SENIOR OFFICER- PLANNING MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING

Immediate Supervisor’s Title: Delegate, Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting Quality Assurance

Duration: 1 Year (renewable)

About the organization

IFRC Zone offices regularly publish documents on their public website in the form of DREF bulletins, Emergency Appeals and development plans, as well as related updates and final reports. Africa Zone is responsible for publishing many such documents every week, and they are at the heart of strategies to raise funds for the vulnerable and meet commitments on accountability to donors.

Good monitoring and evaluation practice promises improved clarity, a basis for sound management and accountability, as well as opportunities for
organisational learning. Good monitoring and evaluation practice requires improvements in both organisational cultures—what staff are expected to do—as well as improvements in individual capacities. These apply at all levels, from National Societies to the Delegations/Representation that support them. They also apply across different levels of staff, especially project managers/budget holders accountable for project performance, but also senior managers with authority to enforce accountability and apply learning.

The Africa Zone Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting (PMER) Unit is supporting further development of good monitoring and evaluation practices in 49 sub-Saharan African National Societies through 5 IFRC Representations and 8 Country Offices, as well as managing a large number of Emergency Appeals, DREF operations and their associated reports. Support is directed at different levels of staff, especially project managers/budget holders accountable for project performance, as well as senior managers with authority to enforce accountability and apply learning. Recently, IFRC has invested in PMER, and developed improved procedures and tools in the form of ‘monitoring and evaluation plans’ and indicator tracking tables  to manage data, as well as improved training materials, including an online training package in PMER fundamentals.

Job purpose

As a member of the Africa Zone PMER team, the overall purpose of this position is to assure the quality of PMER practice, in the process growing and maintaining a culture and practice of credible, reliable, timely, and cost-effective planning, monitoring & evaluation and reporting for IFRC multilateral work in Africa. This will result in better information for management decisions, and strategic planning, as well as accountability and learning

A.     Reporting

Undertake quality control and final editing of all appeal-based documents (Disaster Relief Emergency Fund bulletins, Emergency Appeals, related updates and reports), ensuring all documents reflect sound monitoring and evaluation practice and are accurate, clear and informative.

Ensure reporting deadlines are met and publish appeal-based documents on www.ifrc.org along with sending out relevant notifications.

Liaise closely with the Zone Finance Unit, for validation of financial reports.

Ensure that the IFRC APPLE database is kept correct and up-to-date regarding all appeal and pledge based reports.

Proactively track documents due and completed using IFRC Business Objects software, and provide targeted support to offices in cases where deadlines are not going to be met.

Facilitate African National Societies uptake of the Federation-Wide Databank Reporting System (an online tool to facilitate monitoring and reporting of performance in a consistent and transparent manner, thereby enabling individual National Societies and the collective Federation in promoting accountability and positioning for greater influence and growth).

  

B.      Planning

   1. Review the overall quality and consistency of plans for logic, coherence, clarity and provide feedback and assistance to improve, paying attention to such concerns as:

              a. Ensuring programming is informed by assessment.
              b. Employing a sound and clear logical framework.
              c. Employing sound and practical indicators to provide evidence. 

2. Publish Long Term Planning Frameworks on www.ifrc.org and Operational Plans on the Fed Net intranet.

C.      Monitoring & Evaluation

1. Support monitoring and evaluation processes using IFRC tools and provide guidance to staff and partners in their use. Routinely perform quality control checks of monitoring and evaluation work, overseeing that planned monitoring and evaluation activities are taking place.
2. Track planned evaluations and ensures that evaluation reports are obtained and shared to facilitate learning. Help promote sharing of lessons learned from programme monitoring and evaluation to improve future programme selection, design and implementation.
3. Liaise and coordinate with Partner National Society focal persons to standardise PMER requirements, including formats and procedures. 
4. Take part in monitoring and evaluation networking with Non-Governmental Organisations, United Nations and other external partners, as well as with National Society PMER focal points, partners and beneficiaries, to coordinate field monitoring and evaluation activities, stay current on best monitoring and evaluation practice and to support quality programming and accountability standards. 

D.     Organizational learning and capacity building

1. Provide regular feedback to improve quality of documents at their source.
2. Enhance corporate learning, capacity building and codification of knowledge through regular contributions on the PMER communities of practice.
3. Contribute to training of National Society and IFRC PMER focal persons and Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) members on good PMER practices.
4. Maintain database to track National Society and IFRC focal points and their PMER capacities.

 Duties applicable to all staff

• Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals
• Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles
• Perform any other work related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager

Position Requirements

Education

• University degree in social sciences or related field
• Further training in communications/journalism or related area.

 Experience     

• Minimum of 5 years relevant experience in written communication for an international enterprise.
• Strong interest in humanitarian and development work.
• Minimum 1-year experience working in organisational monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge of IFRC and National Society operating environment.

 Knowledge and Skills

• Strong background in report-writing and product delivery to tight deadlines. Ability to write, edit and analyse complex reports
• Sound background of social research methodologies, including a highly developed analytical and communication skills and ability to assimilate and process information for wide-ranging audiences
• Excellent computer skills. (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat). Ability to perform page-layout, incorporating text, photos and other graphic elements for a printed page.
• Sound understanding of basic project finance (e.g. ability to explain variance between budgeted and actual expenditure).
• Knowledge and commitment to Red Cross Red Crescent Fundamental Principles, and ability to model those Principles in relationships with colleagues and partners and translate them to development practice
• Basic understanding of legal framework of humanitarian operations, as well as gender, protection, social or human vulnerability issues
• Excellent inter-personal skills and cultural sensitivity.

 Languages

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Working Knowledge of French
• Other languages

Competencies (to be filled in by HR)                      

• Drive for results
• Orientation to attention to detail. Teamwork
• Strong time management and organisational skills.
• Self-motivated, with good judgment and initiative
• Able to work with and manage others under stress sometimes with limited access to basic facilities.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to motivate colleagues to meet deadlines.
• Able to prioritize and achieve results through collaboration.
• Must be flexible and adaptive to change.
• Strong capacity to handle complex tasks independently and as part of a team.

 Submission of applications:

Applications should be submitted by email to hr.easternafrica@ifrc.org; to be received not later than July  16^th 2013.

Kindly note that:

• Only e-mail applications will be accepted
• Received applications will be short-listed on an on-going basis
• Due to large volumes of applications only short listed candidates will be contacted

Categories: MANAGEMENT, MONIROTING AND EVALUATION, NGO