Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer

Background:

Land O’Lakes Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in crop inputs, agricultural insights, dairy and animal nutrition from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.

Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for nearly 40 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.

Project Summary:

Land O’Lakes Venture37 is recruiting for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer for the Nourishing Prosperity Alliance (NPA), a five-year project (2023-2028) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Ethiopia and Kenya. The purpose of the NPA project is to establish commercially viable and sustainable forage markets that equitably strengthen the regional competitiveness of the dairy industries in Kenya and Ethiopia. Forage markets will be developed through the implementation of integrated activities that drive demand for and use of optimized forage varieties among small-scale dairy producers, as well as improve the supply of climate-smart forage rations that are marketed to small-scale producers. Activities also aim to strengthen the enabling environment for forage market development over the life of the project.

Position Summary:

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer will support the MEL Manager in the development and implementation of the NPA MEL Plan. The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer will work closely with program staff in Kenya to implement the monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system and improve program quality through enhanced data management systems and processes. S/he will support the day-to-day tasks of implementing MEL systems in Kenya and provide support to the Kenya team to ensure effective implementation of the project.

The MEL Officer reports to the MEL Manager, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with technical support from the Land O’Lakes Venture37 home office Global MEL staff.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Support in routine data collection and entry for various project activities and ensure that complete, accurate, clean, and consistent data is available.
• Support the MEL Specialist with data analysis and action planning.
• Contribute and support in the development of data flows and MEL tools.
• Ensure proper filing and storage of MEL documents including questionnaires, monitoring reports and datasets, among others.
• Support in the planning and implementation of annual assessments, preparing and coordinating logistics and participating in data collection, cleaning and analysis.
• Support MEL Specialist in the compilation of annual reports to the donor through provision of timely accurate and updated data and data analyses.
• Submit weekly and monthly updates on MEL activities in Kenya to the MEL Specialist.
• Conduct capacity building on MEL for Kenya program team.
• Support regular learning and adaptative management events and the use of data for programmatic decision making and communications.
• Perform other MEL tasks, as assigned.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• College or a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Economics, Statistics, Economics or a related field.
• A minimum of two (2) years of experience working in Monitoring and Evaluation in Kenya
• Education and/or Experience working with quantitative and qualitative data and database management.
• General understanding of monitoring and evaluation systems, project results and indicators.
• Proficiency in data cleaning, analysis and reporting using MS excel, Stata, or other similar statistical software.
• Computer literacy and competency in use of Microsoft Office software such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Good time management and willingness to travel as required by the project.
• Good interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Great attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a team and communicate clearly, concisely and effectively in English.
• Legal authorization to work in Kenya

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience using a mobile/tablet-based data collection platform.
• Experience with agriculture projects and/or projects funded by the US government or other international funders.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No phone calls will be accepted.

Land O’Lakes Venture37 never requests money or payment from candidates for any position type. Please report any such requests to Land O’Lakes Venture37.

Land O’Lakes Venture37 is an equal opportunity employer and an organization striving to help global communities thrive through agriculture. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or veteran status, among other factors. Our culture values a diversity of voices. So, bring us your unique experiences, your workstyle, and your dreams — they’ll only make us stronger.