Monitoring & Evaluation Field Coordinator

Job Description

As a rapidly growing organization, we are constantly innovating and improving our internal operational processes. One Acre Fund Zambia is transitioning from a start-up to a strong growth stage – and we need additional high performing staff members to continue our strong growth trajectory. Working with our Zambia team presents the opportunity to build upon our strong operational foundations and explore new ways to impact our well-established network of thousands of farm families. The Monitoring and Evaluation Field Coordinator will be responsible for managing the performance of our field team, and overseeing the survey roll-out and execution of surveys.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Project Management

• Contribute and update the annual Project Dashboard, and the related tools/ trackers/ dashboards.
• Produce project specific dashboards, with well-thought out calendars and clear deliverables.
• Prioritize and delegate all tasks outlined in the project calendar independently.
• Measure progress against goals, regularly report on progress, and hold team accountable to delivering high-quality deliverables/results within the set time frame.
• Address most day-to-day challenges and ad-hoc problems independently, especially regarding all aspects of Field Teams performance, given that the (Senior) Field
• Coordinator has complete ownership of the roll-out process of a survey.
• Provide comprehensive weekly reports on project management (e.g. survey progress, problems, challenges, etc.) related issues to Manager.
• Perform certain administrative duties as requested by manager.
• Present survey results to staff at the end of every project.
• Create excellence in all aspects of the departments project/ survey work, including the training, survey roll-out, data quality management,  field staff performance management, etc.
• The following actions are to be taken in cases where M&E is conducting a survey on behalf of a different department.
• Set up stakeholder meet up sessions with client departments  (PGD, PGI, FOPs, etc.) to understand the project details.
• Assess the units bandwidth, given current/ upcoming surveys.
• Develop a comprehensive budget for the requested survey.
• Ensure M&E’s approach to survey work/ management is understood and accepted by all the external team.
• Provide timely and comprehensive updates to the client departments.
• Coordinate with client departments to identify key pain point areas for troubleshooting.

Budget  Management

• Support management in budget setting by providing information on staff and overhead costs, as well as other budget-relevant information
• Monitor all of the expenditure of the Core Team, against the budget, and provides weekly budget reports to management.
• Propose appropriate offset options, in cases where the department has or is likely to overspend.

Human Resource Management

• Develop and update the annual Human Resource Management (HRM) Dashboard, and related tools/trackers/dashboards.
• Ensure the department complies with all HR policies and procedures (e.g. Manager Minimum Standards, PDR, contracts, compensation, etc.)
• Own the implementation and monitoring of all departmental level HR related processes, procedures, policies and guidelines.

Professional Development

• Invests heavily in understanding each Field Team members strengths and development areas and maintains an up-to-date understanding of their progress
• Works, with the support of their manager, to plan appropriate skills-trainings or coaching sessions to improve each Field Team members development areas.
• Supports their staff through the course of development, promotion or improvement plans by investing their own time in coaching and the creation of support mechanisms
• Commits to quarterly career conversations with each member in the Field Team and uses this information to plan career progression paths and mitigate for problems
• Carves out and protects time in their teams’ week for professional development
• Creates regular opportunities for public praise of Field Team members’ work and holds private conversations to deliver constructive feedback on areas of weakness
• Invests heavily in bi-annual performance reviews as a method to set out goals and design clear and actionable paths to accomplishment
• Uses strategic conversations with their reports to help staff tap into their existing knowledge and generate their own solutions to challenges

Training and Hiring

• Identify gaps or needs within the Field Team and drafts hiring propositions and Job
• Description documents for review by management
• Engage in the appropriate stages of the hiring process for any staff in the Field Team.
• Support new hires through the onboarding process and provides high levels of initial support and coaching to integrate them into the Field Team, department and organisation
• Identify unit-wide areas of development and provide suggestions for relevant training courses to management.
• Lead the creation, implementation and assessment of success of staff training programmes

Team Culture

• Identify gaps in team culture through observation and engagement with various team members, and works with management to design appropriate follow-up actions.
• Oversee the implementation of new mechanisms which management or HR have designed to support improvements in team culture
• Provide regular feedback to management on the success/failure of these methods within the Field Team.

