Afghanaid and the Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC)

Afghanaid is a British-registered international NGO, which has worked in Afghanistan for over 33 years. We assist community-driven processes that address the rights and fundamental needs of people in some of the most remote areas of Afghanistan, supporting the development of basic services, rural livelihoods and initiatives that reduce the risk of disasters, as well as responding to humanitarian emergencies when they occur. Afghanaid is the lead partner of the Afghanistan Resilience Consortium (ARC), a consortium of 4 British and Irish NGOs, Afghanaid, Save the Children, ActionAid and Concern Worldwide, as well as the United Nations Environment Programme; the consortium works together to build national, sub-national and community capacity in climate change adaptation, DRR and resilience.
Job Purpose and Role:

Under the overall lead of the Afghanaid Managing Director and reporting to the Consortium Manager, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist will ensure alignment in project theory of change, outcomes, outputs and activities, as well as the relationships of expenditure to value for money. S/he will be responsible for designing the MEAL plan and requisite tools; coordinating consortium staff training and implementation of the plan; analysis and interpretation of data and timely preparation of high quality reports. S/he will build the capacity of other ARC M&E and Programme team members. While the post holder will work within the ARC secretariat structure, they will be contracted to Afghanaid and adhere to Afghanaid’s policies and practices.

Key Responsibilities:

· In collaboration with ARC members and donor(s), facilitate on-going assessment and revision of the theory of change.

· In collaboration with ARC members and donor(s) design input, output, outcome and results-based monitoring strategy, system and plans based on project log-frames.

· In consultation with ARC Project Managers, M&E personnel and donor(s) develop necessary M&E tools and conduct training for M&E and Programme in data collection and analysis.

· Set up operational arrangements for collecting, analysing and reporting project data including development of project dashboards and scorecards.

· Implement the ARC project monitoring and evaluation strategy and plan

· Undertake field visits on a regular basis (up to 50% of the time), to ensure compliance with operational procedures and assess progress

· Coordinate joint monitoring visit and share the findings and actions with consortium members.

· Monitor and report on the performance of ARC projects and suggest measures to improve the outcomes, impact and value for money.

· Assist in preparing periodic and ad hoc reports on the activities of the projects.

· Work with and train ARC project staff in meeting the monitoring and evaluation requirements, interpreting M&E data and taking effective action to improve outcomes, impact and value for money.

· Facilitate technical talks/training workshops on the SRACAD M&E system for consortium member organizations’ personnel.

· Contribute to “knowledge harvesting” of best practices and lessons learned from execution of activities via all ARC projects.

· Document and produce a “how to” manual/ field level guide, illustrating learned best practice on the SRACAD project.

· Prepare TORs for special studies when necessary (e.g. Impact monitoring and evaluation studies)

· Coordinate external and donor evaluations as required

· Regularly re-evaluate the M&E strategy, system, plan, tools and training and recommend revisions

· Assess and identify capacity gaps among consortium member organizations M&E staff and develop plans to build capacity.

· Provide concrete recommendations to ARC on ways to improve MEAL functions over time in order to ensure that a community of learning is established within the ARC, including yearly updates to ARC Steering Committee with recommendations for improvements and knowledge harvesting.

Person Specification

Education/ Training

Masters degree in development studies, project management, a social science or other related field

Work Experience

Essential:**

1) At least four (4) year experience working in a leading international NGO designing and managing outcomes and results-based M&E systems to track project impact

2) 3 years of experience in Project Cycle Management (PCM)

3) 2 years of experience in developing and managing project-wide information systems

4) Previous experience working on climate change, DRR or resilience projects, as well as familiarity with the intricacies of MEAL activities in these thematic areas.

5) Previous substantive experience of M&E standards of institutional donors including DFID.

6) Proven ability to think and lead strategically, plan effectively, set priorities and meet deadlines.

7) Sound understanding of international humanitarian and development work.

8) Experience and strong understanding of security and operating environment in Afghanistan (or a similar conflict-affected context).

9) A minimum of 1-year recent experience working overseas in a conflict-affected country.

Desirable:**

1) Experience working in a consortium.

2) Experience working with DFID-funded projects.

3) Working experience in Afghanistan.

Professional Skills, Competencies, Values and Attitudes

Afghanaid seeks dependable professionals with strong initiative, judgment and adaptability as well as excellent skills in leadership, communication, representation, interpersonal relations, decision-making, financial management, programme development, monitoring & evaluation and reporting. Specifically, applicants for this position should also demonstrate the following:

Essential:**

1) Native fluency in written English.

2) Excellent conceptual and analytical skills able to distil key ideas with clarity and precision.

3) Excellent communication skills with the ability to persuasively present ideas.

4) Ability to lead and influence others with diplomacy and tact.

5) Ability to represent a respected organisation at a senior level.

6) High-level proficiency in relevant enterprise-wide software packages and office applications, including SPSS, spreadsheets, word processing, PowerPoint and Outlook.

7) Personal integrity with initiative and drive to get things done and achieve results in a fast-paced and challenging environment.

8) Strong coordination/negotiation skills specifically with the ability to effectively coordinate among other partner organisations

9) An outgoing and engaging personality, with cultural and gender sensitivity and a strong sense of humour; able to build trust, work and live collaboratively with others and manage relationships with a variety of stakeholders in a diverse multi-cultural environment.

10) Strong organisational and coordination skills, able to work with significant levels of autonomy, manage personal priorities and meet tight deadlines.

11) Business oriented with a commitment to build Afghanaid’s agility and grow its reputation.

12) Flexible and dynamic with the ability to deal with difficult, often ambiguous and challenging situations and creatively solve problems.

13) Resilience to live, travel and work in isolated and possibly insecure locations.

14) A clear and firm commitment to the rights, equality, role and empowerment of women, minorities and persons with disabilities.

15) Demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

16) Commitment to the vision and mission of Afghanaid.

Desirable:**

1) Conversant in Dari and/or Pashto.

Other Information

Afghanaid’s core values are creativity, fairness and honesty. Our staff are passionate about and proud of their work. Teamwork is fundamental to our standards and is demonstrated by taking initiative, assisting others and taking on additional responsibilities / tasks if necessary. We are results driven, committed and motivated to achieve targets and take accountability for our own actions.

Due to security considerations for international employees, this is an unaccompanied post. International employees are entitled to 22 annual leave days, 20 rest and relaxation days (R&R), 4 travel days and 16 public holidays per year. Afghanaid also provides a generous travel allowance for international staff to take R&R out of the country. You will be given a private room in the staff house where all Kabul-based international hired staff members live.

Our remuneration and benefits package is competitive with other similar organisations.

Please email a covering letter of application and your CV to jobs@afghanaid.org.uk including the job title and your name in the subject line by 10 January 2017. Your covering letter should be no more than 2 standard A4 pages in length and explain how you meet the position requirements and why you feel you would be a suitable candidate for this role. Your CV should be no more than 4 pages and include 3 professional references including your current employer. The precision and style with which you present yourself in your covering letter and CV will be given significant weight in short listing candidates.