Senior Associate, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (Côte d’Ivoire)

Position summary:

Rainforest Alliance is recruiting a Senior Associate, Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) to coordinate and execute the monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts of a project they are implementing with a cocoa company to provide cash payments linked to sustainable agricultural strategies for 5,000 farming households in Côte d’Ivoire. The post holder will report to the senior project manager. 

This role will include designing and evaluating implementation of project activities; training technical staff, project partners, field consultants and other stakeholders on M&E methods and tools; in coordination with the project’s manager and data specialist, ensuring proper output, outcome and impact indicator data collection, quality control, analysis, and management; and reporting on key findings. The position will also coordinate closely with other Rainforest Alliance units, especially with MERL.

We are seeking a MEL professional who is self-motivated, hands-on, results oriented, with meticulous attention to detail, quality, and accuracy, who is passionate about environmental issues.

Responsibilities: 

• Develop a comprehensive MEL Plan for the project, that specifies tools, processes, and responsibilities to track progress, assess achievements, address challenges and risks, and documents lessons learned, in consultation with the Data Specialist, Project Manager, and MERL´s Senior Advisor Landscapes and Communities (L&C) projects M&E Project Manager;
• Lead and coordinate the project’s MEL Plan implementation, and ensure internal coordination with Rainforest Alliance project team members and other key departments, as required;
• Collaborate with the Project Manager and Data Specialist in the design and conduction of field-based baseline, mid-term, and end of project studies to understand needs, gaps, and opportunities for achieving SDG’s specific outcomes in the context of business and local community needs, and to assess the project´s contribution to such outcomes; and
• Support data collection teams by explaining M&E concepts, describing basic cocoa production practices, and arranging logistics;
• Design and provide training and technical assistance to staff, project partners, and field consultants on M&E methods, tools, and processes, ensuring M&E best practices;
• Support the Project Manager in maintaining updated project information in the Project Management Platform (PMP) and the SharePoint-based project site;
• Ensure that relevant Rainforest Alliance´s Impact Framework Indicators are reported on a quarterly basis through the PMP;
• Implement and ensure quality control procedures to ensure a transparent, evidence-based MEL system, based on reliable and timely field data collection, management, and analysis, to generate and report high-quality project workplan progress data, as well as output, outcome and impact indicator values;
• Support the Project Manager in the preparation of quality and timely technical project performance reports as required by donors;
• Develop communication materials such as infographics, dashboards and coordinate implementation of case studies to gain insights, systematize and communicate project results, success factors and challenges;
• Facilitate regular learning workshops and reflection sessions to review project progress and adapt project strategies/approaches as needed; and
• Perform any other duties as required.

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in international development, agriculture, forestry, social sciences, economics, natural resources, environmental management, or a related field;
• Proven experience (5 years) in M&E of agricultural supply chains, leading data collection teams, data analysis, and impact assessments;
• Demonstrated ability (3 years) in cocoa farming systems (desirable);
• Experience in designing and implementing performance-based and community-based monitoring systems, and managing high-quality data collection and reporting on social, environmental, agronomic, or socioeconomic indicators;
• Proficiency in software including ArcGIS, QGIS, ERDAS Imagine, Global Mapper, ENVI, STATA, SPSS, R, Survey123, SurveyCTO, KOBO Toolbox, CSPro, PowerBI, and Microsoft Office (Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher) (desirable);
• Excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Strong leadership, analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate complex information clearly. Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills, with experience in training and capacity building among diverse audiences;
• Ability to work independently and in teams, manage multiple tasks, adapt to changing prior