ASSOCIATE M&E OFFICER

About AGRA 

AGRA and its Work

AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million smallholder farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income.

Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and linkages to profitable markets.

In our work, we aspire to build the alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:

1. Policy and state capability – We support governments in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
2. Seed systems – We trigger higher productivity by increasing the availability and access to improved seeds by farmers allowing them to increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
3. Sustainable farming – We support farmers in building resilient farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as mechanization and irrigation.
4. Inclusive markets and trade – We work to increase the linkages between farmers, and other market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.

AGRA’s 2030 Strategy

The continent has, in recent years, taken steps towards inclusive agricultural transformation resulting in notable improvements in food security, with clear progress across all AGRA’s focus countries. However, with over 20% of Africans still suffering from hunger, we need to accelerate our progress and mitigate against the growing external pressures of conflict and climate on our food systems.

AGRA 2022-2030 Strategic Framework (SF2030) demonstrates our long-term vision for how we intend to contribute to, and align with, global and continental priorities, applying a food systems lens towards the goals of zero hunger, improved nutrition, an end to poverty, and climate adaptation. We have split our Strategic Framework 2030 into two 5-year strategies so that we have a clear mid-way point to evaluate progress and re-route our strategic focus if necessary. Our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan sets out to catalyze the growth of sustainable food systems across Africa by influencing and leveraging partners to build a robust enabling environment where the private sector thrives, and smallholders are empowered to produce sufficient, healthy food.

AGRA’s Vision

To contribute to a food system-inspired inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa, to reduce hunger, improve nutrition, and adapt to climate.

AGRA’s Mission

To catalyze the growth of sustainable food systems across Africa by influencing and leveraging partners to build a robust enabling environment where private sector thrives, and smallholder farmers are empowered to produce sufficient, healthy food.

AGRA’s Strategy

• Empowering and building the resilience of small holder farmers
• Supporting the development of inclusive markets and finance to strengthen agricultural systems.
• Strengthening state capability to sustain agricultural transformation.

Implementing Our New Strategy Through People

AGRA is at the threshold of a new chapter where we begin implementing our new strategy of catalyzing inclusive, resilient and sustainable agricultural transformation. At AGRA we believe Agriculture is the single greatest opportunity to deliver inclusive economic growth, jobs, and health to the African continent.

People are the heart of our organisation and remain the true drivers of our delivery and our impact.

We are excited about a new fit-for-purpose organizational structure that is largely driven by an ambition to enhance collaboration across teams and drive sustainable growth. We have therefore purposed more focus on delivery of country programs within the new strategy giving even greater attention to optimizing existing talent in addition to upscaling technical and operational resources.

We work with incredible people and partners who have roots in farming communities across the continent combined with an inclusive and diverse workforce from over 24 nationalities. Our values of (I-RISE; Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Stewardship and Equity) espouse our commitment to a call to action to go beyond ourselves as we arise and transform Africa’s Agriculture.

We are looking for people who are passionate about Africa, curious and collaborative to join our innovative, growing, and multidisciplinary team. Together, we can grow Africa’s food systems improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Want to join us?

The Opportunity

Associate M&E Officer, Rwanda Job Reference: AMEO/RW/07/2023

Role Purpose

The Associate M&E Officer- Rwanda, as part of the ME team will be responsible for the coordinating and management of country results progress tracking and knowledge management activities.

Role Summary

Reporting to the Country Director, Rwanda, the Associate M&E Officer, Rwanda is responsible for to coordinate country M&E activities, including Country context data synthesis and reporting; grant awards support through country charters; grantee data synthesis, support & validation; and Grantee AMIS training and support. The Associate M&E Officer will report to the Country Director with matrix reporting to the Regional M & E Officer and with close working relationships with the country program team and M&E/KM.

Key Measures of Performance

• • Timely coordination and tracking of country program performance.
  • Successful grants award support with results frameworks, KPIs, milestones and targets through country charters up to the Grants Committee.
  • Successful country staff and grantee capacity building and continued user support on AGRA M&E Information System (AMIS).
  • Timely approval and resolution of issues/quality of grantee reports in the AMIS system.
• Successful coordination of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities in the country.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose – Analyze

• Coordinating all country M&E activities in close liaison with the central and regional M&E teams.
• Supporting country grants award processes with development of Results Frameworks, KPIs, milestones and targets through country charters and grants committee.
• Supporting the alignment of country grantees investments to country Results framework and overall AGRA’s theory of Change.
• Scheduling and undertaking trainings for country staff and grantees on AMIS use, with scheduled continuous user support.
• Reviewing and approving reports in the AMIS system, including timely resolution of grantee data/report issues/quality in the AMIS system.
• Compiling, analyzing and disseminating country program performance every quarter, or as prescribed including detailed context analyses.
• Supporting coordination of evaluation and special studies in the country as scheduled in liaison with central and regional M&E teams.
• Verification of data exercises periodically to ensure the quality of grantee data.

Engagement – Collaborate

• Advising internal and external stakeholders i.e., country program staff and grantees, partners and stakeholders, administration and finance on M&E issues and acting as the point of contact for related issues in the country.
• Building and managing external relationships and keeping current of key developments in partner institutions.
• Supporting knowledge sharing (reviews and reflection meetings) in the country by engaging units, offering training required, and facilitating seamless exchange of information with both internal and grantees.
• Supporting collation of AGRA data for the quarterly and annual reporting of the AGRA wide program results.
• Collaborating with the communications team to customize and package AGRA grantees success stories and documents detailing evidence of successful models to meet the stakeholder needs.

