Overview
Creative Associates International (Creative) est une entreprise à impact social en pleine croissance, spécialisée dans les domaines de l’éducation, de la croissance économique, des transitions démocratiques et de la stabilisation dans les environnements post-conflit. Basée à Chevy Chase, dans le Maryland, cette organisation mondiale de développement est présente sur le terrain dans plus de 25 pays et dispose d’un solide portefeuille de clients, dont l’Agence américaine pour le développement international et le Département d’État. Depuis sa création en 1977 par quatre femmes entreprenantes, Creative s’est forgé une solide réputation auprès de ses clients et est bien considéré par ses concurrents et ses partenaires.
In close coordination with the US Embassy and USAID, the goal of the USAID/OTI-funded Littorals Regional Initiative (LRI) is to support US foreign policy priorities to shore up stability and prevent violent extremism in the Littoral region, including Ghana.
Initial objectives include:
- Rapidly delivering effective and relevant programming on the ground through targeted interventions that may be scaled up.
- Informing and improving USG programming by piloting approaches and sharing reporting.
- Providing rapid response capacity, from hiring STTAs to quick response activities, in the event of a crisis or opportunity.
Creative is seeking a MEL/Research Officer responsible for telling the story of the LRI program through the proactive coverage of activities. Akin to an investigative journalist, s/he will gather and analyze complex information related to the social, political, and economic context and program activity implementation to produce compelling and rigorously fact-checked stories. Through qualitative data collection techniques, including interviews and focus group discussions, as well as observational techniques and photography, the MEL/Research Officer helps in program evaluation and learning how the grants contribute to the overall program goal.
The MEL/Research Officer will be based Tamale and will report to the MEL Manager in Accra. S/he will collaborate closely with Program Development Officers, Grants Officer and the Communications & Reporting Officer to develop compelling products and ensure proactive and adequate monitoring of activity implementation.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:
Field Work
- Conduct site visits during the project implementation phase for each grant in assigned areas.
- Conduct key informant interviews and focus-group discussions with activity stakeholders.
- Take high-quality, impactful photos of the communities and individuals impacted by the program’s activities. Photos should be taken before, during, and after program activities to document change and impact.
- Conduct secondary verification of all results data received from partners, including conducting verification visits, as appropriate.
- Develop and maintain a strong network of contacts in target communities.
- Represent the program positively and professionally in both internal and external environments.
- Travel to remote areas and work independently to monitor activities if required.
Reporting
- Develop Monitoring and Evaluation plans for field-level activities.
- Draft concise, high-quality reports, articles, or summaries on a daily or ad-hoc basis on activity progress or outcome. Identify information and stories of relevance to the program.
- Produce weekly activity notes documenting activity outcomes for the OTI online database.
- Conduct periodic research and case studies to measure the impact of activities and assist with program-level evaluation
- Produce “final evaluation reports” (FER) for each activity based on prescribed format after visiting a grant site for verification of indicators.
- Assist in translating M&E findings into success stories and other social media products.
- Assist in the preparation of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
- Work with the MEL Manager and program staff to analyze and report on trends, lessons learned, and other factors that should better inform program development
- Advocate and promote scale-up of best practices and cost-effectiveness with both staff and stakeholders.
- Perform other tasks, as assigned.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Social Studies, Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, International Relations, or a related field.
- Minimum two (2) years’ experience in social science research, journalism, and/or monitoring, evaluation and learning and four (4) years of general experience.
- Strong research and qualitative data analysis skills e.g. context analysis
- Demonstrated analytical ability and experience in report writing.
- Excellent record keeping, and documentation skills are required.
- Videography and Photography still are highly desirable.
- Knowledgeable about USAID Rules and Regulations, previous experience working on USAID-funded projects is preferred.
- Proficient English skills and fluency in one or more of the local languages of northern Ghana.
- Ability and willingness to be based in northern Ghana.
- Must have existing work authorization for Ghana.
