The Officer oversees all MERL activities, provides technical direction and support, ensures the accurate reporting of results for program activities and ensures the program aligns with Pact’s quality standards for MERL in close coordination with Pact’s Results and Measurement (R&M) Team. This position is contingent upon award.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design and implementation of the project’s MERL system in coordination with Pact’s HQ Results and Measurement (R&M) Team to develop key performance indicators, targets, tools, and appropriate MERL responsibilities across the project.
• Coordinate any external evaluation processes, including drafting evaluation ToR and selection of firm, in alignment with award.
• Develop and disseminate relevant M&E tools, formats and lead the provision of M&E specific technical training
• Oversee data collection, collation, storage, analysis, and reporting, ensuring that data is of high quality and data quality audit worthy
  • Ensure appropriate training and supportive supervision of all partners in monitoring and evaluation procedures, data collection tools, and data management practices in alignment with the MEL Plan
  • Work closely with partners to establish their internal MERL systems, M&E plans, and data quality management
  • Conduct Routine Data Quality Assessments (RDQA) and implement corrective actions to improve data quality and accountability of staff and partners
  • Develop and maintain accurate information in a project database, as well as accurate and timely electronic files.
  • Calculation and reporting of Pact’s Global Indicators through imPact, Pact’s instance of DHIS2, and calculation and reporting of project data into imPact
    • Responsible for the data analysis, writing, and review of the results and learning sections of program reports in collaboration with program staff, before submission to donor and ensure consortium partners’ compliance with internal data quality requirements and timely submissions for reporting.
    • Commitment to applied learning and adaptation based on data: Lead the program team on routine reviews and interpretation of data for learning and adaptation; package and disseminate timely findings in a meaningful way, and make suggestions for adaption
    • Perform any other prevention duties as required.

      Basic Requirements

      • Bachelor’s degree in statistics, demographics, public policy, international development, economics, or related field is required. Master’s degree or advanced certificate in M&E, statistics, economics, or international development is preferred; or ten years or more of experience.
        • Minimum of five years of professional experience in a senior M&E position responsible for implementing M&E activities of international development projects is required.
        • Demonstrated success in designing, implementing, and operating project M&E systems from project initiation to closeout stages is required.
        • Demonstrated experience in planning and managing various studies, for example, performance evaluations, baseline studies, case studies, and gender/diversity-related studies is required.
        • Demonstrated experience designing and managing multiple disaggregation variables in participant monitoring and database systems, including gender and age, is required.
        • Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and performance measurement, including indicator design, target setting, reporting, database management, and developing M&E and/performance monitoring plans, is required.
          • Demonstrated experience in designing and administering data collection tools, conducting data entry, data cleaning, and data processing & analysis is required.
          • Demonstrated experience managing and providing ongoing training to M&E field officers and/or sub-awardees is required.
          • Knowledge of the major evaluation methodologies (e.g., qualitative, quantitative, mixed method, and impact) and data collection and analysis methodologies is required.
          • Experience with data quality assessments and oversight.
          • Fluency in English is required.

            Preferred Qualifications

            • Zambian work experience preferred.