Africa Evaluation Regional Advisor
Africa Region Support Network
Nairobi, Kenya

Pact values and supports a diverse work environment. 

Position Summary
The Regional Evaluation Advisor will provide leadership within the Africa Region to strengthen organizational and staff capacity to design and implement effective evaluation activities. S/he will provide technical assistance to country offices, subgrantees and staff to ensure that programs are evaluated as needed, scopes for evaluation reflect key learning questions, high quality external or internal evaluators undertake evaluations, recommendations are adopted and lessons learned are disseminated through channels including the MERL community of practice.. In collaboration with the Pact Inc. Global MERL Director, s/he will also contribute to the development and implementation of the Pact Inc. global MERL agenda.

Core Values: Pact employees embrace the following core values as representatives of the institution:

• all people have a right to participate in decisions affecting their lives
• gender equity is mandatory for social transformation
• resources are allocated in a transparent manner, guided by accountability to our clients and Pact’s role as steward of resources intended for the poor
• diversity in background, gender and age strengthen our capacity to be wise managers of public and private funds
• teamwork and collaboration shape our day-to-day working relationships
• innovation and risk taking to achieve impact and broad scaleable results drive strategic priorities
• gathering and sharing information are primary roles for all employees
• staff growth and advancement are a priority, including training and professional skills building to increase knowledge and competence and to stay abreast of new developments, especially in technology
• a healthy balance between work and life outside of work must be maintained for work satisfaction and fulfillment

Specific Duties and Responsibilities
Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning
Country Guidance and Support (50%)

• Advise country offices on internal and external evaluation processes, requirements and products.
• Support each country office to develop and implement an evaluation and learning agenda to include clear learning questions; scopes of work; evaluation timelines, budgets; and linkages between country performance monitoring plans and evaluations.
• Facilitate and contribute to internal and external evaluations of projects and programs at country level.
• Help develop scope of work for evaluation efforts and review applicants /consultants,
• Help review and or develop evaluation survey instruments and sampling methodologies/frames
• Assist country offices with all aspects of internal and external evaluations.
• Develop methodologies and standards for country office MERL staff to use in planning and conducting evaluations.
• Advise country program on how to support grantees in preparations for evaluations.
• Support country programs in capacity development efforts for their grantees through provision of technical support in developing and implementing appropriate training on basic program evaluation
• Contribute to proposal development, both design and budget components  to ensure that funds and resources are included for evaluation activities.
• Coordinate and provide opportunities for staff development within country offices in a broad range of program evaluation issues/methods/tools
• Provide mentorship to country MER staff involved in evaluation efforts for their programs,
• Support other MERL regional support activities to country offices this may include conducting data quality audits, helping teams develop performance monitoring plans, helping with proposal development, etc

Regional Leadership (30%)

• Forward Pact Inc’s approach to the evaluation aspects of MERL within the Region – the MERL strategy, the Community of Practice and the MERL Vision
• Identify needs, trends and priorities across countries in Africa to ensure that evaluations take place and
• Maintain roster of “preferred” qualified evaluation experts in the region.
• Coordinate and/or provide training for staff within the region in a broad range of program evaluation issues/methods/tools
• Contribute to knowledge management from the Africa region and forward Pact Inc.’s global learning agendas

Pact Global (20%) 

• Work in partnership with the Pact Inc. MERL Director to:
• Assist country program evaluation and monitoring systems to meet Pact Inc. standards and practices
• Forward and contribute to the evolving Pact Inc. Global MERL System
• Contribute to implementation of the Pact Inc. MERL strategy, the Community of Practice and the MERL Vision for program monitoring, evaluation and learning
• Contribute to the development of cohesive annual operations plans, including strategic country, regional and global planning and budgeting in MERL
• Contribute to Pact’s technical communities of practice
• Provide training/mentoring to field-based staff on MERL to ensure staff in every country office are trained and supported in MERL and that country offices have institutionalized quality MERL systems
• Collaborate in preparation of Pact research and case studies for international and national development journals
• Contribute to knowledge management from the Africa region and forward Pact Inc.’s global learning agendas
• Contribute to proposal development, both design and budget components

Collaboration and Communication

• Design and implement (in association with other Pact RESNET staff) knowledge management systems that allow Pact staff to review and analyze data and information on relevant technical areas as a basis for providing up-to-date information on impact, effectiveness, outputs and inputs to programs
• Collaboratively develop and maintain relationships on behalf of Pact Inc. with a priority on partnerships important to Africa region field offices
• Remain informed of new developments in MERL through participation in global and regional task forces and learning communities addressing MERL
• Maintain close contact with the Pact Inc. MERL Director
• Actively participate in the organization and implementation of Africa meetings
• Assist Africa Regional Director to maintain close communication links between all levels at Pact

Qualifications

• 5 years of development experience in overseas setting in international development based Evaluation
• At least 3-5 years of development experience in a non US setting working with Evaluation. Preferred expertise in governance, conflict mitigation, democracy and governance,  or HIV and AIDS.
• Ability to establish and sustain interpersonal and professional relationships with Pact staff, in donor organizations and in peer organizations
• Strong facilitation, teaching and coaching skills
• Skills in all aspects of quantitative and qualitative evaluation
• Knowledge of participatory evaluation methodologies
• Working knowledge of software packages commonly used for data analysis
• Ability to travel at short notice
• Position will require a maximum of 40% travel
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks
• Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheets and database skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Knowledge of conceptual modeling and other key tools relevant to MERL including results frameworks, theory of change, log frames, protocols, etc.
• Ability to work collaboratively and collegially in teams and independently

Education and Experience Requirements
Required

• Master’s degree and five (5) years of experience

Preferred

• 1-2 years of development experience in overseas setting
• Fluency in English and proficiency in at least one other language

Salary
Based on employment history. Excellent benefits.

To Apply
Please send resume and cover letter to vacancy@pactke.org.  No phone calls please. 

Pact is an equal opportunity employer.