Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist

1. MEAL Design and Planning
2. Partnerships Building and Partner Support
3. Capacity Strengthening and Knowledge Management
4. Monitoring and Reporting
5. Risk Mitigation

MEAL Design and Planning

• Work closely with the M&E Senior Manager to develop the MEAL Framework and Work Plan. 
• Provide and coordinate technical support to projects on the development of their project MEAL frameworks and associated tools to ensure that partners meet LIFT M&E requirements, including developing and updating the results framework and MEAL plan, including KPI´s for existing and new projects.
• Coordinate periodic reviews of M&E tools, guidelines, and processes - consolidating recommendations for necessary updates for review by M&E Senior Manager and undertaking follow-up actions, as required.
• Lead project planning processes related to  MEAL work plan and budget. 
• Establish and/or maintain a reliable MEAL framework according to the donors’ requirements and UNOPS policies and principles to ensure quality and compliance. 
• Conduct regular project visits to monitor operations and ensure quality deliverables.

Partnerships Building and Partner Support: 

• Become familiar with the different LIFT teams’ objectives, challenges, and methods to understand and provide relevant information and advice.
• Create dynamics to regularly meet and participate in relevant discussions within the teams to constantly learn about their performance and needs.
• Coordinate closely with the team leads to ensure constant communication and fluent interaction between both parties.  
• Liaise with HQ when necessary for benchmarking, networking, and/or capacity-building purposes.
• Become a trusted advisor for the LIFT organization. 
• Conduct comprehensive and ongoing assessments of LIFT partner’s MEAL systems and identify areas for capacity development to improve the overall quality of data reported to LIFT.
• Participate in project field visits to review LIFT partner MEAL systems and conduct data quality reviews.

Capacity Strengthening and Knowledge Management

• Guide LIFT junior MEAL and other relevant personnel on the utilization of the LIFT.
• Framework implementation tools to ensure consistency in their application across LIFT.
• Support project staff with training and mentoring on routine monitoring procedures and monitoring techniques.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and on-the-job training to the MEAL team to improve their skills and constantly raise the bar. 
• Organize annual re-skilling and up-skilling sessions with the LIFT team.
• Support in developing KM mechanisms and processes for the project.
• Establish practices within the MEAL team to incorporate project studies’ findings, lessons learned, achievements, and gaps, to ensure knowledge management.
• Facilitate process review and lessons learned exercises, including data collected to assess improvement opportunities and act upon them. 
• Conduct relevant M&E training and related capacity development activities to ensure LIFT partner MEAL systems are fully operational and in compliance with the LIFT MEAL standards.

Monitoring and Reporting

• Oversee implementation of day-to-day LIFT M&E activities and raising issues affecting implementation and proposing subsequent actions to the M&E Senior Manager in a timely manner.
• Oversee the collection and timely reporting of data and statistics.
• Lead the regular reporting process for the Programme and work closely with the LIFT teams to ensure alignment and quality/reliable data. 
• Consolidate and draft inputs for regular reporting exercises.
• Create an effective, efficient, and reliable framework for data reporting. 
• Establish reporting parameters with the M&E Senior Manager, to ensure timely compliance of reports requirements and deliverables. 

Risk Mitigation

• Identify and mitigate risks related to the Programme´s performance and proactively communicate them.
• Identify risks affecting the implementation of Programme M&E activities, raising these risks and proposing subsequent actions to the Sr. M&E Specialist in a timely manner;  
• Ensure putting in place the right mechanisms to identify and act on risk management, considering the Programme's processes and UNOPS policies and principles. 
• Create a risk management culture within the MEAL team, to enhance proactivity and safeguard the Programme's interests.

Education:

• A Master’s degree preferably in social sciences, statistics, international development, public administration, sociology, or similar is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above fields with an additional 2 years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.

Experience: 

• Minimum 5 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) at the programme level, preferably in food security, rural development, health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, or related fields, is required.
• Experience in designing, implementing, and overseeing monitoring and evaluation processes is required.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative M&E methodologies is required. 
• Experience in coordinating or managing diverse stakeholders is required. 
• Experience in leading or coordinating teams is required.
• Previous experience designing and implementing gender-sensitive or disability-inclusive M&E would be a distinct advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in mainstreaming MEAL practices within large-scale development projects is highly desirable.
• Experience working with the UN or international organizations is highly desirable.
• Experience with database management would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
• Proficiency in  Burmese is an asset.
• Proficiency in other Myanmar languages is an asset.