The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist is responsible for designing, implementing, and managing M&E frameworks for development projects, with a focus on the Agriculture sector. The role ensures robust data collection, analysis, and reporting to track the performance across the project counties, focusing on key indicators such as farmer reach, training engagement, and market linkages. The M&E Specialist will leverage digital tools to provide evidence-based insights for program improvement and stakeholder reporting.

Role and Responsibilities

1. M&E Framework Development

1. Design a comprehensive M&E framework aligned with the project’s results framework, focusing on the mentorship and coaching program.
2. Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to track outcomes, such as the number of agripreneurs trained, farmer engagement (with a target of 50% female participation), and value-added sales.
3. Develop data collection tools, including surveys, digital forms, and dashboards, that are integrated with the project management system.

2. Data Collection and Management

1. Oversee data collection processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and gender-disaggregated data from the project counties.
2. Integrate M&E data with national systems
3. Implement data quality assurance protocols to ensure reliability and compliance with data security standards.

3. Data Analysis and Reporting

1. Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis to assess program performance and identify trends, challenges, and opportunities.
2. Prepare structured monthly, quarterly, and annual Management and Evaluation (M&E) reports for the project, including data visualisations and gender-disaggregated insights.
3. Present M&E findings in project meetings, ensuring acceptance is recorded in meeting minutes.

4. Digital Platform Integration

1. Collaborate with the implementation team to ensure the Digital Platforms capture real-time M&E data.
2. Support the development of M&E dashboards for the project and community institutions to monitor agripreneur activities.
3. Train agripreneurs and project staff on digital data entry and reporting tools.

5. Program Evaluation and Learning

1. Conduct baseline, midline, and endline evaluations to measure the impact of the mentorship and coaching program.
2. Document lessons learned and best practices to inform adaptive management and program scaling.
3. Facilitate stakeholder workshops to share monitoring and evaluation (M&E) findings and refine program strategies.

6. Sustainability and Capacity Building

1. Develop monitoring and evaluation (M&E) guidelines for the private sector-led continuation of the agribusiness incubation and acceleration model after the project.
2. Enhance the capacity of project staff and agripreneurs in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices, including data collection and analysis.
3. Contribute to the sustainability handover report, outlining monitoring and evaluation (M&E) strategies for long-term impact.

Qualifications

1. Minimum of 7 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, with at least 4 years in development projects focused on agriculture, agribusiness, or entrepreneurship.
2. Proven expertise in designing and implementing M&E frameworks for large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects, preferably in Kenya or East Africa.
3. Extensive experience in data collection, analysis, and reporting, including gender-disaggregated data and digital tools.
4. Familiarity with AfDB, IFAD or World Bank-funded projects and their M&E requirements is an advantage.