Creative Associates International Recruitment 2021

In close coordination with the US Embassy and USAID, the goal of the USAID/OTI-funded Littorals Regional Initiative (LRI) is to support US foreign policy priorities to shore up stability and prevent violent extremism in the Littoral region, including Ghana.

Job Description

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer

Initial objectives include:

1. Rapidly delivering effective and relevant programming on the ground through targeted interventions that may be scaled up.
2. Informing and improving USG programming by piloting approaches and sharing reporting.
3. Providing rapid response capacity, from hiring STTAs to quick response activities, in the event of a crisis or opportunity.

POSITION SUMMARY
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Officer is responsible for telling the story of the LRI program through the proactive coverage of activities. Akin to an investigative journalist, the MEL Officer gathers and analyses complex information related to the social, political, and economic context and program activity implementation to produce compelling and rigorously fact-checked stories. Through qualitative data collection techniques, including interviews and focus group discussions, as well as observational techniques and photography, the MEL Officer helps the team learn how its activities contribute to the overall program goal.

This is not a traditional development-sector MEL Officer role.

Location Note: The MEL Officer will be based in northern Ghana, and the exact city is to be determined.

REPORTING & SUPERVISION
The MEL Officer reports to the MEL Manager. The MEL Officer will collaborate closely with Program Development Officers and the Communications & Reporting Officer to develop compelling products.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Field Work

• Conduct site visits during the project implementation phase for each grant in assigned areas.
• Conduct key informant interviews and focus-group discussions with activity stakeholders.
• Take high-quality, impactful photos of the communities and individuals impacted by the program’s activities. Photos should be taken before, during, and after program activities to document change and impact.
• Conduct secondary verification of all results data received from partners, including conducting verification visits, as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain a strong network of contacts in target communities.
• Represent the program positively and professionally in both internal and external environments.
• Travel to remote areas and work independently to monitor activities if required.

Reporting

• Develop Monitoring and Evaluation plans for field-level projects.
• Draft concise, high-quality reports, articles or summaries on a daily or ad-hoc basis on activity progress or outcome. Identify information and stories of relevance to the program.
• Produce weekly activity notes documenting activity outcomes for the OTI online database.
• Conduct periodic research and case studies to measure the impact of activities and assist with program-level evaluation
• Produce “final evaluation reports” (FER) for each activity based on prescribed format after visiting a grant site for verification of indicators.
• Assist in translating M&E findings into success stories and other social media products.
• Assist in the preparation of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Work with the MEL Manager and program staff to analyze and report on trends, lessons learned, and other factors that should better inform program development
• Advocate and promote scale-up of best practices and cost-effectiveness with both staff and stakeholders.
• Perform other tasks, as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, International Relations, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Minimum two (2) years’ experience in journalism, media production, and/or monitoring, evaluation and learning and four (4) years of general experience.
• Strong research and qualitative data analysis skills e.g. context analysis
• Demonstrated analytical ability and experience in report writing.
• Excellent record keeping, and documentation skills are required.
• Videography and Photography still are highly desirable.
• Knowledgeable about USAID Rules and Regulations, previous experience working on USAID-funded projects is preferred.
• Proficient English skills and fluency in one or more of the local languages of northern Ghana.
• Ability and willingness to be based in northern Ghana.
• Must have existing work authorization for Ghana.