Programme d’Appui à l’Initiative Communautaire (PAIC)

Title:  M&E Assistant

Department: CIT

Employee Status: Full Time

Reports to: M&E Officer

Location:  Far North Region, Cameroon

BACKGROUND

Creative Associates International Inc. is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 20 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Creative Associates International Cameroon Limited (Creative Associates) is implementing the USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives program in Cameroon: le Programme d’Appui à l’Initiative Communautaire (PAIC).  The program will be working to strengthen inter-community relations through local initiatives, empower youth, and increase social cohesion.  The USAID/OTI Cameroon program will work at the local level in partnership with local organizations.
To lead and support the implementation of the Programme d’Appui à l’Initiative Communautaire (PAIC), Creative Associates seeks to engage a highly qualified and motivated team.  All positions, including positions based in Yaoundé, are full time and require a willingness to travel throughout northern Cameroon.  Creative Associates is especially interested in receiving submissions from women applicants.  Only qualified candidates who follow the application instructions will be contacted.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Assistant supports the implementation and data collection for the monitoring and evaluation system within assigned area. S/he gathers, analyzes, and processes complex information related to all aspects of program activity implementation. The M&E Assistant supports the design, development, and employment a range of approaches and tools. S/he is charged with cultivating a culture of learning and continual improvement across the program.  This position will be based in the Far North, with program activities expected to be carried out throughout the Far North.  Extensive and frequent travel throughout the Far North is required.

REPORTING & SUPERVISION

The M&E Assistant will report to the M&E Officer.

Expected Outcomes:

• Lead the monitoring and evaluation of activities in the Far North and report back to management staff on the results.
• Provide lessons learned and feedback from communities to improve future activities and strategies.
• Assist with real time situational analysis of both the security and livelihoods situations in target areas of the Far North.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Participate in regular PAIC team meetings to discuss current country context issues, present and discuss activity ideas, and report on the progress of activity implementation. 
• Identify appropriate evaluation methodologies to support for the PAIC program which is designed to rapidly implement a large volume of small and short-term activities.  
• Carrying out direct evaluations of activities and clusters of activities and direct and supervise third-parties and external groups to support monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities.  
• Attending periodic PAIC team meetings to discuss current country context issues and understand activities being considered for development and approval, under implementation, and being closed and which may be appropriate for case-study evaluations and/or cluster analysis. 
• Conduct site visits during the project implementation phase for each grant in assigned areas. 
• Produce a “routine monitoring report” (RMR) according to an approved template for each site visit prior to the indicator verification visit. 
• Support Program Development Officers to draft “final evaluation reports” (FER) based on prescribed format after visiting a grant site for verification of indicators. 
• Identify lessons learned, constraints, and project impacts based on determined theme and/or sector for inclusion in FERs. 
• Synthesize and write reports and make presentations on the results of monitoring of, evaluation of, and learning on PAIC activities. 
• Work closely with the Program Development Officers and Grants Officers to generate ideas and draft success stories and case studies about program activities and projects. 
• Synthesize information from the team to draft weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and/or annual reports reports. Work with the Program Development Officers, Grants Officers, and short-term technical assistance (STTA) consultants to facilitate the timely production of monitoring, evaluation, learning, and other analytical reports. 
• Participate in professional training and development activities, as necessary. 
• Represent the program positively and professionally in both internal and external environments. 
• Play an active role in activity monitoring and evaluation and contribute to the feedback loop, which uses information gathered about ongoing activity implementation to inform development of new activities. 
• Any other duties and tasks as needed and assigned. 

REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Fluency in one or more of the local languages used in the northern Cameroon is required. 
• Written and spoken fluency in French or English required  
• Minimum of two (2) years’ professional work experience. 
• One and half (1.5) years’ experience in field monitoring 
• Experience and demonstrated capacity to provide concise timely analysis from local sources 
• Capacity to understand and analyze national, regional, and local politics, and the creativity and analytical capacity to design monitoring activities that relate to the security transition underway in northern Cameroon.   
• Attention to detail and ability to carry out assigned tasks through completion is required.
• Degree in international development, journalism, social science, economics, or related field is required  
• Capacity to adapt tools and approaches for monitoring/evaluation based on target populations, community dynamics, and activity details 
• Experience in empirical and statistical analysis, management information systems and/or information management design 
• University level studies in statistics or statistical analysis or the development of evaluation and monitoring tools.  
• Understanding of how SMS, social media, and mobile technology can be used to generate data and how data from these platforms can be collected, aggregated, and analyzed. 
• Ability to foster and maintain a spirit of unity, teamwork, cooperation, and learning. 
• Sensitivity in working with multiple cultures and beliefs, and to gender equity. 
• Proficient at using Microsoft office software: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.    
• Prior experience with USAID or US Government funded projects is highly desirable. 
• Experience of working in a conflict environment is a plus. 
• Ability to work under pressure and efficiently handle multiple tasks. 
• Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team.

HOW TO APPLY

CV requirements for candidates applying for jobs with Creative Associates PAIC

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MAY APPLY FOR MORE THAN ONE POSITION. FOR EACH POSITION, PLEASE SUBMIT A SEPARATE APPLICATION AND SEND A SEPARATE EMAIL WITH THE TITLE OF THE POSITION IN THE SUBJECT OF THE EMAIL. 

All candidates who wish to be considered must submit their CV in the form below:

• Personal information and contacts (cell (s) and email), physical address, nationality and professional profile.
• Brief summary of the qualifications of the candidate - not more than 10 to 12 lines of text.
• Diplomas in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). Please do not include primary school education.
• Professional experience in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). Your work experience should be listed as follows for each job:
  • The dates of commencement and termination
  • The title of the job held
  • The structure or employer (business, NGOs, state, community)
  • The designated responsibilities or tasks
  • Achievements or expectations of your efforts during the period of such employment.  Please do not include experience as a Trainee
• Please include any additional information relevant to the job you are applying for, such as:
  • Detailed language skills.
  • Other skills (e.g. computer skills, Animation capacity or training of trainers, etc.)
  • Publications or studies (if available) OR TRAINING COMPLETED
  • Driving license (either vehicle or motorcycle)
• Please include at least three references names (full name, title, contact and email address).

Applicants Must Follow all of the Following Steps to Be Considered for Employment:

Submit your application in one email to recrutement@crea-paic.com  with the following documents:

• Curriculum Vitae with three professional references, including at least two former supervisors
• Submit a cover letter indicating the reasons for your interest in the position. The subject of the email must indicate the position title and location.

Deadline: 02 th November 2018