Senior Project Officer – MEAL at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an International non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and non-church partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS re-established presence in Nigeria in 2000 and currently focuses on agriculture, HIV and health extractives and governance, and peace building programming.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Project Officer – MEAL

Job Code: 21000095
Location: CARO-NG-Federal Capital Territory – Abuja
Job: Program Management
Schedule: Regular
Shift: Standard
Employee Status: Entry Level
Job Type: Full-time
Job Level: Day Job
Travel: Yes, 75 % of the Time.

Project Background

The Global Action Towards Epidemic control in Sub-national units in Nigeria (4GATES) program is a five year (2017-2022), United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) funded HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support program implemented across Faith-based and Government owned health facilities in Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States.
Catholic Relief Services is part of the 4GATES consortium which is led by Caritas Nigeria and includes, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Pro-Health International and Palladium. CRS supports the implementation of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) component of the 4GATES project.

Job Summary

The Senior Project Officer MEAL will provide monitoring and evaluation (M&E) leadership to the 4GATES program to ensure that the program is able to document progress and achievement of stated objectives and report to PEPFAR and relevant entities of the Government of Nigeria (GON) in an accurate and timely manner.
The Senior Technical Specialist MEAL takes the lead in planning the 4GATES baseline and final evaluations with MEASURE Evaluation, coordinates with Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) officials and CCFN on the use of and updates to NOMIS; liaises with MEASURE and CCFN to support training in NOMIS at the State, LGA and CSO levels and integration of new modules; and actively engages in the Core VC M&E Technical Working Group (TWG).
The Senior Technical Specialist MEAL leads the development of the 4GATES Strategic Information System (SIS) and oversees data quality at all levels. The Senior Technical Specialist MEAL is responsible for M&E capacity strengthening of CSO sub grantees and overall collection, quality, analysis, use and reporting of data according to reporting requirements of the GON and PEPFAR.

Specific Job Responsibilities
Technical Leadership:

Provide technical leadership and specific directions to design and implement a streamlined M&E system that enables staff and CSOs and Community volunteers to collect data to capture project performance and results in accordance with FGN and PEPFAR standards.
Oversee the functioning of the 4GATES M&E system and ensure its compliance to the PEPFAR and GON standards, identify and resolve implementation issues related to the M&E system
Develop the M&E components of sub grantee request for applications and provide guidance for the assessment of the CSO technical proposal
Ensure that that the M&E system (including the NOMIS and the PMIS) provides accurate and timely data for quarterly, semi-annual and annual project reports to PEPFAR and the GON.
Lead the development and revision of the 4GATES Performance Management Plan (PMP) working in close collaboration with the OVC Program Lead- 4GATES and liaise with PEPFAR as appropriate.
Ensure that the following tools are established and being used to monitor program results and lessons learned:
- Standard tools for routine field monitoring
- Management and technical
- And reporting
Annual results reviews conducted at the end of each fiscal year to inform the development of annual work plans
Learning activities that will be an integral part of the M&E system and allow regular identification of lessons learned and best practices
Document the 4GATES M&E system design in a project specific M&E manual for use by project staff and sub grantees; update manual as needed and ensure updates are adopted by sub grantees.
Convene a biannual M&E Community of Practice (COP) meeting for the purpose of peer to peer learning and data review
Support data demand and data use process within 4GATES
Provide leadership in work with partners and ensure mutually beneficial collaboration. This includes, but is not limited to:
- MEASURE Evaluation and/or any other organization in the implementation of the baseline and endline surveys
- Develop and oversee training program for; Staff responsible for M&E in relevant GON entities
- Staff responsible for M&E in CSOs

Support the application of quality improvement science to improve program M&E at all levels
Ensure 4GATES reporting system is correctly used by CRS and CSOs: correct data entered into the system so that accurate reports are generated for the USG, FGN and States.
Ensure excellent, productive use of the data by:
- Leading the development of the results for report to the donor by providing written documentation on M&E, detailed implementation plan (DIP) activities and indicator performance tracking tables (IPTT) for quarterly and annual progress reports,
- Working with the Senior Technical Specialist Case Management/Referral, identify and document programmatic successes, best practices, challenges, and lessons learned
- Working with 4GATES technical team to identify opportunities for learning, formative, special studies and operational research.

Identifying the need for and lead the implementation of special studies; oversee work of consultants
Respond to data requests from PEPFAR, FGN or States and other M&E partners such as MEASURE; maintain excellent relationship to ensure that program reporting complies with all standards and requirements.
Lead the M&E components of the annual work planning process in close collaboration with the OVC Program Lead- 4GATES and the 4GATES management and technical staff.

Supervision and Mentoring:

Supervise 3 Technical Specialists MEAL and provide overall performance management support for their work.
Ensure appropriate and effective training of the CSOs and government departments that will receive grants and report on stated objectives.

Representation:

Represent the 4GATES consortium in external technical meetings, conferences and workshops related to M&E in OVC.
Actively participate in the Core OVC M&E Technical Working Group.
Participate on behalf of 4GATES in strategic meetings with the GON.
Liaise and coordinate with other OVC actors, including the government, the UN system, other NGOs, learning institutions and civil society actors to promote synergy, share lessons learned and avoid duplication.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

If none, state none.

Required Foreign Language:

Excellent written and spoken English.

Required Travel:

Ability to travel up to 75% of time

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: CRS 4GATES team, Deputy Country Representative (Program), RTAs for Health and OVC, Country Representatives, Heads of Operations, and Security Managers/Focal Points.
External: CCFN 4GATES team, NASCP, NACA, CDC LAM, PEPFAR Implementing partners, other donors, 4GATES Consortium team members, CRS M&E Technical Advisors; FMWASWD and SMWASWD; other relevant Ministries and GON entities; Core OVC M&E Technical Working Group, MEASURE, and CCFN.

Qualifications and Skills

Master’s Degree in Health and or Public Health oriented field, Epidemiology, Statistics, Health Informatics or related Social Science.
Experience with PEPFAR reporting requirements
Previous supervisory experience
Minimum of six years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation, including at least 4 of the following:
- Applied evaluation or research
- Data analysis, synthesis, and communication of results
- Design and implementation of evaluation protocols, including quantitative survey
- Design and implementation of program monitoring systems
- Development and field-testing of data collection instruments for M&E indicators
- Analysis of complex data set into understandable charts and tables or other summary templates
Excellent analytic, organizational and computer skills; skilled in MS Office including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Experience with SharePoint a plus.
Capacity in Microsoft Access and one or more of the following statistical software packages: SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata.
Experience in the development of M&E systems in collaboration with stakeholders who may represent a wide range of interests and needs.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively with government and civil society partners and communities as well as transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through workshops, training and meetings using participatory methods and adult learning principles.
Proven track record in coordinating a project team composed of technical experts and consultants in M&E activity implementation and reporting.
Proven leadership and inter-personal skills for effective team work; as well as the ability to work independently on a frequent basis, taking initiative, managing a variety of activities concurrently, and delivering outputs on schedule.
Demonstrated ability to support partners working at a distance to achieve results against program objectives/targets.
Experience working on a PEPFAR-supported program, especially PEPFAR.
Familiarity with OVC M&E, programming and principles.
Excellent English oral and written communication skills required.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)
These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.