The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a qualified Associate Research Fellow & Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist in its Environment and Production Technology (EPTD) Division. This is a two year, exempt, fixed-term, renewable appointment based in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Associate Research Fellow (ARF)/Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist will act as focal point and local coordinator for East and Southern Africa (ESA encompassing Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, within the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) team of USAID's Sustainable Intensification (SI) program for Africa (Africa RISING). Africa RISING, part of the US Government's broader Feed the Future (FTF) initiative, has contracted IFPRI's HarvestChoice team to provide specialized M&E support and services. The Associate Research Fellow will be responsible for consolidating and significantly enhancing initial M&E support provided to the East and Southern Africa RISING coordination and implementation partners (lead by IITA and supported by other CGIAR centers, international and national research partners). Additionally, s/he will support associated M&E activities including spatially-disaggregated examination of target farming sub-systems, households and key ecosystem services.
The successful candidate will seek synergies with other international and regional partners in tapping available and reliable data source, and engage with relevant stakeholders in the technical and operational design and implementation of M&E activities of the Africa RISING program. He/she will identify gaps in data and analysis, for which targeted data collection might be required at the local level, through qualitative and quantitative commissioned surveys. This data would complement a suite of modeling tools and spatially–disaggregated indicators already accessible to HarvestChoice. Particular emphasis will be placed on periodic assessment of the potential up-scaled impacts of sustainable intensification practices in Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia.
Periodic reporting to donors and implementation partners will be required on the measured and projected status of key output and outcome indicators, in addition to the FTF monitoring indicators.
In collaboration with HarvestChoice staff, the ARF will contribute to the strategic and operational planning and implementation of the M&E activities of the SI Program in the East and Southern Africa. S/he is expected to accomplish these outputs through joint work and consultation with the IFPRI team (with weekly or fortnightly virtual meetings depending on needs), the USAID team/s (in Washington, DC as well as in overseas missions), the Chief Scientist and the research teams in the East and Southern Africa site. Effective participation and management of the dialogue between various partners within this collaboration on the status/focus of their activities is expected.
Essential Duties
- Plan, coordinate (with the relevant local partners, the research teams and their Principal Investigators) and oversee the successful implementation of all field works in relation to the Babati evaluation project; submit an implementation plan and budget to IFPRI to secure necessary resources for the successful and timely distribution of improved agricultural inputs to farmers who attended the field days in Babati. Produce summary reports on fertilizer distribution and advise IFPRI, IITA, and the local partners on next steps. Assist in the preparation of a research paper on Babati fertilizer/improved seeds Impact Evaluation.
- Produce a detailed Monitoring and Evaluation plan for the target mega-site and for each focus country, when necessary, with objectives, activities, and milestones.
- Liaise with the Africa RISING ESA Chief Scientist and the research teams on methodologies and strategies for FTF indicator monitoring and compile data for periodic reporting.
- Produce draft research paper (as IFPRI Discussion Paper) based on quantitative household and community baseline survey data collected from Malawi and Tanzania. Research topic will be discussed/determined together with the M&E team. If Zambia baseline data collected by SIMLEZA team becomes publicly available, produce a summary report using similar format to be used for Malawi and Tanzania.
- Assess qualitative data needs by the research teams and by the M&E team; design, implement, and supervise qualitative data collection; analyze data thereof and produce reports.
- Provide regular updates to DC-based M&E team about research activities and progresses, disaggregated by country.
- Attend a training course on Project Monitoring and Mapping Tool (PMT) to be organized by Spatial Development International and the M&E team. Organize an M&E workshop and PMT training session (either in Malawi or Tanzania) for selected researchers from the three focus countries (Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia) to orient the research teams about the PMT and share results from baseline surveys in Malawi and Tanzania (plus Zambia if SIMLEZA data become available).
- Provide regular updates to DC-based M&E team about research activities and progresses, separately by country.
- Travel to other Africa RISING countries to attend program-level meetings; assist the M&E team with various M&E-related activities across the six program countries; support the M&E team during planning and implementation of the annual M&E meeting.
Required Qualifications:
- Ph.D. degree in economics, agricultural economics, development economics, science and technology policy, development studies, or other appropriate disciplines.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in conducting Monitoring & Evaluation activities
- Demonstrated success in the design and application of monitoring & evaluation systems in a development context preferably on the agriculture development sector
- Experienced in survey methodologies and design, data collection protocols, management, analysis, and compilation
- Fluency in written and spoken English
- Demonstrated strong writing skills and capacity to analyze complex phenomena and publish findings in various forms
- Professional engagement with recognized peers in the field
- Advanced knowledge of statistical software packages (in particular STATA), good econometrics skills and strong familiarity with data production processes
- Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated experience in effective interactions and negotiations in a multi-cultural environment setting with researchers, policymakers, donors, and civil society, facilitating impact of research, capacity strengthening, and bridging across disciplines.
- Willingness to travel extensively as required, especially to sub-Saharan African countries (particularly Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia)
- Ability to work both independently and within a multi-disciplinary and multicultural team environment
- Good organizational skills, to be able to meet deadlines satisfactorily
Preferred Qualifications:
- Good knowledge of the agriculture sector in Africa south of the Sahara, especially in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia.
- Experience with techniques of deriving statistically robust typologies or clusters of households
- Experience with methods of analysis of spatially-disaggregated data
- Significant periods of travel to and work in developing countries, especially in Africa
- Working knowledge of a second language of relevance to the geographic areas of research focus (e.g., Chichewa, Swahili)
