Measurement and Monitoring Associate at Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa

TaRL Africa is a newly formalised partnership between Education NGO, Pratham, and research centre J-PAL, who have been working together developing cost-effective, scalable literacy and Numeracy interventions for more than 15 years. The fruits of these efforts have been the development of what we now refer to as the TaRL.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Measurement and Monitoring Associate

Location: Kano
Duration: Fixed Term: September/October 2019 - December 2020 with the possibility of renewal subject to donor funding
Reports to: Technical Team Lead/ TaRL Country Manager with support from the TaRL Africa Central Measurement and Monitoring Team

Role Purpose

• Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa seeks a Monitoring and Measurement (M&M) Associate to support the measuring and monitoring component of TaRL interventions in Nigeria. The role will begin by focusing on the design and development of a TaRL programme in Kano.
• The M&M Associate will work together with Kano state government to design a feasible and scalable monitoring strategy which integrates as much as possible into existing structures and systems, as well as provide ongoing support to Quality Assurance and EMIS officials to build their capacity to understand and respond to data.
• This role provides an excellent opportunity to improve the learning outcomes of primary school children in Kano State and to be part of a leading evidence-based initiative tackling the learning crisis in Africa.
• The role will also require extensive travel within Kano state.

About Teaching at the Right Level Africa

• TaRL Africa is a newly formalised partnership between Education NGO, Pratham, and research centre J-PAL, who have been working together developing cost-effective, scalable literacy and Numeracy interventions for more than 15 years. The fruits of these efforts have been the development of what we now refer to as the TaRL.
• The TaRL approach, pioneered by Pratham, helps children develop basic reading and numeracy skills. In TaRL classroom: children are assessed on basic reading and numeracy using a simple tool; grouped by learning level, rather than by grade, for a dedicated time when they focus building foundational skills through activities and materials appropriate for each group. As children progress, they move to the next learning group and continue to grow.
• Implementation of the TaRL programme is expected to begin in September 2019.

Main Responsibilities
Work with the M&M TaRL Africa Central Team and government officials to design a strong monitoring and measurement strategy which integrates as much as possible into existing monitoring systems:

• Develop a strong understanding of government measuring and monitoring systems
• Collboratively develop measurement and aggregation tools
• Collaborate with partners to incorporate monitoring and measurement best practice into the overall design

Support government through the process of assessment and monitoring data collection and response:

• Collate monitoring information and develop case studies to highlight project impact and learning
• Promote the sharing of programme best practices through formal and informal workshops
• Communicate and connect with monitoring and mentoring staff within state government regularly through meetings, WhatsApp and phone calls
• Engage actively with the government during critical data collection periods to troubleshoot as necessary

This will include:

• Coordinating reflection meetings and focus group discussions
• Conducting regular school visits
• Piloting new measurement ideas within Champion Schools

Build capacity of EMIS and QA officials to understand and respond to data, and this will include:

• Design and manage capacity building workshop on project monitoring, data collection and use
• Work with EMIS officials on data use and response practically on a regular basis
• Regularly visit schools to support government actors and build a better understanding of how measurement works within schools

Regularly share with team and government officials on implementation challenges and successes one can see from the data, and help highlight areas which require attention:

• Engage with government stakeholders, donors and other partners to share lessons learned from programme implementation
• Contribute to the compilation of reports for project stakeholders and donor
• Contribute to the documentation of measures of the project’s Value for Money
• Develop a dashboard, accessible to state/LGA government actors, DFID and the TaRL team

Also, the M&M Associate will be expected to:

• Support programme leads in preparing technical and programme reports
• Support the management of key relationships with stakeholders in state and national education systems, particularly the Kano State Ministry of Education, Kano State Universal Basic Education Board, Local Government Education Authorities

Education and Qualifications

• A postgraduate degree in Social Sciences, Development Studies, Education or a related field;
• A minimum of four years’ experience working in similar measurement and monitoring positions
• Conversant with data collection platforms and data analysis software
• Understands national learning assessment data
• Understands country data systems (Ministry and big projects)
• Good command of written and spoken English.

Advantageous:

• Experience working in Northern Nigeria
• Strong preference for Kano State resident
• Language skills: Hausa

Application Closing Date
Rolling.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note: Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a writing assessment, followed by an interview process. Due to the large volume of applications, we will only be able to respond to short-listed applicants.