Research Technician – Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Vacancy Number: MEL/LGII/05/14
Department: Livelihood, Gender, Impact and Innovations
Duration: 2 years renewable contract

ILRI seeks to recruit a Research Technician- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) to provide research support to the MEL Team at ILRI through data collection and analysis, synthesizing research findings related to MEL and writing reports.

ILRI works to enhance the roles livestock play in pathways out of poverty in developing countries. ILRI is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Consortium, a global research partnership of 15 centers working with many partners for a food-secure future. ILRI has two main campuses in East Africa and other hubs in West and southern Africa and South and Southeast Asia. www.ilri.org.

The Centre’s headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, and research is conducted in 31 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We are supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and receive funding from over 50 different donors.

CGIAR is a global agricultural research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centres that are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations. www.cgiar.org.

Responsibilities

• Under the supervision of the M&E scientist, design and implement monitoring and evaluation systems /protocol for major Research for Development (R4D) projects, together with partners within and outside of ILRI;
• Develop field survey tools (including both quantitative and qualitative methods) and protocols for collection M&E data, linking with the tools for initial systems analysis currently under-development for CRP 3.7 and humid tropics activities;
• Work with the data systems manager to incorporate M&E indicators into the overall data platform for Systems Analysis and Synthesis strategic theme;
• Together with other team members implement field survey tools – including training of enumerators, quality assurance standards and checks;
• Carry out data analysis for M&E and impact assessment data in ILRI projects using qualitative and quantitative methods and produce summary table for the reports to monitor progress of the CRP 3.7 and Humidtropics towards its research and development output and outcome targets;
• Participate in the dissemination of these reports; document learning and adjustments resulting from these reports;
• Participate in increasing staff and partners capacity in MEL;
• Organize, manage and train project teams to collect, clean, manage and analyze monitoring and evaluation data;
• Develop, test and implement participatory approaches for monitoring and evaluation at community, project and organizational level;
• Work with and strengthen the capacity of partners in research, development and extension organizations in Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, using both formal and experiential learning methods;
• Contribute to the development and use of livelihood, gender and impact indicators for evaluating the outcomes and impacts of livestock related interventions, technologies and policies;
• Manage and regularly update and maintain baseline and M&E databases;
• Contribute to the production of publications including M&E reports, annual reports, policy briefs, journal papers and other scientific publications in collaboration with scientists and other Research staff in ILRI.

Requirements

• MSc. in Agricultural or Development Economics, Research Methods or a related discipline – that must contain significant content relating to monitoring & evaluation;
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in the development and implementation of Impact Assessment and M&E frameworks and tools (including household level surveys);
• Experience of applying these skills to agricultural research for development projects necessary;
• Good understanding of Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation theory and applications extending to study design, quantitative and qualitative analytic methods;
• Familiarity with environmental and livestock system issues and challenges an advantage;
• Good analytical skills and extensive experience of using statistical packages for data analysis (SPSS, STATA, Nvivo);
• Experience in producing project reports, training manuals and peer-reviewed publications;
• Ability to work effectively in multi-regional teams and partners with members drawn from a diverse range of nationalities, cultures and scientific disciplines;
• Ability to work under pressure, often to tight deadlines without compromising the quality of deliverables;
• Ability to prioritize tasks and able to work with little or no supervision;
• Experience in informal and formal capacity development of colleagues and partners;
• Strong English language skills, both written and spoken
• Willingness to travel frequently, often to rural areas in developing countries.

Terms of appointment:

This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) positions based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is for a 2 years’ contract period.

Job level and salary:

This position is job level 2D with a starting salary of KES154,917 per month. In addition to salary, ILRI offers Medical insurance for staff and dependents, Life insurance, Pension at 12.5% employers contribution, Annual holiday entitlement of 30 days+ public holidays within ILRI’s National Recruited Staff Scheme. 

How to apply:

Applicants should send a cover letter and CV explaining their interest in the position, what they can bring to the job and the names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to the Human Resources Director through our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ on or before 19 May 2014. The position title and reference number REF: MEL/LGII/05/14 should be clearly marked on the subject line of the online application.