Monitoring and evaluation specialists

Harvest Help is a non-governmental organisation working to improve the livelihoods of people in rural communities in Zambia so that they have enough food and money to pay for necessities like medicines, clothes and school fees. Its vision is for rural communities to be able to manage their own future without having to rely on hand outs at times of crisis. Harvest Help is a well-established organisation but has been working without proper monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in place for a long time. This has had a negative effect on reporting procedures, donor processes and internal management systems.

Your role as an M&E adviser is to develop an M&E plan and to put systems in place that will allow the organisation to move forward sustainably. Harvest Help has offices in Lusaka and other districts such as Siavonga where this post is based. You’ll be working alongside the team of 10 programme staff in Siavonga who support activities in areas such as agriculture, education, water and sanitation.

What does the role involve?

• Developing monitoring and evaluation systems for Harvest Help
• Training staff in M&E systems
• Training community groups in various M&E systems
• Working with programme staff to include M&E in their work
• Supporting programme staff and other volunteers in the placement with various M&E related duties

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have a degree level qualification and at least two years’ experience of developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems and project reporting. You’ll be confident in working with different programme staff and communities and adapt your knowledge to local needs. Confidence in your skills is essential as you’ll be working with limited supervision. Patience, flexibility and a good sense of humour are important qualities in all VSO volunteers, as you’ll need to get used to living and working in a new culture with limited resources and facilities.

And the rest...

Landlocked Zambia is located between the southern rim of the Zaire Basin and the Zambezi River. The country is home to the majestic Victoria Falls as well as excellent national parks teeming with a huge variety of wildlife. Siavonga District is within the Lusaka Province and about 130 km from Lusaka, the country’s capital. Siavonga borders Zambia. There is a good market in Siavonga where you can buy groceries and other essentials. Motorbike riding will be required (and training is provided by VSO) for you to get around the district.

We’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.

VSO works in West Timor to improve health care, particularly in maternal and child health. To succeed at this, hospitals need to operate efficiently and a structured organised information system will be at the heart of this. Working within VSO’s Making Pregnancy Safer project, this placement with a regional public hospital will strengthen the data management of the hospital, providing good reliable information for service planning and preparing the hospital for taking part in new government policies.

What does the role involve?

• Facilitating an assessment of the existing hospital management information systems
• Training, mentoring and coaching medical record staff in information management
• Assisting the hospital in developing a work system, standard operating procedures, and workload indicators as needed for the medical record department
• Assisting medical record staff in monitoring and evaluation

Skills, qualifications and experience required

You’ll have at least two years’ experience in the management of data, either in a hospital or a large organisation with complex information systems. You’ll also need experience in facilitating participation, training and building capacities of others, and the ability to prepare training materials and plans. You should have experience in developing work plans, procedures, and workload indicators for information management and have experience of monitoring and evaluation. Skills in IT such as databases is also essential. In addition, you’ll need to be flexible, adaptable and have a good sense of humour.

And the rest...

You’ll be based in Kupang in a district located on West Timor, the western half of the island that is shared with the newly independent nation of Timor Leste. Kupang District consists of 27 islands, nine of which are not yet named. From the 27 islands, only five are occupied. The facilities in Kupang city are relatively easy to access and as provincial capital, Kupang city has the best access to internet facilities, entertainment options such as badminton courts and even a karaoke palace. Food is plentiful and fresh, with fruit being sold in the street.

This is an urgent placement and we’ll ask you to commit to 12-24 months to make a sustainable contribution to our development goals. In return, we’ll give you comprehensive financial, personal and professional support. We'll provide you with extensive training before your placement, and our financial package includes a local living allowance, return flights, accommodation, insurance and more. When you return to your home country, we'll help you to resettle and many of our returned volunteers stay involved with us long after their placement ends.