Monitoring & Evaluation Officer – Governance & Livelihoods – WeForest Zambia

Job Description

WeForest

WeForest is a fast-growing international non-profit association with headquarters in Belgium and legal entities in France, USA, Ethiopia, and Zambia. The organization is promoting Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) best practices, and our activities are growing.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The current position focuses on leading all governance and livelihoods-related M&E processes in the two WeForest-implemented projects in the province:

• The Lavushimanda/Mpumba Community Conservation project (LCC/MCC) (Lavushimanda district), which started at the end of 2022, supports three Community Forest Management Groups (CFMG) to manage their community forests (Mabonga, Mwenda, and Salamo) as well as engage private landowners to support a holistic landscape vision that delivers for the community and conservation. This project is developed as a REDD+ carbon project to ensure long-term financing.
• The Mukungule – HEARTH project (MUK) (Mpika district), which started in March 2022 in partnership with the Frankfurt Zoological Society, aims to scale up beekeeping in Mukungule GMA to support beekeeping enterprise groups and local households with sustainable, forest-friendly income sources.

Work focuses on both Lavushimanda and Mpika districts and hence will require frequent traveling, involving approximately 75% office-based work and 25% fieldwork.

Lead governance and livelihood-related M&E processes across the province.

• Provide technical and operational support for project teams to collect, analyze, and report on livelihood- and governance-related data. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Livelihood-related data: Monitoring programs such as the beekeeping program, climate-smart agriculture program, and other sustainable livelihood interventions.
  • Governance-related data: Monitoring the capacity and performance of community-based organizations (CBOs), including CRBs, CFMGs, BKEGs, and VAGs.
• Work with the Lead Community Officer to strengthen the capacity of local CBNRM organizations (e.g., Mpumba CRB, CFMGs, BKEGs, VAGs) to adopt and implement tailored M&E procedures.
• Guide and support CBNRM organizations to integrate effective M&E systems into their activities to improve governance and promote sustainable livelihoods.
• Ensure good M&E practices are implemented by overseeing proper data storage, structuring, and management to ensure accessibility, quality, and usability.
• Train and provide technical guidance to field teams on necessary M&E components, ensuring they understand the importance of M&E practices and their role in project objectives.
• Update the adaptive management tracker quarterly to document project progress, challenges, and corrective actions, ensuring adaptive decision-making.
• Conduct regular spot checks to assess the effectiveness of training and capacity-building activities, ensuring alignment with project goals and objectives.
• Support gender mainstreaming efforts by assisting in the collection and analysis of gender-based violence (GBV) assessment data at relevant project stages.
• Support the collection and sharing of MARCOM material (e.g., photos, stories, updates) in line with WeForest’s protocols for proper documentation and communication.
• Extract and document lessons learned in collaboration with the MEL Manager to guide adaptive management and inform future project implementation.
• Provide regular feedback to the MEL Manager on governance and livelihood-related M&E processes, including recommendations for improving operations, templates, and reporting systems.

Supervise & Coordinate M&E Processes at the MUK project.

• Supervise the development and implementation of baseline surveys, logical frameworks, and M&E plans for the MUK project, ensuring SMART KPIs are established, monitored, and updated annually.
• Lead governance-related M&E processes, including:
  • Supporting organizational capacity assessments (OCAs) for community forest management groups (BKEGs) to evaluate governance performance.
  • Conducting spot checks to assess the effectiveness of governance-related training and capacity-building activities.
• Lead livelihood-related M&E processes, including:
  • Verification and mapping of forest beekeeping plots and beehive locations to ensure accurate monitoring.
  • Lead the monitoring of beekeeping and forest management practices, including compliance with fire management practices (e.g., firebreak creation, ring weeding); beehive occupancy rates to track hive productivity; and compliance with forest management practices (e.g., preventing tree cutting and overgrazing).
• Support performance evaluation meetings for honey value chain stakeholders across the VAGs of Mukungule Chiefdom to assess progress and identify areas for improvement.
• Evaluate the performance of bee mentors and HFOs after honey harvesting to document results, successes, and areas for improvement.
• Ensure that the adaptive management tracker is updated quarterly to ensure project progress, challenges, and corrective actions are documented.
• Conduct post-harvest assessments and regular spot checks to assess the effectiveness of beekeeping training, evaluate progress, inform adaptive planning, and improve project implementation.
• Support gender mainstreaming efforts by collecting and analyzing GBV assessment data and integrating findings into project activities.

Supervise & Coordinate M&E Processes at the LCC/MCC Project.

• Supervise the development and implementation of baseline surveys, logical frameworks, and M&E plans for the LCC/MCC project, ensuring SMART KPIs are established, monitored, and updated annually.
• Lead governance-related M&E processes, including:
  • Supporting organizational capacity assessments (OCAs) for community forest management groups (CFMGs) to evaluate governance performance.
  • Conducting spot checks to assess the effectiveness of governance-related training and capacity-building activities.
• Lead livelihood-related M&E processes, including:
  • Verification and mapping of forest beekeeping plots and beehive locations to ensure accurate monitoring.
  • Lead the monitoring of beekeeping and forest management practices, including compliance with fire management practices (e.g., firebreak creation, ring weeding); beehive occupancy rates to track hive productivity; and compliance with forest management practices (e.g., preventing tree cutting and overgrazing).
• Support performance evaluation meetings for honey value chain stakeholders in Mpumba Chiefdom to review project progress, identify challenges, and highlight successes.
• Monitor the adoption of climate-smart agriculture and agroforestry practices among lead and follower farmers to ensure sustainable land use.
• Assess compliance with sustainable caterpillar harvesting practices during the harvesting season to align with project guidelines.
• Evaluate the performance of CA lead farmers, bee mentors, HFOs, and other livelihood stakeholders after harvesting to document results, successes, and areas for improvement.
• Monitor seedling survival for both field plantings and nursery performance to track progress in reforestation and agroforestry activities.
• Conduct post-harvest assessments for conservation and conventional agriculture activities to evaluate yields and outcomes, inform project improvements, and perform regular spot checks to assess the effectiveness of all livelihood training.
• Ensure the adaptive management tracker is updated quarterly to ensure project progress, challenges, and corrective actions are documented.
• Support gender mainstreaming efforts by collecting and analyzing GBV assessment data and integrating findings into project activities.

Other support to WeForest

• Support project document development (including translation to local languages) where and when needed.
• Support, where possible, the field team in facilitating their work, such as, but not limited to, data entry, data analysis, and assisting in field activities whenever necessary.
• Any other duties assigned by the MEL Manager and the different project managers in consultation with the line manager.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education:

• Essential: B.Sc. in Forestry/Agroforestry/Wildlife Management or equivalent.
• Desirable: M.Sc. or equivalent experience in Development Studies and a certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation.

Work experience and skills:

• Essential:
  • 3+ years of relevant work experience, with demonstrated experience in leading the monitoring and evaluation of different project activities.
  • Excellent communication and numerical skills.
  • Competent in GIS software, KoboToolbox/ODK, GIS Cloud, or other equivalent phone monitoring applications.
  • Competent with Microsoft Office applications, email, and other relevant computer skills.
  • Willing to learn new monitoring tools and techniques.
  • Clean and excellent track record and references.
• Desirable:
  • Experience with Carbon project monitoring is considered a plus.
  • Previous interaction with community-based organizations and experience with training and local capacity building.
  • Exposure to and experience with the NGO sector.

Language:

• Fluent in English (both speaking and writing) and Bemba/Bisa (both speaking and writing).

Other requirements:

• Driving license.
• Be willing to relocate and live in Mununga as a primary workstation with frequent travel to and work from Mpika and Mukungule, Muchinga Province.
• Flexible in terms of travelling and working conditions.
• All academic and professional certificates should be certified by the Zambia Qualification Authority (ZAQA).

Terms & Conditions

• Start date: 01/02/2025 or earlier if possible.
• Duration of Contract: One year, renewable to a two-year contract based upon performance.
• Salary: Level 3a. Remuneration based on experience.
• Location: The primary workstation will be Mununga, Lavushimanda District, with frequent travel to Mpika and Mukungule (Muchinga Province) for project monitoring and support.
• Reporting line: The M&E Officer will be supervised by the WeForest Zambia MEL Manager and will directly report to the site Project Managers for the Lavushimanda/Mpumba Community Conservation Project and the HEARTH Project (Mpika District).

Application Procedure

Please send applications to recruitment.zambia@weforest.org with your CV, a motivation letter (maximum one page), and two recent references by 06th January 2024.

Applicants are required to include a draft logistical framework with at least 20 SMART KPIs that you believe should be recorded for these Muchinga projects. As a guide, WeForest is working on three pillars:

• Governance and CBO Capacity Building
• Forest Restoration and Protection
• Community Outreach and Livelihood Development

Ensure the job title is mentioned in the subject of the email, and indicate where you saw the job post.

In your motivation letter, we encourage you to share what makes you interested in working with WeForest and how your experience aligns with the role, particularly in monitoring, evaluation, and reporting processes.

Recruitment Conditions

• Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a competency test, which will assess technical skills in data analysis, SMART KPIs development, GIS mapping, and reporting.
• Due to the anticipated high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We thank you in advance for your interest.