Senior Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer, YEFFA Multi - Country Support

The Senior Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer, YEFFA Multi-Country Support, will be responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) countries program’s MEL, results data monitoring, reporting, and quality systems, in line with YEFFA’s theory of change and results frameworks. The position will ensure hands-on and onsite technical support and capacity building to YEFFA countries to strengthen performance data tracking, verification, reporting, and compliance, supporting evidence-based decision-making in liaison with the YEFFA Program Management Unit (PMU) and AGRA’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Unit.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Monitoring & Evaluation Support: Provide ongoing M&E support to the YEFFA PMU in collaboration with the Senior M&E Officer and Continental programs.
• Technical Oversight: Provide technical oversight, aligning country results and program design with the YEFFA theory of change and Results Framework.
• Performance Analysis: Provide consolidated analysis and practical insights on YEFFA country performance to the Head of YEFFA Program Delivery and the Director of GYI.
• Reporting: Generate quarterly YEFFA country program/investments performance and milestones dashboards, including an analysis of compliance.
• MEL Plan Integration: Provide technical support to the design of YEFFA investments and integration of YEFFA MEL plans into workplans, budgets, and grant agreements.
• Data Integration: Lead data integration of YEFFA with continental pillar data to demonstrate YEFFA achievements.
• Capacity Building: Coordinate and support technical support and troubleshooting to country teams and implementing partners on data capture, documentation, and reporting challenges.
• Data Quality Assurance: Lead routine and ad-hoc data quality checks, verification, and validation exercises while strengthening source documentation and audit trails.
• System Management: Lead implementation and backstopping of the digitized tools and results reporting protocols at the country level.
• Portfolio Reviews: Lead in-country portfolio reviews, field monitoring, quarterly performance reviews, and learning sessions.
• Strategic Insights: Analyze results and performance data to identify trends, risks, and implementation bottlenecks.
• Impact Reporting: Provide evidence-based impact stories and inputs for management discussions and prepare Annual Results Reports for the Mastercard Foundation and AGRA Board.
• Learning Agenda: Facilitate cross-country learning through synthesis of field insights, best practices, and adaptive management.

Qualifications and Experience Required

• Education: Master’s degree in Monitoring & Evaluation, Development Economics, Statistics, Data Science, or a related discipline.
• Professional Certification: Professional certification in MEL, Results-Based Management, or Data Analytics is an asset.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in monitoring, evaluation, and results management in large-scale, multi-country programs in Africa.
• Donor Experience: Proven experience with donor-funded initiatives, particularly Mastercard Foundation or equivalent development partners.
• Technical Expertise: Expertise in results framework design, performance tracking, and data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent).
• Soft Skills: Ability to synthesize data into actionable insights, support adaptive management, and demonstrate strong ownership for results management processes.
• Communication: Ability to communicate results effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.