Job Title:  Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Analyst  

Organisation: Iowa State University-Uganda Program (ISU-UP)

Duty Station: Kamuli, Uganda

About Organisation:

Iowa State University-Uganda Program (ISU-UP) is an International NGO and affiliate of Iowa State University Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) that is currently operating in Kamuli and Masindi district.

Program Summary:

Since 2003, the CSRL in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University has worked side-by-side with Kamuli District residents to discover and implement sustainable solutions to meet the community’s most urgent needs. Starting with farmer training, the center has evolved into programming that touches every stage of the life cycle.

Job Summary:   The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Analyst is responsible for establishing, implementing, and maintaining a monitoring and evaluation system to track program performance and impact as well as ensure effective utilization of the M&E system by program staff. This includes developing relevant and feasible M&E tools and processes, building capacity of program staff to use these tools and processes, and providing ongoing technical support. He/she will ensure effective knowledge management for the program, such that knowledge is accessible, shareable, transferable and usable by all relevant stakeholders. The specialist will ensure that all staff are properly oriented with the M&E system, tools and processes.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Design and Manage an M&E System for the program.

• Manage, maintain and ensure effective utilization of the M&E system by program staff. This includes developing relevant and feasible M&E tools and processes, building capacity of staff to use these tools and processes, and providing ongoing technical support required for this to happen. The M&E system should be able to cover the implementation, close-out, learning, results measurement, research, evaluations, accountability and reporting. The M&E system should be able to provide real time data for learning and adaptation, design of new projects, reporting, and decision making by management. The M&E system should not only focus on program data but also include critical elements of finance data for decision making. The system should be data-driven, and evidence-based pushing boundaries to demonstrate relevance and effectiveness.
• Develop M&E Plans: Design and implement comprehensive M&E plans to track program progress and impact.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Collect and analyze data from various sources to track program performance and impact.
• Reporting and Dissemination: Prepare and disseminate monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual progress on all project activities reports, presentations, and other materials to stakeholders in a timely manner.
• Regularly maintain and update the Indicator Performance and program databases Tracking Tools (IPPTs). This will include ensuring that the databases and IPPTs are accessible to and usable by program staff.
• Ensuring that periodic work plans are prepared, and schedules are being met and adheres to the organization’s monitoring and evaluation system, as well as identification of necessary changes/additions in the indicators and targets.

Support Research, Evaluations and Knowledge Management

• Conduct program level research, studies and evaluations to provide high-level progress regarding program achievements and results.
• Strategic planning and decision making; Provide evidence-based insights and recommendations that inform strategic planning, ensuring that organizational decisions are data driven and evidence based.
• Identifying areas for improvement; Make use of research to identify areas for improvement and get recommendations for program enhancements, ensuring that the organization is continually learning and adapting.

Field Monitoring and Supervision of the Program

• Program monitoring and evaluation: To track program progress, identify areas for improvement and measure outcomes.
• Compliance with donor requirements; To ensure that program monitoring and evaluation activities meet donor requirements, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
• Efficient resource use: To ensure that resources are allocated efficiently and effectively to achieve program goals.

Build Capacity of program Staff.

• Capacity Building: Provide technical assistance and training to program staff in M&E.

Provide Technical support on Feedback and Accountability.

• Transparency and accountability; To ensure that program activities are transparent, accountable and aligned with organizational goals and objectives.
• Planning and scheduling periodic reporting staff meetings.

Assist in External Partner and Stakeholder Relationship Building.

• Help in managing and facilitating visit requests and schedules of potential external partners and stakeholders with interests in future collaboration.
• Assist in exploring the potential fit of external collaborative partners, keeping in mind M&E needs of both parties.

Prepare and Lead Environmental Audits.

• Coordinate the annual audit required by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and all required follow-up actions from NEMA.
• Manage any upgrades to our operating systems at MRTC.
• Provide advice to all field programs as a result of the NEMA audit.

Any other duties assigned

• Perform any other duties assigned to by management.

Control procedures to be undertaken.

• Verify data accuracy, completeness and consistency.
• Protect data from unauthorized access, use or disclosure
• Review reports for accuracy, completeness and consistency
• Apply statistical methods to analyze data and identify trends or patterns.
• Ensure secure and organized data storage.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Master’s degree: In a relevant field such as statistics, economics, social sciences, etc. from a reputable institution.
• Post Graduate qualification in Monitoring and Evaluation from a reputable institution is an added advantage.
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience in similar roles and contexts. This requirement may also be fulfilled with five years (post-graduation) of substantive empirical research experience.
• Data Analysis Skills: Proficiency in data analysis software.
• Conceptual abilities, strategic thinking and analytical writing skills and knowledge.
• Good communication, presentation, public speaking, discussion and interpersonal skills.
• Good research, learning, and evidence-generation skills.

Expectations for the role:

• Comprehensive M&E Plan: Develop a comprehensive M&E plan for the program.
• Regular Progress Reports: Prepare and submit regular progress reports to stakeholders.
• Data Analysis Reports: Prepare and submit data analysis reports to stakeholders.
• Capacity Building Materials: Develop and disseminate capacity building materials to program staff.
• Establishes, builds and maintains effective working relationships with staff and beneficiaries to facilitate the provision of support

Interested candidates should send applications with the subject as “Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Analyst position” to mukibeckita@gmail.com and copies to rewhite@iastate.edu and gnadiope@iastate.edu.