Deputy Director Evaluation and Learning: Jobs Fund

Qualification/s Requirements

REQUIREMENTS

• A degree (NQF 7) in M&E, Development, Public Administration, Economics or other related field. Honours or Master's degrees in M&E, social sciences or equivalent experience and education would be advantageous. Training or certification in statistics and quantitative measurements would be advantageous.

• Minimum 6-8 years experience in monitoring, measurement and evaluation of development programmes/projects; conducting evaluations and writing evaluation reports, at least 2 years at management level. Experience capturing both good practices and lessons learned, in a variety of approaches (e.g. end of the project evaluation, special studies);

• Experience in project design and evaluation; Experience in research, policy analysis and evaluation of donor-funded projects; Experience of Donor Communities and Development of Enterprise Standards; Experience in the preparation of evaluation reports for different audiences – technical, management, government, donors and other stakeholders;

• Experience in application of leading qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis and reporting tools; Experience in managing projects with multiple stakeholders; Excellent report-writing skills.

Key Performance Areas

DUTIES

• Evaluation and Support: Execute the Jobs Fund Evaluation Framework and Learning Agenda. Support the evaluation of projects and extract learnings from the Jobs Fund portfolio. Provide the inputs to Terms of Reference for evaluations and manage the service provider selection process. Manage the service providers secured to carry out project-level evaluations. Provide inputs into the design of baseline assessments, formative evaluations, mid-term evaluations and summative evaluations for projects. Support partners in the development of results chains for their projects. Plan for, design and conduct formative, process and summative evaluations. Utilise evaluation results to improve project roll-out, and to appraise new projects.

• Promote and Enhance Learning: Analyse and synthesise findings from project evaluations. Support awareness sessions with partners on evaluations, results-based management and project close-outs. Perform benchmarking and learning exercises on job creation, sustainability and systemic change. Document feedback on learnings from case studies, reviews, project close-out reports and other related factors. Engage in activities related to the synthesis and dissemination of lessons learned by the Jobs Fund. Support evaluation outputs and facilitate the implementation of recommendations from evaluations.

• Client Engagement: Liaise and engage with stakeholders on learning and evaluation at the project level and Jobs Fund level. Providing support to Jobs Fund Partners to ensure post-Jobs Fund success. Appraise the Project Implementation Monitoring Plans and Theory of Change of new project applications. Advise on the use of job proxies when required.

• Evaluation and Learning Framework: Support the JF in meeting evaluation and learning targets. Support the development of a learning framework with each business unit in the Jobs Fund. Provide technical support to project managers and the Communications Unit to develop and document compelling outcome and impact success stories, and to foster institutionalisation and internalisation of learning processes. Contribute to the training of project managers and partners on evaluation methodologies.

• Management of Data and Systems: Identify opportunities to optimise the Job Fund's collection, use, and management of data. Support the training for Jobs Fund staff on the use of systems and effective data collection, use, and visualisation. Simplify complex systems and processes into user-friendly guidance for staff. Collaborate with the grants management system (GMS) team and unit staff on broader system enhancements.

• Data Analysis, Research and Learning: Provide technical support to short- and long-term research, analysis, and information gathering assignments in support of evaluation and learning efforts. Manage, analyse, and effectively visualise large and complex data sets. Coordinate and respond to internal and external requests for data and data analysis. Support the synthesis of Jobs Fund knowledge, knowledge dissemination and active engagement of wider market players. Support the systematic recording of the social impact of Jobs Fund projects. JFPs already report social impact through narratives in quarterly reporting.

• Monitoring and Evaluation System: Execute the overall framework of the monitoring and evaluation activities. Assess the validity of monitoring and evaluation data through regular and ad-hoc review of activities. Draft, revise and update tools and data collection procedures (e.g. logical framework, project performance tracking, indicators, data flow chart, M&E manuals). Support the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning Lead in defining and implementing key project performance indicators (KPI) as well as monitoring them throughout the duration of projects.