Social Solutions International Inc. Jobs 2017

Social Solutions International, Inc. is a Small Disadvantaged Business. Hispanic and woman-owned, Social Solutions emphasizes quality research and evaluation, training and technical assistance, and institutional support services. We are a mission-driven organization that believes that superior science can improve the world. Social Solutions is dedicated to the creation of social and health solutions to improve the welfare of undeserved populations worldwide.

USAID is currently implementing a project in Northern Ghana, called the Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project, to provide technical assistance to 17 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA) and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC) in sectors, such as agriculture, health, environmental health, and planning and budgeting, among others. The implementing partner has the responsibility to not only report on data generated by the project itself, but to build internal capacity of the Government of Ghana (GOG) partners to do so as well. They are seeking a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist to play a direct role in its implementation of their M&E strategy.

Job Description

Job Title: Monitoring And Evaluation Specialist

RING Project seeks to improve the M&E systems and individual and departmental capacities of the RING Project partners’ districts, the RPCU, and six other regional departments via the following objectives:

Identify capacity building needs for well-functioning M&E systems in each of the 17 MMDAs, the RPCU, and other regional departments, and develop a regional and district-specific M&E capacity building plan to respond to gaps identified;
Provide immediate and on-site data analysis, visualization and utilization training to some selected districts to enhance data management and improve quarterly progress reporting (pending the outcomes of the M&E capacity assessments);
Build the capacities of districts on RING Data quality assurance procedures to enhance quality of monitoring data;
Empower district team with hands-on skills/guidance on use of data for decision making at the community, sub-district and district levels;
Provide support to districts and NRCC in the development and incorporation of M&E strategies into their post-Ghana Shared Growth and Development Strategy II (GSGDS II) MTDPs, including RING indicators and activities, as well as their alignment with RING results areas; and
Support the transition of the current DHIS 2 database from Global Communities RING to the RPCU to merge and capture both post-GSGDA II MTDP and RING project indicators and reporting requirements.

Responsibilities

The M&E Specialist will be based in Tamale, Ghana from December 2017-May 2019. S/he will be carrying out the following activities:

Developing an M&E Capacity assessment tool for 17 districts and seven regional departments
Leading M&E capacity assessments and developing reports for 17 districts and seven regional departments
Developing capacity building modules (including, but not limited to, topics such as data collection, capture, analysis, visualization, and utilization for decision making designed)
Lead or assist in 18 fora on the importance of M&E, using data to inform development planning decisions, and the need for M&E prioritization at the district level hosted for all 17 districts and NRCC and its regional departments
Provide technical assistance to 17 districts and 7 regional departments in support of developing post-GSGDA II MTDPs which include core RING activities in agriculture, livelihoods, nutrition, sanitation, and good governance, and developing coherent M&E strategy
Develop standardized data collection tools for MMDAs developed to use as part of their overall implementation (i.e. not limited to RING, but including day-to-day functions) and which will support the finalization and implementation of their MTDP M&E strategy
Establish and ensure data management resource centers for both the RPCU and MMDA partners are fully functional
Establish DHIS 2 database for the NRCC based on the reporting regimes of the post-GSGDA II development framework MRDP and M&E Plan

Social Solutions International seeks candidates with the following skills, knowledge and experience:

At least 6-10 years of experience M&E experience with international development programs
Demonstrated experience in Ghana or Sub-Saharan African region; knowledge of the local languages a plus
Demonstrated experience in providing M&E technical assistance and training to local government officials, especially around topics related to data visualization, data analysis, and data utilization
Demonstrated experience in data management for use in M&E tasks. Strong preference for experience in building large-scale databases that can be used at the district or country-level
Knowledge of USAID programs in Ghana is a plus
Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including ability to write technical documents and give state-of-the-art presentations

Social Solutions International offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits. Please submit your resume online at www.social solutions.biz