Risk Management

• Draft the initial set of annual Controls for areas related to their role, based on departmental goals, and share with management for feedback and finalisation
• Lead all work related to the finalised departmental controls. This includes setting up mechanisms that support the achievement of these control related targets.
• Provide regular reports to management on their progress with each specified control.
• Develop process documentation for all existing and any newly developed processes
• Ensure policy/process documentation is centrally available to the appropriate team members and holds them accountable to process adherence, leading by example
• Work with management and the Data Team to track the success of process changes
• Support the development of – and where appropriate provides – training and ongoing guidance to team members on new processes or changes to existing processes so that all team members are compliant.

Interdepartmental /Global Engagements

• Respond actively to request related to Zambia M&E field processes.
• Make all preparations for visits by donors and other stakeholders, with minimal support from Manager.

Strategy and Vision

• Participate and actively contribute to discussions around M&E strategy, and drives the departments vision at all levels.
• Develop and initiate improvement projects that have the potential to  optimise the way the department functions with minimal support from Manager.
• Undertakes regular wide-scope assessments of the efficiency of the Field Team and overall Department processes
• Reviews the Field Team and overall Department successes and failures on a regular basis and uses the results to support identification of process-related problems
• Creates specific, dedicated physical and digital space/s where team members can provide honest feedback on existing processes and ideas for improvements
• Works with management to build a collaborative environment where team members feel safe to vocalise concerns, generate big ideas and make improvements to processes by themselves.
• Regularly solicit feedback from the wider team and other departments to ensure that work is being implemented in the most efficient manner and that the departments systems are optimized.

The following capabilities are also required.

A successful (Senior) Field Coordinator:

• Can speak confidently about the M&E department’s objective, and can differentiate the role from the core program when conveying to farmers.
• Has both the deepest and broadest field knowledge of any department employee, thus allowing the smooth day-to-day functioning of district-level teams, swift communication of field developments to the department head-level, and the creation and design of materials that are suited to officer/manager needs.
• Takes completely ownership of the roll-out process of a survey with minimum guidance
• Takes responsibility for the M&E teams ability to meet the survey targets.
• Feels responsible for the development of PG2-PG8 staff
• Has an intermediate understanding of data analysis and able to produce complex reports.
• Is able to deliver feedback, and seek for feedback on own performance
• Is able to think strategically up to one year ahead in order to align strategic needs with team development.

Career Growth and Development

• We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

Qualifications

We are seeking exceptional professionals with a demonstrated long-term passion for international development. Specific qualifications include, but are not limited to:

• Posses an Undergraduate degree in Economics, Demographics, Statistics or another related field.
• At least 2 year experience with M&E field management and/or data processing and analysis.
• Project planning, management, and execution experience, including work with systems thinking and coordination; some field management experience preferred
• Leadership and mentorship experience, including a clear record of leading teams and providing professional development support for others (i.e. proven ability to be delegate)
• Exceptional personal organizational skills and attention to detail. Time management skills and ability to work independently
• Proactive in problem solving
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver results
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Positive attitude with a strong work ethic. Demonstrated commitment to teamwork and collaboration
• Eager to learn, teach, enhance current processes.
• Humility. We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with patience and a humble approach to service to join our growing family of leaders
• Passionate about serving smallholder farmers
• Knowledge of CommCare Programming system a plus, but not required
• Knowledge of Stata, R or SPSS a plus, but not required
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
• Language: English required. Bemba, Tonga, and/or Nyanja preferred.
• Female Candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Kabwe, Zambia

Compensation

Commensurate with experience

Duration

Full-time job.

Benefits

Health insurance, paid time off

Sponsor International Candidates

No; Must have existing rights to work in Zambia

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication.