We are hiring a Research, Evaluation, Learning and Monitoring Assistant

A​BOUT SPARK MICROGRANTS

Spark MicroGrants believes in a world where everyone lives with dignity and determines their own positive future. Decades of prescriptive aid programs however have sidelined the poor from the very programs ​ meant to uplift them. For nearly ten years, Spark MicroGrants has been pioneering a new approach to international aid. We believe in local solutions and catalyzing rural villages facing poverty into action. ​ After years of implementing and tweaking this model ourselves on the ground, we are now going a step further: training and enabling governments, c​ivil society organizations ​ and NGO partners to integrate it into their work – using our community driven model to improve civic engagement, social cohesion and livelihoods in their constituencies and ultimately make development more community driven.

At the heart of Spark’s model, the Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), are ‘town-hall’ style weekly meetings, in which women and men, young and old, plan together for their community’s future. Each village democratically elects a leadership committee, establishes a village savings account, and launches a project of their choice. Members receive weekly training on financial management and transparency, leadership, village planning, and advocacy. Each village then receives US$8,000 in seed funds to turn project ideas into reality and receives an additional two years of management support.

With our partners, we are working hard to adapt and scale our work around the globe: In Ghana and Liberia, Advocates for Community Alternatives and Village Development Fund are piloting the process to protect communities from extractive mining companies and provide alternative sources of financing for village development initiatives. In Uganda, Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD) is piloting the FCAP to increase the self-reliance of South Sudanese refugee communities amidst the largest refugee crisis on the continent as they prepare for the withdrawal of emergency aid. In Burundi, FVS-AMADE is using the FCAP to establish inclusive, village level governance across every province in the country. And, in Rwanda, Spark is working with government partners to embed the process into the village governance model across the country. Together, 325+ villages have used the Spark process to collectively launch local impact projects, benefiting over 250,000 lives.

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In the next few years, we aim to prove the success of our approach and work with governments and civil society organizations around the world to change the conversation around and practice of how development is achieved – with communities in the driver’s seat of their own development.

Our team of 50+ people is spread across 3 countries in East Africa and the US, sharing a common vision and value system: Facilitation ​is at the core of everything we do: from supporting our communities to take their own decisions to working with our partners to adapt the model to their context to leading internal discussions. We are ​authentic ​ – what we do is what we say and what we say is what we mean. We believe in being p​process-centered and that the how of what we do is just as important as the what. Our team is dynamic ​ in seeking opportunities – from testing our model with a partner in a new country to taking it to national scale with a government – and we are not afraid to take risks. And above all we are community-driven:​ putting our communities’ needs at the forefront of all our work.

A​BOUT THE ROLE

This role is crucial as we adopt and scale our model for families facing poverty to engage and lead in local planning and action. We need you to make sure we have 100% confidence in our data and can use them to make smart decisions as an organization as well as help our partners do the same.

As a Senior RELM Assistant, you will be part of an energetic Research Evaluation Learning and Monitoring (RELM) team working across our three countries of operation in East Africa. Under the supervision of the M&E Manager, the Senior RELM Assistant will play an integral role in the collection, analysis and reporting of RELM data in our Rwanda country office. You will be responsible for the quality of our RELM data in Rwanda, working with Spark trainers and partner staff to ensure that all the collected data are of good quality and reflect the situation on ground.

 Y​OUR RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:​

  • 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.
  • Supporting the collection of continuous monitoring, research and learning data from all communities of operation in Rwanda including; Community monitoring data, Facilitator monitoring data, Project tracking data, Community evaluation data and case study data.
  • Training, coordinating & overseeing 2 data officers within the Spark Southern Rwanda office to collect high quality RELM data.
  • Conducting monitoring field visits frequently with the program staff to monitor progress of community projects, supporting community members to record project monitoring data and do spot checks to confirm some of the collected data.
  • Auditing data quality for the community monitoring data collected by Spark trainers and working with them to correct any errors on a weekly basis.
  • Analyzing data, preparing reports for management, and presenting findings in organisational meetings on a monthly basis.
  • Preparing quarterly reports to Local Government offices and representing Spark at the implementing partners’ meetings at District offices.
  • Working with the Learning Officer to document lessons learnt on a quarterly basis about the FCAP and any running pilots.
  • Contributing to any other assignments as identified by the supervisor.

W​HO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:​

Essential:

  • A bachelor’s degree from a recognized university
  • Strong quantitative analysis skills
  • One to three years’ work experience in program/project monitoring and evaluation, research, or data management and analysis position
  • Very strong knowledge of Excel
  • Experience in reporting writing for project monitoring and evaluation
  • Excellent ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and spoken
  • Ability to communicate in a highly professional manner with a variety of audiences
  • High level of attention to detail
  • Flexible and able to adapt to change

Desirable:

  • A Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative discipline like Statistics, quantitative economics, Mathematics, Monitoring and Evaluation or a related course
  • Experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection using Mobile technology
  • Demonstrated passion for community led development projects/programs
  • Understanding of analysis software: NVivo, STATA, SPSS or R
  • Experience in managing a team of enumerators/staff

W​HY WORK WITH US?​

  • You will be part of a development revolution with a lot of opportunities to grow your career in Monitoring and Evaluation.
  • Spark is a community. You will find thought partners, colleagues who challenge and push you to think further, team members who take you along and share their experience and a strong bond – from collaborating to reach our goals to competing for best singing performance at our annual retreat.
  • You will have the freedom to make your role your own. We want to hear your innovative ideas, your vision for the future and your critical questions.
  • You’ll never be bored – and we respect and value work-life balance and your need for down time, vacation and reflection.

 O​THER INFORMATION

  • Location will be Musanze, Rwanda with ~30% travel within the communities in Rwanda where Spark operates.
  • This role will be based remotely initially, for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic. Once Spark offices reopen this role is expected to be based in Musanze.
  • We will agree on learning and performance objectives for an initial probation period lasting three months from onboarding.
  • Expected start date: 1st September 2020
  • In addition to salary, Spark offers other benefits, including generous paid time off and family leave, monthly communications and professional development stipends.

 APPLY NOW!

Submit your resume and answer a few application questions through https://sparkmicrogrants.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=9&source=other

Now accepting applications until mid-July.

Spark MicroGrants is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran or disability status.

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