Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Expert (MEAL)

Project Description

With a total population of 30.4 million people in 2019 and more than 55% living in cities, Ghana has a dense network of urban areas mostly concentrated along the Atlantic coast and in the Ashanti Region. The country is halfway through urbanisation, and has benefited from an urban economic network more advanced than other countries in West Africa. While the first period of urbanisation has generated job creation and opportunities, improved living conditions and reduced poverty for many Ghanaians, the country now faces the challenges of economic efficiency and social inclusion within its urban areas, where globally basic services are still lacking. In addition, unplanned spatial expansion of urban and metropolitan areas and their limited connectivity within and across Ghana’s cities is a challenge, increasing social and environmental costs, unequal and inadequate access to basic services, health risks and ecological damages.

To address these challenges, an integrated programme is proposed by the European Union to meet demands in infrastructures and services by working both on the institutional and legislative framework at central level, and on the urban growth at local level.

As a second largest technical cooperation agency in Europe, Expertise France (EF) has been entrusted by the EU with the design and implementation of the “Sustainable Cities – Phase 1” project. The action proposed by Expertise France will address the need for capacity building and data collection of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGRD); at decentralised level the action will target selected Regional Capitals – Wa, Damongo, Nalerigu, Bolgatanga, Tamale – and the secondary city of Yendi.

Objectives of the project

The Sustainable Cities in Ghana – Phase 1 is funded by the European Union (EU) to support both national and sustainable and inclusive cities, with local authorities enhancing sustainable cities in Ghana. The project will support the development of more sus a particular focus on 6 cities of the Northern regions during 60 months.

The Overall Objective of this action is to improve urban prosperity for all.

The Specific Objectives of this action are to:

1. Improve national and city level policy framework for gender responsive integrated urban development
2. Improve environmental management and climate change adaptation and mitigation by targeted cities
3. Increase delivery of quality urban services and accountability of local authorities in targeted cities.

In order to achieve this objectives, Expertise France will pursue the following actions:

• Encourage coordination mechanisms between local and national authorities: strengthening capacities, setting up of an urban observatory, inclusion of climate change and inclusivity issues in the urban policies, peer-to-peer dialogue etc.;
• Structurally improve urban governance by strengthening the capacity of central and local governments to coordinate, design and implement urban policies, planning and regulation;
• Enhancing and building the technical capacities of local authorities and promoting participatory approach;
• Supporting local authorities in planning and implementation process to improve water, sanitation and waste management services in the 6 cities of the project.

Job Description

The Sustainable Cities – Phase 1 project aims to develop a robust and adapted monitoring and evaluation system to enable systematic and effective collection, analysis and use of project data and information, and make an ongoing link to learning to support operational and strategic decision-making. This M&E system should also be used for both bottom-up (donor) and top-down (recipient) accountability purposes.

Expertise France is recruiting a MEAL Expert to develop and deploy this monitoring and evaluation system for the project. The MEAL Expert will be mobilized on a part-time basis to provide regular support to the project team on the following topics : revision of the logical framework and definition of the relevant monitoring indicators, elaboration of a monitoring and evaluation plan, accountability and learning, baseline information, project-level monitoring tools, data collection and compilation. He/she also contributes to the project reporting to the European Union and works under the supervision of the Project Leader and in close collaboration with other team members based in Accra and Tamale.

In particular, the key responsibilities of the MEAL Expert include the following :

Sharing and Consolidating Project Theory of Change

• Lead one or more workshops with all stakeholders for a participatory reflection on the Theory of Change (ToC) of the project
• Produce a detailed and formalized version of the ToC of the project based on the elements from the workshops

Development of the Project M&E plan

• Assess the needs and capacities for tools and practices for monitoring, evaluation and learning, data collection and reporting of the team and implementation partners,
• Develop a solid and co-constructed plan with the project stakeholders, in line with the commitments recommended in the Agency’s M&E policy, including:
• Revision of the logical framework and its indicators;
• Definition and monitoring plan for each indicator (means of verification, method of calculation, tools, etc.),
• Baseline values and targets for each indicator
• Process of data flow, collection and use (collection, reporting, consolidation, visualization, use for management and decision-making, reporting, etc.),
• Data management (analysis, reporting, archiving, confidentiality, quality control, data protection in compliance with the GDPR),
• Detailed budget needed to implement the plan,
• Tools and software that will be used,
• Learning issues, and planning of learning times (workshops to identify good practices and lessons learned, report of experience capitalisation, etc.),
• Definition of respective responsibilities of each partner organisation involved in the implementation of the activities,
• Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation plan is in line with Expertise France’s policy in this area, as well as the needs and expectations of the donors involved (European Union),
• Contribute to the development and implementation of baseline and endline baseline studies for key indicators. The use of qualitative and/or secondary data where possible is strongly recommended,
• Design, implement and disseminate a tool for interactive sharing of monitoring and evaluation results (i.e. PowerBI),
• Train and support the project team and partners on the tools and processes put in place to facilitate their use,
• Develop and update with project teams a manual for using monitoring and evaluation tools,

Support in the implementation of the M&E plan

• Ensure regular updating of the monitoring system – verification of the data collected, data management and analysis, updating of interactive tools – in close collaboration with the project team,
• Interact with local relays and other stakeholders for data collection and interpretation,
• Share results and conclusions of M&E activities with the project team,
• Contribute to mid-year review exercises as required,
• Propose and deploy a capitalisation plan for beneficiaries, implementation partners/operators and work closely with the communications officer on the development of capitalisation tools/materials,
• Develop, with the Project Manager and the team, terms of reference to identify external providers for the final project evaluation,
• Train all stakeholders in monitoring and evaluation and the mechanisms/tools developed to facilitate their involvement in the implementation and use of the monitoring, evaluation and learning system,
• Update the M&E system and collection and monitoring tools as the project evolves as required

Profile

Education / Qualification

• Master’s degree in Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation of projects, Development Economics or any other profile in line with the missions to be carried out
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Experience in developing and using digital tools for collection and analysis (M&E-oriented software, data collection, data analysis software, visualization, mastery of collection software: Kobo Tool Box, CTO Survey, ODK, etc.), analysis (R, SPSS, Stata, etc.) and data visualization (PowerBI), and good knowledge of more comprehensive tracking softwares.
• Good knowledge of project management practices and procedures (logical framework, programming, implementation, reporting, etc.) and knowledge of the practices of donors, especially the EU

Professional experience

• At least 10 years of working experience in the development and use of monitoring and evaluation systems in the field of sustainable development, governance and public policy implementation in the context of international cooperation development projects,
• Strong experience in development of project management tools and practices (theory of change, logical framework, planning, reporting, etc.) and knowledge of donor practices, particularly the EU
• Experience in gender-related issues is mandatory
• Strong experience in Ghana requested, authorization to work in Ghana is a bonus

Additional specific requirements

• Demonstrated management experiences in a multicultural environment
• A strong sense of organisation, rigour and autonomy is required
• Proven skills in negotiation, listening, setting priorities, problem-solving and decision-making, in particular in interactions with local partners
• Excellent communication skills: diplomacy and communication with private or public partners, local and international
• Ability to analyse, design and deliver a context-specific solution
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills