Monitoring and Learning Coordinator

Position: Monitoring and Learning Coordinator

Deadline: 27th October, 2015

Duty Station: Arusha

Reporting To: Executive Director

1.  Overview

The Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF) is a network organization registered in 2006 as a Non- Governmental Organization. It aims to achieve improved natural resource governance for sustainable rural livelihoods and better conservation outcomes. TNRF bridges the gap between  people’s  local natural resource management needs and practices, and national natural resource management priorities, policies, laws and programs. As a network organization, it brings together members to change policy and practice in the natural resource sector for the better by:

• Building and sharing a knowledge base of practice; and

• Strengthening citizen voice and skills for improved natural resource governance.

TNRF supports its members by improving communication, sharing information, promoting collaboration and strengthening collective action. It remains flexible so it can effectively respond to emerging natural resource issues in Tanzania, while at the same time TNRF has identified key strategic areas of engagement where it seeks to bring about positive change. TNRF facilitates platforms to strengthen dialogue and information sharing and to enable advocacy and strengthen citizens’ voices. In facilitating platforms, TNRF focuses its attention on three key strategic areas: Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), Land Based Investment (LBI) and Communicating Climate Change (CCC).

Through the ArdhiYetu Programme(AYP) and Pastoralist Programme(PP), TNRF seeks to recruit a Monitoring and Learning Coordinator for the Organization. The Monitoring and Learning Coordinator will be responsible for developing, maintaining and implementing TNRF’s monitoring system at the institutional level and providing direct support to the ArdhiYetu and Pastoralist Programmes. This monitoring system will play an essential role at TNRF as it will serve as the tool to ensure accurate monitoring and analysis of all TNRF programs and projects, which will allow TNRF to continuously improve learning for advocacy work and improve TNRF services to members and partners.

The Pastoral Programme(PP) is one of the rangeland programs being jointly managed by TNRF and CARE, which runs for four years and is funded by Irish Aid. TNRF is essentially responsible for providing policy,  communications  and  technical  support  to  the  program.  The  program  was  designed  to  be implemented through partnership with registered Tanzanian civil society organizations (CSOs) and national level advocacy NGOs that work to improve the capacity of communities to overcome poverty, reduce vulnerability and strengthen the rights of men and women for sustainable livelihoods as well as clear focus on advocacy and policy work.

Purpose of the position

To develop, maintain and implement TNRF’s monitoring system to ensure accurate monitoring and analysis of all programmes and projects of TNRF, including the core programme in order to continuously improve learning for advocacy work and TRNF services to members and partners.

The MLC should have a sound understanding of the natural resource sector in Tanzania, and have the skills to generate thematic syntheses of topical or controversial issues. Additionally, the MLC must be able to identify lessons learned through a systematic monitoring system and coordinate the use of those lessons for future advocacy and field work.

2.   Core responsibilities

• To develop and coordinate the implementation of participatory learning, advocacy and monitoring approaches and processes, institutionalising and making strategic use of outcome monitoring as a methodology

• In collaboration with TNRF Pastoralist Programme Manager, the Monitoring and Learning Coordinator will collect, analyse monitoring data and produce reports on a quarterly basis for the programme.

• To establish and maintain a learning and advocacy framework for TNRF interaction with partners and members in collaboration with the Communications and Advocacy Coordinator with the support of the Strategic Area Coordinators(LBI & CBNRM) and Executive Director

• To develop and maintain outcome monitoring journals; update and maintain a monitoring database.

• To oversee proper use of the M&E tools by the field staff and other stakeholders.

• To organise internal training workshops and other interactive sessions to build capacity in relation to the learning and advocacy framework

• To review existing monitoring management information systems of implementing partners and identify where support is needed.

• To coordinate collection of data by the partners and TNRF officers from the field

• To process and analyse the information and generate appropriate reports for management and other stakeholders.

• To prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports (in collaboration with the Strategic Area Coordinators and project Officers), for submission to the Executive Director and presentation at regular quarterly staff meetings on outcome monitoring for validation and integration into learning mechanisms

• To analyse information and document lessons learned from the monitoring reports and suggests areas for improvement

• To assess institutional performance in achieving strategic objectives in all program areas

• To identify the need, drawing up the ToR, and conducting/or supervising all evaluation and Impact studies.

