Concern Worldwide
Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries
Founded in 1968, Concern works in 25 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean with its headquarters in Ireland.
Concern started working in Malawi in 2002. Our Country Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027 focuses on climate and environment, social protection, gender and social inclusion, sustainable food systems for food security and partnerships. For sustainability and lasting change, our advocacy and influence, people centred and evidence based approaches focus on system strengthening and resilience building as we seek to address the root causes of poverty.
Concern invites applications from interested candidates qualified for the following positions;
Programme Support Officer – Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) (1 Vacancy)
Contract Duration: Fixed Term One (1) Year Contract
Duty Station: Kasiya, Lilongwe
The Project Support Officer-MEAL will be responsible for routine data collection, entry, and analysis of project data. S/he will ensure that activities are carried out to a high standard, according to agreed timeframes, and will regularly document and inform project team/project management about on-going activities. The MEAL PSO will actively engage with the Local Authorities and Village Development Committee (VDCs) in planning, implementation, roll out and monitoring of VS&L project activities. The PSO will directly work with Concern Malawi Area Manager, Project Manager, Markets Advisor, Case Workers and other Project Support Officers to plan and implement training activities at the community level as well as to monitor project progress and overall household welfare.
The incumbent will, under the supervision of District Programme Manager, be responsible for community engagement activities and implementation of identified agroforestry interventions at village and area level in coordination with the community leaders and other relevant technical working groups/community structures including the Forest, Lands, Lands Resources and Environment Officers. S/he will also work hand in hand with the MEAL Team on data collection including conducting leading discussions with key participants on carbon emission/credit plus reporting, recording, and tracking of climate credit.
Responsibilities and Tasks
- Plans with project partners, programme participants and other relevant actors, the detailed project activities for which she or he is responsible;
- Organizes as necessary project activities, events, workshops, training sessions, information materials, and presentations. This includes logistical arrangements, organizing payments and report writing;
- Identifies skills gaps and provides training to project partners as required (e.g. project management, reporting, community mobilization and participation, gender mainstreaming, and so on)
- Ensures follow-up of activities and adapts them according to realities /constraints found in the field.
- Ensures active engagement at district and traditional authority levels with administrative
- Design data collection instruments to monitor outputs, outcomes and impact of the programme to be used at both community and programme level using both survey techniques and participatory monitoring techniques.
- Train partner staff and programme participants in data collection and reporting, and provide technical support and oversight
- Supervise and coordinate data collection activities at both community and district levels and provide technical backstopping
- Develops annual work plan for the project component for which he/she is responsiblewith support from the Project Manager and Team Leader;
- Monitors the implementation of the plan in line with donor and Concern requirements including proposing any necessary changes;
- Reports to the Project Manager and Team Leader on progress including contributing to donor reports.
- Together with the Project Manager, properly documents the achievements and lessons of the project activities and disseminates to partners.This includes registering assistance on programme participants databases if applicable
- Maintains all relevant project documents in electronic and paper files (reports, contracts, agreements, correspondence, meeting notes, training materials and so on)
- Develop plans and activities for building the capacity of local community actors
- Support the MEAL Manager to ensure that there is a consistent availability of IEC materials and reporting tools for CRM across the organisation
- Support programme staff and partners(especially field-team) to build staff capacity to understand and implement Concern’s Complaints Response Mechanism (CRM) as part of our Accountability commitments
- Maintain contacts and effective communication with key partners involved in the project including drafting correspondence and documentation for signature by the Project Manager and transmission to partners or donors.
- Reports on all meetings and develops ways to involve lessons learnt or disseminate information to partners.
Qualifications and Experience
- A Bachelor’s Degree/Diploma in Agriculture, Developmental Studies, Statistics, Project Management or relevant qualification
- At least 3 years’ strong analytical skills to be able to understand, analyse and use project data
- Previous experience working with NGOs with a strong focus on livelihoods and resilience programming
- Excellent understanding and experience with use of Digital Data Gathering (DDG) processes
How to Apply
Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications, should send their CV (3 pages maximum including contacts of 3 referees) and Cover Letter to malawi.hr@concern.net with the subject of the email as “Programme Support Officer – MEAL. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, 17th April 2024.
Due to the urgency to fill these positions, applications will be reviewed and shortlisted on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview.
Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer