The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change supports political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalised world. We do this through developing policy and advising governments.

Job Introduction

The scale of public investments in Ethiopia accounts for about 20% of the country’s GDP. Thus, ensuring public investments are well aligned with the overall development agenda of the country through proper prioritization, selection, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation is of paramount importance to the Ethiopian government and Ministry of Planning Ministry (MoPD).

The 10-year development plan of Ethiopia provides guidance on how to efficiently allocate resources through sectorial priorities within the country’s macroeconomic fiscal framework (MEFF).

MoPD has identified inefficiency in the management of public investment projects and ineffective monitoring and evaluation to be major challenges leading to cost and time overrun. To address this planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation challenges in relation to development projects, a new proclamation – The Federal Government Public Projects Administration and Management System (PPAMS) No.1210/2012 was enacted.

Among the various responsibilities assigned to MoPD, pre-screening of project concept notes and independent review of project feasibility studies prior to budget approval as well as effective monitoring and evaluation are key significant departures from the previous ad hoc budget allocation.

Key Responsibilities

The Advisor on Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) will primarily support MoPD on the following tasks:

• With strong understanding of MoPD’s mandate, the national 10-year development plan, and the proclamation on the federal government public projects administration, design a clear framework for effective M&E of public projects
• Provide technical and advisory support to MoPD in its effort to improve the existing Public Investment Management (PIM) system and process, particularly in areas related to public project M&E
• Provide technical and advisory support to line ministries on M&E of the implementation of development projects as well as implementation of development plans
• Identify capacity gaps in line ministries/agencies and determine capacity enhancements required to improve the quality of their M&E practice of public projects
• Review existing M&E guidelines and manuals to identify potential areas of improvement and recommend amendments
• Develop templates and checklists for projects monitoring and evaluation activities
• Provide on the job trainings to MoPD staff on best practices for M&E of public projects
• Support workshop and training sessions to disseminate best practices on M&E of public projects
• Key deliverables will include: assessment reports, benchmarking analysis, M&E guidelines, manuals, and templates

Person Specification

Required Experience:

• Broad knowledge of monitoring and evaluation processes in the development planning context and its linkages with sectorial programs, projects, and medium-term fiscal framework
• At least 10 years of work experience, preferably in monitoring and evaluation of public investment projects
• Proven experience in the preparation of M&E technical guidelines for public projects.
• Have clear understanding on the toolkit of monitoring and evaluation, models of evaluation
• Deep knowledge in the various stages and actors of the implementation of public projects
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a wide range of government and non-government actors (ex. development partners)
• Fluency in English and Amharic, with ability to communicate complex ideas in clear, simple, and concise manner

Key Competencies:

• Strong oral and written communications skills
• Planning and organisation skills
• Creative and analytical
• Prior experience in working with government agencies at the highest levels is preferred
• Familiarity with developing countries policy and political context is preferred
• Proven M&E experience in other developing countries preferred

Education (Qualifications) Requirements:

• Masters or PhD in Economics, Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Development Evaluation, Policy Analysis, Development Management, Public Policy, or a related field or a bachelor degree with equivalent practical experience
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English
• Computer literacy: competence in the use of computers especially Microsoft Office applications software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Experience in analysing, preparing, presenting, and reviewing market/sector assessments, strategic documents, business plans, etc