Job Description

Zimbabwe received funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the project entitled “Building climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural livelihoods in southern Zimbabwe” The objective of the proposed project is to strengthen resilience of agricultural livelihoods of vulnerable communities, particularly women, in southern Zimbabwe in the face of increasing climate risks and impacts.

The project will contribute to the following GCF Fund- level impacts for adaptation: 1.0 “Increased resilience and enhanced livelihoods of the most vulnerable people, communities and regions” and 2.0 “Increased resilience of health and well-being, and food and water security” for vulnerable smallholder communities in southern Zimbabwe. The project outcome will strengthen the adaptive capacities of vulnerable smallholder farmers, especially women, to climate change-induced impacts on their agroecosystems and livelihoods through revitalization of irrigation schemes, upgraded water and soil moisture management and water use efficiency, climate-resilient agriculture, improved access to climate information and markets, and partnerships with public and private sector actors. To achieve these outcomes the project proposes to overcome the identified barriers through implementation of the following three interlinked Outputs, using GCF and co-financing resources:

(i) Increased access to water for climate-resilient agriculture through climate-resilient irrigation systems and efficient water resource management.

(ii)Scaled up climate-resilient agricultural production and diversification through increased access to climate-resilient inputs, practices, and markets; and

(iii) Improved access to weather, climate and hydrological information for climate-resilient agriculture. The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development (MLAFWRD) is the implementing partner, and the project is being implemented for 7 years from June 2020 to May2027.

Against the background above, the Zimbabwe Country Office is seeking to recruit an experienced and self-motivated M&E Officer to lead the implementation of the GCF project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work:

1. Ensures operationalization of the project monitoring and evaluation plan:

Oversee and ensure the implementation of the project’s M&E plan, including the periodic appraisal of the Project’s Theory of Change and Results Framework concerning actual and potential project progress and results;
Ensure that log frame performance and impact indicators are defined and are tracked;
Develop measurement methods and identify data sources for project performance and impact indicators, in conjunction with respective project component teams;
Oversee/develop/coordinate the implementation of the stakeholder engagement plan;
Oversee and guide the design of surveys/assessments commissioned for monitoring and evaluating project results;
Support the project manager to ensure that the project’s quality assurance, SESP, risk logs and risk;
Management plans and related records are up to date in Quantum.
2. Participate in the GCF project monitoring missions for data collection, spot check, routine monitoring in the field, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Develop project monitoring mission plans and undertake them quarterly;
Organize and participate in project site M&E and learning missions;
Visit project sites as and when required to appraise project progress on the ground, produce back to office reports (BTORs) and validate written progress reports;
Monitor activities implementation by Implementing Agencies and Partners;
Analyze monitoring data and report on the progress of the project activities;
Share collected data with the Project Manager and the PMU to facilitate adaptive project management;
Monitor and ensure compliance of project activities with social and environmental safeguards.
3. Ensures proper monitoring, reporting & effective management of the M&E Plan:

Monitor project progress and participate in the production of progress reports ensuring that they meet the necessary reporting requirements and standards;
Ensure project’s M&E meets the requirements of the Government, the UNDP Country Office, and UNDP-GCF; develop project-specific M&E tools as necessary;
Facilitate mid-term and terminal evaluations of the project, including management responses;
Facilitate annual reviews of the project and produce analytical reports from these annual reviews, including learning and other knowledge management products;
The design and implementation of surveys, supporting development of ToRs if consultants are required for the surveys;
Liaison with the IE team from HQ;
Draft regular M&E project reports and assist in the preparation of project evaluation, means of verification (MoVs) and/or review reports;
Ensure that project performance data are entered and updated on a timely basis;
Keep archives of most significant change stories for the annual report;
Prepare regular progress reports on activities undertaken, results achieved against targets and plan for follow-up actions including quarterly, annual, and other reports required by UNDP and/or development partners; and
Ensure that lessons learned are documented and considered by the project steering committee;
Meetings to improve project implementation.
4. Provides support in ensuring facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing among GCF project partners and the Resilience community focusing on achievement of the following results:

Work closely with the UNDP Communications Officer on knowledge management aspects of the project and making the work of UNDP known;
Provide support to improve quarterly and annual reports, capturing stories from the field and/or other stakeholders;
Facilitate capacity building & and contribute to the development of the knowledge management system;
Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
Support the PMU in the procurement of specialist services for communications and knowledge generation; and;
Support the PMU in the development of critical learning events, which will provide the opportunity to examine issues that arise during project implementation.
5. Provides support in implementation of project management strategies, budget & results optimization to ensure achievement of the following results:

Work closely with the PMU to prepare Note to files for decisions with implications on project implementation;
Provide support for timely Government of Zimbabwe co-finance tracking and reporting;
Support project manager in analysis of budget performance implications on project results;
Consolidate quarterly and annual workplans for the PMU ensuring that project activities are adequately resourced;
Work closely with PMU to ensure timely implementation of related activities;
Provide support for monitoring budget implementation and accounting to ensure the accuracy and reliability of project expenditure;
Provide support to UNDP’s country office programmes as may be requested by the supervisor.
6. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangements

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the Project Manager to whom the M&E Officer will report, the M&E Officer will have the responsibility for project monitoring and evaluation. The M&E Officer will work closely with the project UNDP M&E Officer to ensure full compliance with UNDP M&E guidelines, and with the Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) - Adaptation to ensure specific GCF monitoring requirements are met. The M&E Officer will also liaise closely with the Project and UNDP Communications Officers on knowledge management aspects of the project. The M&E Officer will also work with Government Nominated Focal Points.

Qualifications and Experience

Requirements:

Minimum education requirements:

Advanced University degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Project Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Studies, Development Studies or Project Management or related field is required OR;
A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the above-mentioned fields, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Minimum years of relevant work experience:

Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in monitoring and evaluation with proficiency in SPSS, Stata, Open Data kit Based Data Collection software, Excel, database packages or other appropriate packages;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advanced knowledge of spread sheet and database packages.
Required skills and competencies:

Demonstrable knowledge of Electronic Data Management and survey data management;
Experience in field monitoring and analytical work (quantitative and qualitative analysis) in the field of Resilience, Food and Nutrition Security, Livelihoods and Disaster Risk Reduction;
Extensive results-based monitoring and evaluation experience;
Experience in implementing M&E for large UN or international donor-funded projects with a minimum of US$5 million.
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section:

Demonstrable knowledge and familiarity with GCF and GEF funding modality and prior experience in or with the UN System;
Experience and Knowledge of GIS;
Experience of M&E in rural development setup and the Agriculture Sector in Zimbabwe;
At least 3 years of proven experience in monitoring, evaluation and data management at project management/co-ordination level in resilience building projects;
Proven experience in and advanced knowledge of Open Data kit Based Data Collection software and data analysis software packages;
Working knowledge on Impact Evaluation design methodologies and implementation of Evaluations.
Language

Fluency in English and any local language such as Ndebelea, Shona or other languages spoken in the areas of project operation is required.
Professional Certificates

Certification in Monitoring and Evaluation and /or;
Certification in GIS or Management Information Systems will be an added advantage.