Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations

Terms of Reference for National Project Personnel

Vacancy Number: FVAC17.013

Name: / Promotion of Agricultural Livelihoods and Employment through Investment in Land Reclamation and Water Reservoirs
Job Title: / Junior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer
Division/Department: / FAO Representation in Lebanon
Programme/Project Number: / OSRO/LEB/602/NET
Duty Station: / Beirut, with in-country field missions
Expected Start Date of Assignment: / September 04, 2017 / Duration: / 1 year, renewable (subject to budget availability)
Reports to: / Name: / Maurice Saadeh
Dany Lichaa El Khoury / Title: / FAO Representative in Lebanon
Project Manager / CTA

General Description of task(s) and objectives to be achieved

Background
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) is currently implementing a project funded by the Dutch Government and entitled “Promotion of Agricultural Livelihoods and Employment through Investment in Land Reclamation and Water Reservoirs” in close collaboration with the Green Plan. The project responds to the reduced livelihood and food security levels resulted from the Syrian crisis. It tackles its negative impact on the host communities through the support to the agriculture infrastructure development in small mountainous exploitations, and improving the agricultural productivity and the farmers’ income, in addition to the creation of employment opportunities for both host communities and Syrian displaced.
The project aims as well to build the capacities of Green Plan to assist poor farmers in deploying agriculture infrastructure, as well as to contribute to the implementation of the new Green Plan Strategy Plan 2015-2019 in sustaining rural livelihood while improving water and soil conservation.
The project objectives are:
a)  Strengthen the capacity of the Green Plan to implement rural development projects for vulnerable people;
b)  Improve the livelihood of small and medium farmer communities through 390 ha of land reclamation and water conservation;
c)  Improve the know-how of 1,220 farmers in establishing and managing orchards and irrigation systems; and
d)  Create over 80,000 person-day job opportunities in the agriculture sector.
This current assignment is part of general management of the project. In order to support the project management and delivery, the FAO representation in Lebanon is looking to recruit Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.
Specific objective of the assignment
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer is expected to work closely with the FAO Programme to establish a monitoring and evaluation system for the project, and to support all related monitoring and evaluation activities.
Duties, Responsibilities and Scope of Work
Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative and the direct supervision of the Resilience Coordinator and the Project Manager, in close cooperation with FAO/R personnel and FAO HQs/RNE and ongoing project’s staff, the incumbent will:
1.  Support the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system and plan, based on international best practices in M&E approaches in rural development, for the project guided by the Project Document, FAO Country Programme Framework (CPF 2016-2019) and the Food Security Sector framework under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP 2017-2020);
2.  Assist the project manager with the coordination and management of the Project monitoring & evaluation framework and ensure alignment with the CPF and LCRP, and deliver reliable, relevant and timely monitoring reports according to the M&E calendar, while ensuring that the different components of the FAO Representation are integrated and support each other to optimize programs and projects outcomes;
3.  Support the subsequent utilisation of monitoring & evaluation information and reports for strategic and operational planning, prioritisation, implementation of corrective measures, advocacy and accountability;
4.  Develop and maintain a M&E tracking tool for M&E related activities (i.e. baselines, rapid assessments, evaluations, lessons learned and recommendations, and follow-ups on recommendations) demonstrating compliance with FAO’s rules and procedures and those of the donor as necessary, and establish the needed procedures for conducting M&E, through development of different tools and techniques (standard charts, Tables, diagrams, process documentation, etc.) using innovative approaches for M&E;
5.  Draft a data collection strategy (including the teams involved in the data collection), supervise data collection, organisation, recording and data management overall, and the proper documentation and filing of all M&E data, reports and tools to support the findings and figures;
6.  Support the project staff to analyse the qualitative and quantitative data, report on findings from monitoring activities, and share information with relevant FAO staff on progress;
7.  Report regularly to programme staff on status of project and ensure alignment with the logical framework;
8.  Undertake regular visits to the field to monitor project processes;
9.  Contribute to the design and implementation of a M&E capacity building plan for the project/programme staff, including data collecting, reporting, analysis and data visualisation;
10.  Support and assist to the midterm and final project evaluation missions and follow-up on the implementation of evaluation recommendations;
11.  Coordinate and share lessons learned related to M&E practices with partners and field staff as required;
12.  Review progress and final reports with a particular focus on checking the quality and reliability of project data and analysis and ensure data is reported on the online system as required;
13.  Participate in multi-disciplinary project/work teams in his/her capacity of M&E officer when needed, and in Information Management working group meetings and other relevant meetings;
14.  Prepare draft reports on all Project progress on activities and financial updates to the Food Security sector (including Activity Info reporting) and to the FAO regional office and headquarters as needed;
15.  Participate in the organization, conduct and follow-up of M&E related meetings, consultations and conferences, the development/ production of required materials and the provision of information and assistance to partners;
16.  Provide support to consultants and staff assigned to project in his/her capacity as M&E officer;
17.  Undertake other M&E related tasks as requested;
18.  Write and submit for review and clearance an end of contract report.
Profile and minimum expertise required
-  Master’s Degree or equivalent in agriculture, agriculture economics, social sciences, international development, or related field, with solid background/understanding of the agricultural, food security and sustainable rural development sectors;
-  A minimum of 3 years of growing experiences and responsibilities in M&E activities in an international development or humanitarian organisation;
-  Proven experience in undertaking and managing monitoring & evaluation exercises including data analysis;
-  Proven experience in internationally-recognised best practices and approaches/methodologies of M&E, in the logical framework and other monitoring and evaluation tools, and in the development and use of M&E methods (qualitative, quantitative, participatory);
-  Ability to use a logical and structured approach to collate, archive and synthesise information;
-  Experience in undertaking primary and secondary data reviews, data collection and analysis;
-  Excellent written and oral working knowledge in English and Arabic, French is an additional asset
-  Computer literacy of the Microsoft package including Word, Excel and PowerPoint and database software ;
-  Initiative, judgment, organizational ability and a good sense of teamwork and human relations.

Submission guidelines: If you wish to apply for any vacancy, please submit your Personal History Form (PHF) by e-mail with the job code number and position title in the subject line to: no later than Sunday 6 August 2017. Late applications will not be accepted. Only applications with a completed PHF will be considered. The PHF is available on the following link: (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Employment/docs/Personal_History_Form.doc). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. FAO seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and culture. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.