I. GENERAL INFORMATION:
TechnoServe, Inc. (www.technoserve.org) is an international nonprofit development organization founded in 1968. Its mission is to help entrepreneurial men and women in poor rural areas of the developing world to build businesses that create jobs, income and economic opportunity for their families, their communities and their countries.

Our work focuses on identifying promising business opportunities with a positive economic role for and impact on the rural poor, and facilitating the business linkages and partnerships needed to make deals occur. In addition to market linkages, we also provide credit linkages through loan guarantees and the sourcing of debt capital through commercial banks, and in improving managerial talent through transfer of skills to client firms.

For several years now we are proud to partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on projects in Africa – ranging from coffee and dairy sector initiatives in East Africa to cocoa and cashew interventions in West Africa. The BMGF has made agricultural development a strategic priority, with a grant portfolio of close to $800 million to date, focusing on increasing farm incomes as a way of reducing rural poverty. Multi-national corporations (MNCs) are key partners in such endeavours – they are already present in the target countries, making major purchases, and they are likely to be increasingly open to innovative smallholder sourcing given the global climate of increasing commodity and food prices. The BMGF intends to leverage win-wins for MNCs to invest in supply chain facilities and extension services as well as to provide purchase guarantees which will both meet their commercial needs and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

In the coming months, we will be engaged in the start-up of a new four-year pilot program that will demonstrate the ability of smallholder farmers in Kenya and Uganda to increase their incomes at least two-fold by becoming long-term sustainable suppliers of mango and passion fruit, both for sale on the fresh market and for processing. The program’s aim is to improve smallholder farmer incomes through productivity improvements, development of farmer-based organizations, and creation of market linkages. The program will initially focus on the domestic markets as an import substitution play, with a view to demonstrating future potential for exports.

A major multinational corporation is confirmed as the main private sector partner in this project. Its participation will create a compelling pull factor and serve to lower risk for all participants along the chain.

By the end of the pilot program, we will have proven the concept through the following achievements:

• 54,000 smallholder fruit producers in Kenya and Uganda will more than double their net fruit incomes, generating incremental sales revenues of approximately $26 million over 4 years
• Regional processors will increase their volume uptake of raw fruit, taking advantage of a 155% increase in fruit supply, and profitably selling into the supply chains of large-scale juice sellers
• At least one new multinational fruit juice seller or fruit retailer will be actively engaged in sourcing from smallholder farmers in the region for future expansion and scalability
  

II. PRIMARY PURPOSE:
To enable evidence-based decision-making by program management and leadership that assures the achievement of the project goals. Working closely with the Kenya and Uganda Country Directors and the Fruit Program Manager, the Regional Fruit M&E Manager will be responsible for timely and effective implementation of the Monitoring & Evaluation systems and activities within the program, in accordance with the contractual obligations to BMGF.

III. DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Responsibilities and essential job functions include but are not limited to the following:
1.) Project Start-Up

• Lead the process for identifying the key performance questions and parameters for monitoring project performance and comparing it to targets, based on the initial logframe. This includes developing program indicators
• Set out the framework and procedures for evaluating project activities including project’s social impact
• Establish a framework, methodology, procedures and responsibilities for monitoring project performance indicators in accordance with the logical framework and reporting requirements
• Establish an IT system that will allow for regular and ongoing aggregation, analysis and reporting of monitoring data
• Establish an M&E calendar for duration of project that lays out 1) Start and end dates for major M&E deliverables; 2) regular periodic analysis of data to identify and communicate lessons-learned and 3) Regular periodic presentation of data and analyses to project management to identify opportunities and challenges for integration into project planning
• Develop and maintain an updated project logframe in accordance with the Project Charter
• Review the quality of existing social and economic data in the project area, the methods of collecting it and the degree to which it will provide good baseline statistics for impact evaluation
• Recruit and retain contractor to undertake baseline survey, ensuring that data collected will enable TechnoServe to report against all agreed targets and indicators
• Develop Gender Plan of Action, including recruiting and retaining local gender experts to provide input
• Support Program Manager in ensuring that detailed project planning takes place, that an agreed-upon framework is established with all project partners for decision-making, management and project execution, and that is it documented in a program charter
• Train key staff to the project on M&E activities and supervise their M&E output, including guiding staff to prepare progress reports

2.) On-going Project Management

• Support the Program Manager to establish and maintain project management and implementation systems, including project workplan with clearly defined milestones
• Make sure the business of the project is conducted in an efficient manner by supervising and monitoring project implementation. Ensure that timely decisions on corrective actions are made and implemented
• Plan and oversee M&E data collection and analyze such data to ensure relevancy and accuracy on a regular basis
• Track multiple indicators and compare with comprehensive baseline survey
• Review, monitor and analyze reports, for impact evaluation, and identify the cause of potential bottlenecks in implementation
• Assure that all contractual obligations are adhered to and ensure implementation meets project targets
• Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of M&E, ensure quality control and identify where adaptations might be needed
• Recruit, guide and supervise organizations that are contracted to implement interim and final reviews and studies required for evaluating project effects and impacts
• For each client and contractor contract, ensure that detailed M&E specifications are prepared in a timely, objective, fair and transparent manner, Submit required progress reports
• Guide the regular sharing of M&E outputs such as core indicators with management, the board and other stakeholders
• Provide inputs as needed for internal and external reporting on progress and status of project activities
• Support the Program Manager with other tasks as assigned

3.) Regional Coordination

• Ensure information is shared and flows transparently
• Ensure that lessons learned in one country are applied in the other
• Create, disseminate and support country-level adaptation and use of standard M&E templates and tools for key project deliverables including but not limited to: key M&E indicators and templates

4.) Knowledge development, application and sharing

• Regular periodic analysis of data to identify and communicate lessons-learned
• Regular periodic presentation of data and analyses to project management to identify opportunities and challenges for integration into project planning Support the Program Manager in ensuring that both country teams are abreast of project and industry developments across the region, are aware of their own performance against project milestones, sharing lessons-learned and benefiting from each other’s work
• Support the Program Manager in ensuring that best practices from elsewhere are shared into the project and that new lessons learned are shared externally (this includes learnings from the “deep dive” to be conducted in a 3rd country during the project implementation)
• Support the Program Manager in consolidating lessons learned and leveraging them for external dissemination

IV. IMPACT:

• Support the goals of the program by validating objectives through sound statistics
• Evidence based program decision-making
• Demonstrated impact on poverty reduction through robust data collection and analysis

V. REQUIREMENTS:

• Qualifications in business related studies and proven skills in accounting and financial management are required
• At least 5 years of experience with M&E methods and approaches, designing, planning and implementing M&E systems, information analysis and reporting the logical approach framework/other strategic planning approaches (gender-specific M&E experience is an added advantage)
• Strong interpersonal/people management skills and excellent oral and written communication skills a must
• Ability to develop well written, cohesive analyses and reports
• Excellent English oral & written presentation skills, kiSwahili language skills preferred
• Strong analytical skills
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally when necessary

Reports To: Regional Program Manager, East Africa Division

Position Location: Nairobi, Kenya

For details of how to apply, click here.