Monitoring & Evaluations Officer at Spark MicroGrants: (Deadline 1 September 2024)

We are hiring a Monitoring & Evaluations Officer – Rwanda

ABOUT SPARK MICROGRANTS

Spark Microgrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Decades of prescriptive aid have sidelined the poor from the very programs meant to uplift them. We believe in local solutions and catalyzing rural villages facing poverty into action.

At the heart of Spark’s model, the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), are ‘town-hall’ style weekly meetings, in which women, men, young, old, plan together for their community’s future. Each village elects a leadership committee, establishes a village savings account, and launches a project of their choice. Members receive training on financial management, transparency, leadership, village planning, and advocacy.

Spark trains partner organizations and works with governments to scale the FCAP as the model of choice to advance social and economic development, improve lives, and secure lasting change. Spark is now active in 500+ villages in 6 countries, improving the lives of over 560,000 people.

In Rwanda the Spark Microgrants, in collaboration with MINALOC and LODA, is implementing the FCAP in locations of Burera, Gakenke, Gicumbi and Huye districts under a memorandum of Understanding to implement the FCAP in 249 partner communities currently.

As a team, we share a set of common values that shape how we work. These are:

1. Facilitators. We don’t impose; we enable others to generate impact.
2. Community-driven. We are motivated by what is best for the community.
3. Process-centered. The how of what we do is just as important as the what.
4. Authentic. Our vision and values live in everything we do.
5. Dynamic. We seek opportunities and are willing to take risks to serve our community partners better

ABOUT THE ROLE

Position: Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

Reports to: Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Location: Kigali with 25% travel with in Rwanda

This role is crucial as we adapt and scale our model for families facing poverty to engage and lead in local planning and action. We need you to ensure we have 100% confidence in our data and can use them to make smart decisions as an organization and help our partners do the same. Under the supervision of the Community of Practice (partnerships) M&E Officer, the M&E Officer will play an integral role in managing the collection, analysis, and reporting of impact data in collaboration with the partner organizations in Malawi. You will be responsible for ensuring that high-quality data are collected and utilized by the partner program teams in decision-making.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensure timely collection of continuous monitoring, research and learning data from all communities of operation in Malawi including; Community monitoring data, Facilitator monitoring data, Project Monitoring data, Community evaluation data and bespoke research data by CBFs, Partner trainers and enumerators.
• Responsible for capacity building of Partner trainers and M&E teams on utilization of data to formulate action plans.
• Responsible for providing technical and troubleshooting support to M&E teams at partner organizations to ensure that Community-Based Facilitators are well supported to report and attend to all monitoring system issues raised.
• Support the Organization’s research agenda on Impact evaluations, bespoke research or learning studies.
• Contributing to the development and design of logical measurement frameworks, monitoring systems and evaluation strategies, including participatory monitoring and feedback mechanisms for communities.
• Supporting the development of data collection tools, especially for case studies and pilot monitoring and assessment.
• Conducting monitoring field visits frequently with the program staff to monitor the progress of community projects, supporting community members to record project monitoring data to ensure that the collected data are of the right quality
• Conducting data quality audits through field visits, spot checks and working with the Quality Assurance officer to do data verification quarterly
• Analyzing monitoring, evaluation and research data, and presenting findings to partner organizations to stimulate discussions on FCAP efficiency & effectiveness.
• Being a liaison between Spark product, Partner staff and communities by collecting any feedback/queries/issues on our monitoring system (commcare & dashboards) and working with the product team to resolve/act on them.
• Following up with CBFs and Partner trainers to ensure that data-related action points from stakeholder meetings are implemented
• Preparing quarterly reports to Partner organizations and representing the Spark impact team during quarterly reviews with the partners.
• Working with the Program team to document lessons learnt and community success stories on a quarterly basis about the FCAP and any running pilots.
• Supervising, training and capacity building of a team of junior M&E staff with in Rwanda
• Contributing to any other assignments as identified by your supervisor

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Essential:

• Education: A bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline from a recognized university such as statistics, quantitative economics, mathematics, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.
• Quantitative Analysis Skills: Strong quantitative analysis skills.
• Experience:
  • Four to five years of work experience in program/project monitoring and evaluation, research, or data management and analysis.
  • At least two years working with communities in remote areas in Rwanda
  • At least two years of experience using R and/or Stata for data analysis.
• Technical Proficiency:
  • Strong knowledge of MS Office and Google Workspace, especially Excel/Spreadsheets
  • High proficiency in analysis software such as R, Stata, SPSS, or Excel
• Communication Skills:
  • Experience in report writing for project monitoring and evaluation
  • Ability to communicate effectively in both English and Kinyarwanda, both written and spoken
  • Ability to communicate in a highly professional manner with a variety of audiences
• Attention to Detail: High level of attention to detail.
• Flexibility: Ability to adapt to change and work in a dynamic environment.

Desirable:

• Advanced Education:
  • A bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline such as statistics, quantitative economics, mathematics, monitoring and evaluation, or a related field.
  • A postgraduate degree in a quantitative discipline such as statistics, quantitative economics, mathematics, monitoring and evaluation, or related fields.
• Data Collection Experience: Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection using mobile technology such as CommCare or ODK.
• Experience: At least two years working with communities in remote areas in Rwanda
• Passion for Development: Demonstrated passion for community-led development projects/programs.
• Software Proficiency: High proficiency in analysis software such as R, Stata, SPSS, or Excel.
• Leadership Experience: Experience in managing a team of M&E assistants or field officers.

WHY WORK WITH US?

• You will be joining a dynamic team that hails from ten countries around the world and is committed to our vision
• You will have the freedom and autonomy to make your role your own. We want to hear your innovative ideas, your vision for the future, and your critical questions.
• We respect and value work-life balance and your need for downtime, vacation, and reflection.
• You will join a dynamic and growing organization with a clear pathway to learning and career advancement.

OTHER INFORMATION:

• Location will be Kigali – Rwanda, with ~25% travel within the communities in districts where Spark operates.
• We will agree on learning and performance objectives for an initial probation period lasting three months from on-boarding.
• Application Closing Date: Rolling Basis
• All applications should come through the link: https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/careers/113
• In addition to salary, Spark offers other benefits, including generous paid time off and family leave, monthly communications and professional development stipends.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Spark Microgrants provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals. Employment decisions at Spark are based on merit, qualifications, and abilities. Spark does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by the law. Spark will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would result in undue hardship to daily operations.