Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

Introduction

Title: Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

Org. Unit: ARC/Monitoring and Evaluation

Contract Type: M&E Consultant

Duration: 11 months

Background

The African Risk Capacity was established as a Specialized Agency of the African Union (AU) in November 2012 to help Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to extreme weather events and disasters and to assist food insecure populations. Operating under the privileges and immunities of the AU, the ARC Agency, through its Secretariat, provides Member States with capacity building services for early warning, contingency planning and risk finance.

In late 2013 the Agency established a financial affiliate called ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd). ARC Ltd is a specialist hybrid mutual insurance company that issues policies to governments, and which aggregates and transfers risk to the international market. ARC, through ARC Ltd. and after its capacity building activities, provides financing in form of insurance to African governments to execute pre-approved contingency plans in the event of severe disasters. In order for a country to purchase an insurance policy through ARC Ltd. and thus become a member of the Company, the country must demonstrate through a peer review process its ability to effectively use potential payouts.

In May 2014, with initial capital provided by the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom, ARC Ltd issued drought insurance policies to a first group of African governments – Kenya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger and Senegal – marking the launch of the inaugural ARC pool. Due to a poor rainfall season in the Sahel during the 2014/ 2015 season three of these four first countries received a payout from ARC Ltd to be used for the implementation of pre-approved contingency plans designed to reach those in need. In its second year of implementation ARC Ltd offered insurance coverage to nine countries for the 2015/ 2016 rainfall season. ARC Ltd uses the satellite weather surveillance software Africa RiskView, developed together with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), to estimate needs and trigger insurance payouts to those countries affected by poor weather. By allowing Member States to capitalise on the natural diversification of weather risk across the continent, premiums are significantly more affordable than they would be for countries approaching the market alone. Additional countries are in the queue to join future pools with the target to insurance 30 countries by 2020 through drought, flood and tropical cyclone products. The ARC design and establishment phase was managed by WFP and WFP continues to provide administrative services support to the ARC Agency through an administrative services agreement.

Responsibilities and Expected Deliverables:

Assist the Senior M&E officer in the implementation of the M&E plan of ARC Agency and ARC Ltd, including:

• Tracking and reporting on ARC log-frame;
• Contributing to the organization reporting;
• Managing evaluations;
• Capacity building; Managing and maintaining partnerships with in-country and international entities.

Specifically, the consultant will:

• Work with ARC’s departments to ensure routine performance data collection
• Compile and analyse data on performance indicators and reports from ARC departments, government counterparts and in-country partners
• Manage and maintain ARC M&E Information System
• Support the ARC departments to produce and maintained their dashboards and scorecards
• Produce and maintain the institution’s dashboard and scorecard
• Contribute to the development and the production ARC annual report
• Conduct training for ARC staff, government counterparts and in-country partners on ARC’s M&E framework (and M&E in general), providing guidance on ARC’s M&E processes and objectives
• Support government counterparts and in-country partners in setting-up an M&E system for the contingency plans and ARC payout implementation
• Manage relationships with in-country and international partner agencies to ensure ARC’s in-country M&E programme aligns with and strengthens existing initiatives to improve M&E
• Manage and follow-up on the process evaluation of ARC payouts, institutional evaluations and special studies
• Manage and follow-up on the ARC’s Member States Satisfaction survey
• Contribute to further development and refinement of ARC’s M&E framework, log-frame, programme and process evaluations
• Perform other related duties as requested by senior ARC staff

Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced university degree in the following disciplines: social sciences, international development, economics, development economics, finance or another relevant field.

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience (of which one is international in Africa) in monitoring and evaluation of development or humanitarian projects and/or programmes.
• Experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative data collection in developing countries

Language:

• Fluency in English and French is required.
• Limited knowledge (intermediate/level B) of another AU official language – Arabic or Portuguese – desirable.  

Knowledge:

• Strong computer skills, including excellent skills in MS Office based word processing, MS Excel spreadsheet, presentation, database and other standard software packages
• Strong analytical skills and experience, including analysis and triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data;

Desirable Skills & Knowledge:

• Strong analytical research, writing and communication skills.
• Communication and Interpersonal relations:
  • Exceptional communication skills and ability to maintain lasting, healthy, and effective working relationships with colleagues, government counterparts, in-country partners, consultants and other stakeholders.
• Strong team work: 
  • Demonstrates productive drive in working with peers, partners, consultants and others to achieve pre-targeted and measurable results
• Stakeholder management and negotiation