Reporting to the EF Team Co-lead, the MEAL Manager will be responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating the monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) strategy for EF-led activities and outputs. Their role will include identifying areas for improvement, tracking progress, and measuring outcomes within EF’s scope of responsibility.

As the consortium leader, GIZ will consolidate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) inputs from both GIZ and EF for their respective outputs. The MEAL Manager will work closely with GIZ’s Monitoring and Evaluation Expert to ensure alignment, particularly in establishing the monitoring system and managing all reporting activities to the EU.

·       Monitoring – Co-lead the design and implementation of a monitoring framework specifically for EF-led activities and outputs to track delivery against the program’s goals and objectives.

·       Evaluation – Co-lead the analysis of data collected under the EF monitoring framework to assess progress and identify areas for improvement within EF’s scope of responsibility.

·       Reporting – Regularly provide synthesized and updated reports on the status of EF-led activities and outputs.

·       Coordination – Ensure regular coordination related to EF activities, in line with the monitoring framework, with program partners, particularly GIZ’s Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, as well as beneficiaries and stakeholders.

·       Technical assistance – Provide the program team, beneficiaries, and stakeholders with relevant technical assistance specifically to improve the performance of EF-led activities.

The MEAL Manager will specifically be responsible for following tasks:

• Initiate the baseline of the project and revise the project logframe in coordination with the GIZ’s Monitoring and Evaluation Expert and in contact with the consultancies in charge of the initial studies.
• Develop and update the M&E plan.
• Support planning and implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities on effectiveness of all project interventions.
• Review and give technical feedback on monitoring and evaluation plans for new activities and budget revisions.
• Contribute to the analysis of outcome data and recommend improvements to programme interventions.
• Produce regular monitoring and evaluation progress reports that detail the status of results and the implementation of improvements, for both internal reporting and external reporting (for the EU). This should be done in close coordination with the GIZ’s Monitoring and Evaluation Expert based in Lusaka and the EF MEAL Coordinator based in Paris.
• Follow-up on monitoring and evaluation findings to ensure that corrective actions are taken and/or adjustments are made to programme responses as required.
• Draft terms of reference (ToRs), recruit and steer additional M&E experts supporting the project.
• Train EF project staff in appropriate monitoring and evaluation techniques.
• Work in close collaboration with GIZ staff and external partners to strengthen the quality and consistency of monitoring and evaluation activities in the field. Provide support in MEAL related activities to grant beneficiaries and especially to the COMESA.
• Set up of an operational and financial monitoring system for the Matching Grant facility under Outcome 3.
• Actively participating in monitoring, information management working groups, other relevant meetings and international forums as needed, sharing lessons learned and feeding lessons back in the project level.
• Conducting baseline surveys/performance surveys and/or needs assessments for the beneficiaries and/or activities, if/when needed.
• Sharing lessons learned from reporting regularly with the Project Management Unit members, communicating recommendations to the team and regularly following up the implementation of the recommendations.