Research and M&E Director at Palladium

The position will be on an upcoming USAID/Ghana project that addresses a key constraint restricting the development of commercial agriculture and obtaining full food security in Ghana – access to finance necessary to enable investment in agricultural value chains.

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• The role of the position is to track, aggregate and develop reports on the achievements of the technical leads towards meeting the project indicators and targets, support the team in evaluating their progress, and assist with developing the project M&E plan (which includes the PMP and knowledge management and learning plan). In addition, s/he will assist the project in any research tasks required to expand upon the technical work, as required.

The Research/M&E Director’s primary tasks include the following:  

• Support technical teams in collecting, aggregating, and analyzing baseline data in the first several months of the project 
• Maintain impeccable M&E files and substantiating information on data reported to USAID on the project’s shared drive that can be easily accessible by project team members and available for project auditors (i.e. accurate, updated, etc.) 
• Coordinate collection and compilation of information on quarterly, annual and life of project indicators and outputs from team leaders, and progress toward planned activities 
• Coordinate with USAID/Ghana and other implementing partners on M&E reporting requirements
• Finalize and continuously update progress against the project’s Performance Management Plan (PMP), and maintain all files related to substantiating progress against indicators 
• Assist with production of quarterly, annual, and final reports for USAID 
• Respond to requests for information on the project and on project performance as needed 
• Enter required training-related data into the US Government’s TraiNet software 
• Work with the Communications Manager to manage a contact database of all partner grantees/subcontractors/etc.
• Work closely with technical unit heads to track investment portfolio information and progress
• Manage the M&E Assistant and any interns that are assisting with M&E activities of the project.  
• Any other tasks as required by the Chief of Party or the Deputy Chief of Party

Required Qualifications:

• Previous experience in M&E as well as experience working in the M&E of USAID projects required
• Strong familiarity with designing and managing M&E systems and reporting
• Microsoft office suite proficiency and the ability to operate spreadsheet and word-processing programs at a highly proficient level
• Proactive problem-solving, decision-making and good judgment skills
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to manage confidential information
• Attention to detail and ability to effectively and efficiently perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English. 
• Ability to communicate effectively with managers, colleagues, service providers and clients
• Professional and mature demeanor and conduct
• Ghanaian nationals preferred.
• A degree in a related field (M&E, impact evaluation, agribusiness, agriculture, finance, economics, etc.) or 5 years of equivalent experience
• At least five years of experience in an M&E role, preferably with USAID