Strategic Information and Evaluation Specialist USAID OVC Project (Zimbabwe) – Bantwana Zimbabwe (BZ) 

Job Summary

Deadline: 15 March 2022

Location: Harare

About
Bantwana Zimbabwe (BZ) seeks an experienced candidate for the role of Chief of Party (COP) for an anticipated USAID-funded project to reduce the vulnerability of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) to HIV and GBV. BZ is a leader in the development of high quality, comprehensive OVC service delivery in high HIV prevalence districts in Zimbabwe. BZ brings a significant track record of excellence and innovation in improving access to and quality of integrated OVC care and support, with a particular focus on strengthening coordination and layering of care, protection and support services across the HIV continuum of response, for vulnerable children and their caregivers at community, district, provincial and national levels.

The Strategic Information and Evaluation Specialist is responsible for coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting activities under the award. The selection of the applicant is subject to USAID approval. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Duties And Responsibilities

Responsibilities
Lead development of the project’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) plan and system for tracking and timely, accurate, and complete reporting of project performance against key indicators; Oversee and ensure adherence to project MEL reporting activities as required by the donor; Provide leadership and technical oversight in the design and implementation of data collection exercises (e.g baseline and endline surveys; regular performance monitoring, etc); Train and mentor staff and partners in various aspects of MEL and research, and assist them with using MEL systems, including data use and quality assurance; Provide support to performance evaluation processes in collaboration with USAID and the independent evaluation team; Analyze project and other relevant data to provide strategic guidance to the Project Management Team and inform project management decision-making, and to routinely share findings with project staff and other key stakeholders; Support partners to develop, capture, consolidate and report on mutually identified indicators and ensure high-quality and timely reporting of data and monitoring; Conduct supportive supervisory visits to partners and beneficiaries to observe, monitor and provide guidance and quality feedback on the use of data and indicators; Oversee operational research, qualitative studies and policy briefs to assess the impact of program activities and ensure robust and innovative dissemination of research and evaluation activity results.

Qualifications And Experience

Qualifications and experience
Degree in Monitoring and Evaluation and Master’s Degree in public health, epidemiology, economics, statistics or related field preferred, an advanced certificate; Minimum of seven years professional experience in a senior MEL position responsible for implementing MEL activities of large-scale international development projects, experience with USAID and PEPFAR related programming preferred; Proven success in designing, implementing, and operating project MEL systems from project initiation to closeout stages; Excellent knowledge of data collection protocols for quality data collection and verification; Strong ability to analyze multiple sources of data to identify data trends and to provide recommendations on project implementation; Demonstrated experience with research methodologies, qualitative and quantitative research methods, data analysis, sampling techniques and establishing MEL systems; Demonstrated experience leading and building the capacity of MEL staff to meet project needs and deliverables strongly desired; Excellent data visualization skills, statistical analysis, English writing, oral presentation and communication skills; Zimbabwean nationals strongly encouraged to apply.