The Monitoring and Learning Coordinator will report to the Executive Director and work closely with the LBI Coordinator, CBNRM Programmes Coordinator, the Communications Team, Pastoralist Programme Manager and other Special Projects officers and supported by bi-weekly meetings with the team to oversee the implementation of the projects.

3.   Outputs

The Monitoring and Learning Coordinator will be responsible for the following outputs:

• Promote the TNRF vision and objectives of the LBI programme and PP to stakeholders
• Learning, advocacy and monitoring approaches and processes developed and a learning and advocacy framework for TNRF established and in use by the Working Groups, projects and programmes
• Assessments of the natural resource sector functioning and strategies developed
• Thematic synthesis of topical/controversial issues generated
• Lesson learnt from previous advocacy and learning experiences in Tanzania and the regions generated
• The lessons from the LBI programme/projects are shared with the relevant stakeholders (i.e. local government, central government, parliament, CSOs)
• Effective programme monitoring and evaluation
• Effective, timely and accurate donor reporting
• Institutional programme for monitoring and learning carried out

4.   Required Qualifications and desirable attributes

The Monitoring and Learning Coordinator will have the following broad skill-set and attributes:

• Advanced degree in relevant discipline (e.g. natural resource management, rights based development/advocacy, Community/rural Development).

• First degree with relevant, excellent proven experience may also be considered

• A thorough knowledge of Logical Framework Analysis, and knowledge of Organisational Development Issues

• Knowledge of outcome monitoring

• Good contextual knowledge of local issues, community priorities and social and cultural constraints and realities.

• Knowledge of the latest developments in the M&E field, including proven experience in participatory methodologies such as PLA

• Experience in inter-institutional collaboration, at both government and non-government levels, in a local and national setting

• At least two years of experience in: participatory assessment and monitoring, community training, data collections, and monitoring and design experience.

• Excellent facilitation and training skills and experience including participatory and interactive methodologies.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to network and to develop and maintain strong relationships at all levels with local communities, government agencies, the  business community, the not- for- profit sector and the TNRF network.

• A strong communicator in English and Kiswahili, able to support the advancement of the TNRF Membership as a broad civil-society community in the pursuit of improved natural resource management, sustainable development and better conservation outcomes.

• Keen interest in and commitment to advancing the rights of minority/indigenous communities, particularly in relation to their territories, areas and natural resources

• Willingness to travel on a regular basis and work with local organisations and communities in remote areas

• Adaptable, flexible, able to take initiative and prioritize amongst competing demands

• Computer literate in word processing, Excel, Power Point, Research packages and data processing or analysis Experience in using web-based tools to enhance communication capacity is an added advantage

5.   Behaviour Competencies

1. Core Competencies

2. Job related Competencies Vision

Distancing oneself from daily routine, exploring ideas for the future, regarding facts from a distance and seeing them in a broader context or in the longer term.

Leading groups

Providing group/team with direction and guidance and encourages cooperation between group/team members in order to attain an objective.

Networking

Developing and maintaining relations, alliances and coalitions within and outside the organisation and using them in order to obtain information, support and cooperation.

Planning and organising

Setting goals and priorities, indicating the required actions, time and resources to achieve those goals.

Management control

Controlling  the  progress  of  employees’  processes,  tasks,  or  activities  and  of  one’s  own  work  and responsibilities.

Written communication

Expressing ideas and opinions by way  of appropriately structured documents in clear, grammatical correct writing, employing language and terminology tailored to the reader.

Developing others

Reviewing and analysing employees’/partners’ strengths and weaknesses, distinguishing their talents and development needs, and making sure they are enhanced appropriately through offering coaching and mentoring.

6. Terms of contract

A full and attractive package commensurate with the nature of the position will be offered, renewable on the basis of performance and availability of funds. Interested Candidates for this job are kindly requested to send their CV accompanied by a cover letter to recruitment@tnrf.org and clearly indicate the post your are applying for.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.