Senior Advisor for Research and Evaluation at Pact

Location: Ethiopia
Last Date: October 20, 2010

Senior Advisor for Research and Evaluation
Ethiopia

The Senior Advisor for Research and Evaluation will lead and oversee the internal M&E functions for the USAID funded Pact project on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Ethiopia. Under the leadership of the Chief of Party, the Advisor will be responsible for initiating the design, research and monitoring of a comprehensive evaluation and impact assessment of the project through its five year implementation.


The Advisor will ensure the development and management of an effective monitoring and evaluation of the program and will provide Pact and its local and regional partners with a well-defined strategic approach and appropriate mechanisms for evaluation. The Advisor will develop a Performance Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning framework that will be used by Pact and its partner organizations as well as generate information and lessons to be shared with the Government of Ethiopia and the donors. He/she will establish a system that will facilitate and harness maximum achievement of the program’s objectives and track progress toward results. He or she will have overall technical responsibility for the project’s extensive internal evaluation effort, at impact, outcome and process levels, and work closely with the COP and project staff and partners in ensuring the achievement of overall OVC health and education goals and objectives.

The Senior Advisor will be the immediate supervisor of the Monitoring and Evaluation team of the program that will include both M&E and data management personnel. He/she will also provide overall M&E guidance to the grantees under the program.


Main duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead the development and implementation of M&E activities for Ethiopia OVC
projects. Provide on-going technical assistance to the field through the life of the
project and data quality verification of results reporting and PMPs.
• Support the development and management of a robust database that will facilitate
the sharing and utilization of data from local, regional to national level systems.
• Institutionalize data management and quality control within the program and its
partners including government partners at local and regional level.
• Lead assessments, evaluations, DQA, surveys and monitoring assessments of
the OVC project.
• Design, collect, analyze and report on baseline, mid term and end-line data and
impact assessments
• Develop preliminary impact indicators for OVC health and education.
• Initiate and document surveys and provide research and evaluation findings,
knowledge management and learning agenda
• Provide guidance to and train country teams, partners and grantees on optimal
use of research tools for routine OVC research and for monitoring health and
education impact of local, regional and national interventions
• Support and implement research and evaluation activities, including designing
studies and data collection tools (both quantitative and qualitative, as appropriate),
designing appropriate sampling strategies for quantitative methods, and analyzing data.
• Take a lead in developing and facilitating a learning agenda for the program.
Provide input into new program development by reviewing conceptual frameworks
and M&E plans.
• Provide in-country assistance such as advising on evaluation planning, strategizing
M&E system components and methods, reviewing baseline or evaluation reports,
and/or reviewing M&E system data collection or management tools.
• Support and oversee all data reporting and semi-annual reviews as well as
facilitate the provision of information to inform programming
• Help ensure that best practices in design, monitoring and evaluation, as well as
NGO community-wide initiatives, are incorporated into the on-going work of the team.
• Provide management oversight to the M&E team
• Liaison with partner organizations in M&E


Knowledge and Experience:

• Advanced degree (MA, MPH, PhD or related) in international development or
other relevant social science. Coursework in research design and statistical
analysis is required.
• 7-10 years experience working in international development, five years of which
must be related to applied research design and evaluation, with a preference
to candidates with international experience coordinating applied research in the field.
• Excellent analytical skills that include both an attention to detail and an ability to
comprehend complex conceptual frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to explain research findings and their implications, both orally
and in writing, and design and implement evaluations, surveys, monitoring systems
and operational research.
• Proficiency using one of the common statistical analysis software packages
(SPSS, Stata, SAS or EpiInfo).
• Experience in training and capacity development of field and/or HQ-based staff in
various assessment, analysis, and data collection techniques including training in
appropriate software.
• Training in ethical principles of research and experience with analyses including:
multivariate analysis, factor analysis, content analysis of qualitative data, weighting
data and controlling for study design in data
analysis statistical analysis including bivariate and multivariate techniques and
complex survey design and analysis.
• Experience designing and implementing population-based surveys pertaining to health
and/or education and public health interventions in developing countries.
• Experience with methodologies including: quantitative behavioral studies, qualitative
research, operations research, applications of GIS in behavioral and market studies,
and development of multi-item scales

Desirable
• Experience working with government partners, particularly MoH, and with USAID projects
• Experience working in Ethiopia, Amharic language skills a plus
• Knowledge of and experience implementing CSAS, SQUEAC, SLEAC, LQAS and SMART surveys
• Experience in the utilization of Geographic Information System (GIS), web-based
reporting and database management


Please apply online at: http://www.pactworld.org