USAID AGRICULTURE GROWING RURAL OPPORTUNITIES ACTIVITY IN UKRAINE (AGRO)

Monitoring, Evaluation and Lеarning Specialist

Background:

USAID Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities in Ukraine (AGRO) Activity is a seven-year cooperative agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Chemonics International, Inc. It began on November 15, 2019.

The AGRO Activity is to accelerate the economic development of rural Ukrainian communities with the greatest need through a better governed agricultural sector that encourages more productive, modern, and profitable micro, small, and medium agricultural enterprises (MSMEs) that are successfully integrated into competitive markets both in Ukraine and internationally.

The Activity objectives are aligned with the three elements of the market systems conceptual framework: the core value chain, supporting functions, and rules and regulations.

To effectively address the food crisis that emerges in Ukraine and internationally, AGRO works for the restoration of the agricultural sector, in particular its modernization, efficiency improvement, and diversification, which contributes to the long-term economic recovery of Ukraine and the improvement of global food security.

Within the USAID Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI-Ukraine), AGRO will provide assistance enabling Ukraine to store roughly 1.5 million tons of grain as part of the USAID's broader efforts to maintain the rate of production and export of grain from Ukraine to other countries of the world.

AGRO operates on the basis of the market system conceptual approach (https://beamexchange.org).

In September 2022, the estimated cost of the Activity was extended to US$120,000,000, and its implementation period was extended through November 13, 2026. AGRO employs 56 long-term CCN employees.

Position Description:

AGRO’s approach provides for ongoing improvement and adaptation of the activities to enhance the program’s functioning and achieve greater results. The intentional use of the CLA tools ensures coherence, effectiveness, and appropriateness of all AGRO activities.

The CLA team is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and adapting the AGRO activities; collecting, documenting, disseminating, and showcasing the activity results, best practices, and CLA project cases; training and developing recommendations to improve the project implementation tactic; ensuring internal and external communication; mainstreaming gender equality and social inclusion issues; promoting a systematic approach to the development of market systems, and other tasks that are cross-functional for various components of the Program activities.

Due to the need to process a large amount of data and ensure the quality of the data collected by the Program, there is a growing need to supplement the team with MEL Specialist (with a strong focus on data analysis).

Principal Duties and Obligations (Essential Functions):

• Develop and maintain a system for collecting and analyzing the results of the program's activities.

• Review and evaluate data of AGRO supported researches.

• Develop and conduct research to assess the impact of AGRO's activities.

• Analyze the impact of the program on agricultural market systems based on the data obtained.

• Provide recommendations to Program management for further development and adaptation of activities based on the analysis.

• Visualize and present the results of the program to internal and external audiences.

• Collaborate with stakeholders regarding MEL and CLA.

• Prepare reports, presentations, analytical briefs, success stories.

• Performance of other tasks within the responsibility of the CLA department.

Terms of work, SOW Timing and Reporting Relations:

One-year employment agreement with possible extension each work year up to the end of the Program implementation (November 13, 2026), subject to availability of respective tasks in the successive Annual Work Plans of the Program.

MEL Specialist will work under the direct supervision of the CLA Advisor, or appointed by him / her person, or other person (-s) appointed by the Chief of Party.

Office location: Kyiv Project Office (currently remote work, presence in Ukraine is required).

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• University degree in sociology, data analysis, mathematics, economics or related field required.

• Minimum of 3 years of research and analytics experience.

• Experience in monitoring and evaluation and/or program monitoring.

• High level of analytical skills, complemented by the ability to process and analyze large volumes of information with a focus on details.

• Database management, exploratory data analysis, data visualizing and dashboard administration skills, basic programming knowledge.

• Experience with MS Excel (advanced level), qualitative and quantitative data analysis software (SPSS, STATA, R etc).

• Proficiency in English.

• Working experience in technical assistance projects is an asset.

Application Instructions

Send electronic submissions to [email protected] by August 31, 2023. Early applications are encouraged. Please submit your CV and cover letter with " MEL Specialist " in the subject line; please do not forget to additionally indicate your name in the subject line of your e-mail. No telephone inquiries, please. Only finalists will be contacted.

Chemonics is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factors.