Delivery – Manage the Project Cycle

• Plans for the collection of information and evidence of demonstrated models from AGRA grantees for the creation of AGRA beneficiaries’ success stories and document detailed evidence of successful models.

Model the IRISE Values & Be a Culture Carrier

• Integrity: Uphold moral convictions and always doing the right thing.
• Respect: Value differences and embrace diversity and inclusion.
• Innovation: Strive for excellence and embracing continuous improvement, bold creativity, and change.
• Stewardship: Be responsible for actions undertaken and resources entrusted.
• Equity: Be governed by fairness in all undertakings.

Requirements

Academic and Professional Qualifications

• • A Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Social Sciences, or other relevant field with additional training in results -based Monitoring & Evaluation and project management.
  • Computer proficiency in: Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet search skills, PowerPoint, and ability to learn new applications quickly.
  • Working knowledge of key donor agencies including MCF, USAID, Rockefeller Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Knowledge of AMIS operating system, desirable.

Required Skills/Abilities

• Strong analytical skills with ability to translate analysis into clear concise written text.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a motivation to improve policies and procedures systematically.
• Excellent organizational skills, commitment to accuracy and to maintaining a timely and efficient work. flow, and extremely detail-oriented with the ability to work under pressure.
• Excellent interpersonal skills: courtesy, tact and patience.
• Ability to multi-task and to prioritize work amidst competing demands.
• Results-orientation, professional, accountable, and proactive.
• Experience in establishing effective partnerships and relationship within the unit and across boundaries in the organization.
• Ability to understand client needs and customize information to best suit those needs.
• Openness to new ideas and to different ways of aggregating, storing, packaging, and disseminating information.
• Good working knowledge of results-based monitoring and evaluation as well as project management.
• Experience coordinating M&E trainings.
• Ability to communicate in French will be an added advantage.
• Experience working on teams and managing process that are dependent on multiple actors.
• Experience working with a large multinational development agency in a coordination role is an advantage.
• Excellent organization and communication skills, written and verbal with ability to work effectively and efficiently with multi-disciplinary teams in diverse cultural contexts and drive action for collective success.

Relevant Experience

• A Minimum of seven (7) years’ relevant experience in aspects of monitoring and evaluation in international development or agriculture related field..

Key Competencies

• • Achieving Results Effectively: Anticipates constraints, identifies solutions and takes responsibility for addressing critical situations; Sets self and others stretching goals, over and above those required to meet organizational standards and targets; Takes the necessary actions to meet these goals; identifies and applies measures to track and quantify achievement; Aligns projects with organization’s mission and objectives and demonstrates a good understanding of the impact of team’s and own work on external and internal counterparts.
  • Managing & Sharing Knowledge: Disseminates and shares knowledge openly and actively contributes to knowledge/network communities for topics relevant to area of expertise; Builds networks for the effective communication and exchange of knowledge and ideas and puts others into contact with various sources of knowledge; Contributes to an environment that is conducive to innovation and learning.
  • Accountability:  Maintains ethical behavior, admits mistakes and exhibits responsible behavior in the meeting of performance expectations; Actively seeks out solutions to achieve results; Holds self-accountable for achieving results as an individual as well as team members; Identifies and assists in addressing areas of weakness that may impact the department’s performance.
  • Diversity & Inclusion: Takes a conscious effort to learn about different styles of conflict resolution; Has insight into and monitors own preferred conflict management style and its impact on others; Is proactive in managing conflict over differences when it arises rather than avoiding it; Actively creates the space for people to use different forms of conflict resolution; Listens actively for the frames of reference and does not prejudge; Seeks to understand and adapt to different styles when working with those who are different; Treats others as they wish to be treated; Shows readiness to change the way he/she does things to meet the needs of those from diverse backgrounds.
  • Technical Competencies for the position: Demonstrate knowledge of all own work role specific issues. This encompasses the technical skills or knowledge required to perform the essential duties as described in this Job Description. Specific technical competencies: quantitative analytical skills data collection, analysis and production of reports; In-depth knowledge on MIS and MEL
  • Adaptability: Adapts personal approach to meet the needs of different or new situations; Seeks guidance in adapting behavior to the needs of a new or different situation.
  • Stakeholder Focus/Partnerships: Contacts stakeholders to follow up on services, solutions or products to ensure that their needs have been correctly and effectively met; Understands issues from the stakeholder’s perspective; Keeps stakeholders up-to-date with information and decisions that affect them; Monitors services provided to stakeholders and makes timely adjustments as required; Maintains ongoing communication with stakeholders; Regularly and systematically contacts stakeholders or prospective stakeholders to determine their needs; Uses understanding of stakeholder’s perspective to identify constraints and advocate on their behalf; Works with stakeholders to adapt services, products or solutions to meet their needs; Encourages co-workers and teams to achieve a high standard of service excellence; Anticipates areas where support or influence will be required and discusses situation/concerns with appropriate individuals; Proposes new, creative and sound alternatives to improve stakeholder service delivery; Engages effectively with all stakeholders.
• Teamwork: Establishes strong relationships with colleagues and partners; relates well to people at all levels; Is fully aware of the team purposes, respects and understands individual and collective responsibilities; Willingly puts in extra effort without being asked and adopts a ‘hands-on’ approach whenever necessary to achieve team objectives; Coordinates own work with that of the team to meet agreed priorities and deadlines.

Terms of Appointment

3 Years Fixed Term (Consideration for renewal will be made subject to AGRA’s needs, available funding and performance).

Location

Based in Kigali, Rwanda

How to Apply

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your e-mail address and telephone contacts to recruit@agra.org noting to quote the job reference number in the subject of your email)

To be considered, applications must be received on or before Wednesday 30^th August 2023.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer