National Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

VA NO. FAO/KBL/PRJ/SC/08-2021

Functional title:

National Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

Type of contract:

National Project Personnel / Service Contract (NPP/SC)

Grade/level:

SB-4

Number of post (s) :

1 (One)

Duration :

12 (Twelve) Months

Extendable/renewable:

Extendable, based on satisfactory performance and budget availability

Probationary period:

Initial 3 months

Project/programme/unit: 

Household Food & Livelihood Security Project

Duty station:

Kabul with domestic field missions to other project locations.

Sub-station:

N/A

DUTIES / RESPONSIBILITIES:

Organization Settings:

Through its country offices or FAO Representations, FAO assists governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to address hunger, food security and malnutrition and provides technical support for the sustainable development of their agricultural, livestock, animal health, and irrigation and forestry sectors as well as emergency preparedness and response. The activities of the FAO Representation include design and implementation of country-tailored field programmes, liaison with local donor representatives and active public awareness-raising and outreach activities related to the mandate of FAO.

FAO’s assistance in Afghanistan achieves its objectives through capacity development and direct project implementation in four specific areas of FAO’s technical expertise: 

• Better governance through the improved capacity for policy planning, land reform, decentralization, and management of common natural resources;
• Fostering expansion of irrigation and field water management; 
• Intensive agriculture for surplus commercialization, value chains development, and job creation;
• Supporting vulnerable farmers for improved food and nutrition security, resilience, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters and climate change.

The subject position is located in FAO project in Kabul – Afghanistan, with possible travels to project targeted provinces.

Project Background:

This HFLS (Household Food and Livelihood Security) project is intended to be implemented focusing on developing market-driven sustainable livelihoods for both men and women in rural areas. The project also intends to rehabilitate traditional gravitational water management systems (Kareez), which is usually the only source of water for communities. The water management component of the project also includes rainwater harvesting, flood control and on-farm water use efficiency. The agriculture-based livelihood development component of the project includes key activities for crop diversification, climate smart agriculture, good agriculture practices (GAP), value addition and organizing smallholder family farms into common interest groups (CIGs) to build economies of scale. Furthermore, the project intends to address severe malnutrition in the project areas through nutrition education, sanitation, child-care as well as literacy and numeracy training with a particular focus on women in rural areas.

The development objective of the project is to improve food security and resilience among some of the poorest households in selected districts of rural Afghanistan. The project is expected to target the socially and economically disadvantaged groups, in particular women, disabled and other households at the bottom of the national poverty scale, defined as the hard-core poor. 

The project specific objectives include:

• Facilitate improved and sustainable water management in selected micro-watersheds by rehabilitating and improving the efficiency of traditional water management systems such as Kareez water supply systems, community flood management and on-farm water use efficiency;
• Promote and enhance sustainable and resilient livelihoods and nutrition among the most food insecure and vulnerable households in selected areas of rural Afghanistan.

FAO, under this TA component shall provide technical and operational oversight as well as coordinate the activities of the two executing entities, MAIL and MRRD. Furthermore, FAO will serve as the secretariat for the Steering Committee (SC) and support annual implementation planning and monitoring the project. As part of its technical oversight, FAO will focus much of its activities on capacity development for the Extension Department of MAIL at provincial and district levels and will provide technical assistance in overall implementation of the project.

Main Purpose:

FAO is looking for a qualified national staff to fill the position of National Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. This position will support the work of the HFLS (Household Food and Livelihood Security” projects. The post is located in Kabul with frequent travel to provinces.

Working Relationships:

The incumbent interacts with colleagues from within the work unit and with immediate clients from within the Organization.

Supervision Received/Exercised:

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative/Country Director in Afghanistan, and in close technical guidance of project LTO (Lead Technical Officer) and direct supervision of the NPM (National Project Manager), will carry out the following duties and responsibilities;

Key Functions/Results (Duties and Responsibilities)

• Monitor the activities of all four projects and prepare monitoring reports for all projects with inputs from other staff members and ensure that monitoring of projects activities, nutrition and food security indicators are regularly and adequately monitored.
• Develop monitoring formats for assessments, assist data collection, data cleaning/standardization, and data analysis through analysis software
• Roll out the results-based monitoring framework that have been established for current projects.
• Assist the project staff in developing capacity building plan for MAIL, PAIL and DAIL staff in targeted provinces/districts.
• Develop and continually assess methodologies and instruments to strengthen monitoring and evaluation procedures such as collection, documentation, analysis and reporting of data for weaknesses and potential improvements.
• Recommend further improvement of the HFLS projects logical frame work;
• Develop monitoring and impact indicator for the project’s success;
• Monitor and evaluate overall progress of HFLS projects on achievement of results;
• Monitor the sustainability of the project's results;
• Provide feedback to the Project Manager on project strategies and activities;
• Suggest strategies to the Project Management for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the project by identifying bottlenecks in completing project activities and developing plans to minimize or eliminate such bottlenecks;
• Report monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual progress on all project activities to the National Programme/Projects Manager.
• Conduct capacity assessment on existing monitoring and evaluation system, Develop indicators and a monitoring strategy for the projects;
• Provide inputs, information and statistics for six-monthly, annual, terminal and other reports to Project Management Team and other stakeholders, and make sure these statistics and analysis are incorporated within the said reports.
• Participate in annual project reviews, planning workshops, project steering committee meetings and assist the Project Manager in preparing relevant reports;
• Support monitoring and evaluation of the effects and impact of the project;
• Contribute to the reporting of the project and quarterly update the project work plan and log frame data in the FPMIS;
• Assist in coordinating across the available components of the Project to ensure effective implementation of M&E/MIS;
• Assist the project personnel with M&E tools and in supporting them in their use.

Other Activities:

• Perform any other related duties as required by NPM.

Expected Outputs:

• Monitoring formats for assessments
• Draft capacity building plan
• Develop methodologies and instruments
• Monitoring and impact indicator for the project’s success
• Develop monitoring tools and use M&E tools for projects
• Overall  M&E of the project and contribute to progress report;
• Alert the project team to keep the project on track as per Work plan and to manage the project for set results;
• Prepare the exit strategy for the project

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS (TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATION)

Education:

• University degree in agriculture, social science economics, public administration, sociology, management or any closely related field.

Work Experience:

• At least five (5) years of relevant experience in work experience in related field work, i.e. multi-disciplinary capacity on monitoring, experience working with UN or other international organizations is beneficial. implementation and coordination of food and livelihood security projects at small and medium scale in the field;
• Managed a project wherein systematic input, output and process data were collected, summarized and used to guide programmes and projects;
• Experience of working with local communities, preferably in the food and livelihoods security context;
• Working experience with ministries, national institutions, and the rural sector in Afghanistan;
• Previous work experience with the UN is an advantage.

Other Technical/Functional Skills:

• Good knowledge and understanding of MAIL programmes and administrative/management procedures;
• Demonstrated experience in working independently, and as a constructive member of a team and leadership skills;
• Experience in designing tools and strategies for data collection, analysis and production of reports;
• Experience in M&E of projects related to food and livelihoods security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture development is an advantage
• Formal training in programme/project design and formulation, management and evaluation;
• Knowledge of recent developments in programme/project M&E;
• Good technical background in results-based monitoring, evaluation and reporting is desirable;
• Ability or willingness to travel extensively in remote or inaccessible areas to conduct meeting and awareness raising;
• Excellent communication and report writing skills;
• Excellent interpersonal communication and coordination skills;

• Strong professional command of Microsoft Office, in particular Word and Excel.

Language Skills:

• Working knowledge (level C) of the FAO official language used for communication within the country.
• Fluent in Dari and Pashto

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

SUBMISSION GUIDELINE:

Interested Afghan nationals should complete the FAO Personal History Form (PHF) and submit it along with their application letter and CV to the email address below, clearly mentioning the vacancy number and post title (National Monitoring & Evaluation Officer - FAO/KBL/PRJ/SC/08-2021) in the subject line of the email; otherwise, your email will not be considered for further process.

FAOAF-vacancies@fao.org

The FAO PH Form can be downloaded using the following internet link:

http://www.acbar.org/applicationform

NOTE: Applicants who failed to attach the FAO Personal History Form (PHF) to their Application will not be considered for further process.

The above-mentioned required documents can also be submitted in writing (marked “Confidential” and indicating on the sealed envelope the Vacancy Announcement number and position title) to the Assistant FAO Representative (Administration), FAO Representation, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Jamal Mina, Opposite Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan.

The last date for receiving applications is 27 June 2021. Please note that applications received after the closing date will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test/interview.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce gender diversity;
• People with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality;
• Candidates endorsed in the selection process for this vacancy announcement will be considered for the FAO NSHR (Non-Staff Human Resource) roster for two years. The roster is used to fill other similar positions at the same or lower grade, and in the same or another duty station inside the country;
• FAO reserves the right not to make an appointment, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description;
• Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO values of commitment to FAO, respect for all, and integrity and transparency.
• The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing);
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the interview/test;
• Application received after the closing date will not be given consideration;
• Please make sure to sign the first page of your PHF while applying for the vacant post;
• Do not forget to write the post title and VA number on the subject of your email, or your application/email will be ignored;
• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments;
• Email will only be sent to the interviewed candidates.