Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Capacity Development Advisorx

Location: Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Reports To: ARIP Chief of Party

Expected travel: Frequent domestic travel within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including Ituri, South Kivu, Tanganyika and Kinshasa as needed

Start date: ASAP

Duration: Full time position, 4 years

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) DRC’s country program seeks an experienced Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Capacity Development Advisor (MEL-CD) for the highly anticipated USAID/Democratic Republic of Congo Advancing the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (ARIP) Activity. This program will ensure Indigenous Peoples benefit from social, economic and natural resource assets in and/or around the Kabobo Wildlife Reserve (KWR), Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR). A consortium under WCS leadership includes partnerships with International Alert (IA), Catholic Relief Services and a wide range of other international and national partners manages this project.

This is projected to be a four-year activity contributing to USAID’s DRC Journey to Self-Reliance and Social Resilience Strategy. The MEL-CD, based out of WCS’s Bukavu office, will be responsible for leading quality design and delivery of monitoring, performance management, evaluation, and capacity development activities under ARIP to include providing guidance to implementing partners on use of standard and custom indicators and analysing performance and technical reports as well as coordinate with partners on discrete trainings, coaching support, and capacity development planning and implementation.

Key Responsibilities:

M&E:

• Build the ARIP MEL-CD unit. The MEL-CD unit will support all departments and directly inform program management;
• Work with the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, and Indigenous People Advisor/Specialist managing implementation of the results framework;
• Liaise closely with partner MEL leads to streamline responsibilities and data communication systems
• Develop and adapt appropriate monitoring and evaluation tools – KAP, METT, Capacity Scorecards, Financial Sustainability Scorecards, etc.;
• Develop data collection tools (including, for example, the use of KoBoToolbox) to ensure accurate collection of data;
• Build a MEL network amongst the partners to carry out surveys, and data collection and analyses;
• Catalyse studies and collection of required data for the results framework to adapt programs and activities, inform decision making and planning on several key dimensions, including:
  • Quantifying the changes in the well-being of communities
  • Ensuring all data are disaggregated as appropriate;
• Lead the Pause and Reflect activities across the consortium, regularly conducting reflection sessions on the design of the project and ToC to adapt the project according to the data collected during the implementation and ensure it remains relevant;
• Promote learning across the organisation from the analysis and interpretation of data and results;
• Work with other members of the team to ensure that data required for donor reporting (including donor specific results frameworks) are collected, collated, analysed and prepared for reports in a timely and ethical fashion;
• Assist with the process of writing reports

Capacity building:

• Liaise closely with CRS team that leads the consortium to deliver flexible and high-quality technical and organizational capacity development activities
• Engage consortium partners, in close coordination with technical leads in CRS, WCS, and IA to develop secondary capacity building for selected partners, in areas such as Natural Resource Governance, Social Safeguards, Gender Integration, etc.
• Serve as the overall reporting officer for capacity building
• Develop materials and processes for topics identified for capacity development of partners, including training, mentoring, coaching, peer learning and other methods
• Lead the ARIP team to operationalize its CLA approaches including creating a culture of learning and systems thinking to stimulate an adaptive management approach.
• Remain up to date with the latest methodologies, best practices, and donor requirements and ensure the project capacity development efforts are consistent with the best practices of the industry.

Qualification Requirements

• BA with 7+ years or MA with 5+ years of experience in global development, organizational development, or related fields
• Strong qualitative and quantitative skills, proven IT skills including database management and knowledge of statistical software (e.g., R or Stata), and use of data collection tools such as KoBoToolbox (or equivalent)
• Experience of, and commitment to working through system of community participation and accountability
• Demonstrated skills in oversight of research, assessment and evaluations
• Experience with USAID programming and CLA approaches that promote adaptation, learning, and change management.
• Demonstrated flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to perform and collaborate in complex and politically sensitive project environments
• Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments, navigate sensitive issues, and develop and maintain relationships with different stakeholders, including civil society and local organizations, government institutions, private sector entities, and US Government agencies
• Demonstrated skills in problem solving and consensus building
• Fluency in English and French (oral, writing, and reading)
• Ability to travel within DRC

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing capacity for civil society and local organizations in DRC
• Experience in implementing technical and organizational capacity building programs
• Experience in facilitation, capacity development approaches and methods relevant to organizational development
• Deep knowledge of the political, social, and economic context of DRC
• Experience working on teams for USAID Contracts and/or cooperative agreements, including knowledge of USAID rules, regulations and policies
• DRC nationals are strongly encouraged to apply
• Interest in wildlife conservation and environmental issues