Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Advisor VVOB Education for Development

About VVOB

VVOB is an international NGO with programmes and projects in 10 countries worldwide. Our head office is based in Brussels, Belgium.

When you join VVOB, you become a key player in VVOB’s mission to ensure quality education as a key enabler for achieving the sustainable development goals. We implement our programmes and projects with one shared passion: to ensure the improvement of quality education. Our teams of national and international experts achieve this by providing technical assistance to governmental and other education actors. In doing so, worldwide we ensure capacity building of governmental and other education actors.

Do you share our ambition to ensure that learners around the world can enjoy their fundamental human right to quality education, without exception? Are you also convinced that quality education guarantees equal opportunities for everyone and is the key to a better world?

We are looking for a MEAL advisor who will operate from our offices in Zambia, to contribute to the remedial learning interventions in the Catch Up/Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Project in Zambia. Do you want to take on this challenge? Then continue reading!

Catch Up/Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL):

The evidence-based Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach, pioneered by Pratham in India, helps learners develop basic reading and numeracy skills. It has been evaluated and proven to be effective by many randomized evaluations. In a TaRL classroom: learners are assessed on basic reading and numeracy using a simple tool; grouped by learning level, rather than by grade, for a dedicated time when they focus building foundational skills through activities and materials appropriate for each group. As learners progress, they move to the next learning group and continue to grow.

In Zambia, the TaRL approach is known as “Catch-Up” and was piloted by MoE in 2016-17 with support from partners, including VVOB. It is currently being implemented by MoE more than 4000 primary schools across Zambia, with support from several partners. MoE has an ambition of making Catch Up/TaRL a national remedial teaching programme, and preparations for expansion into new provinces and districts in 2023 and 2024 are underway.

You will: 

• Work with the Ministry of Education (MoE), VVOB and TaRL Africa to develop robust data collection systems that integrate into existing Ministry structures.
• Provide clear guidance and quality assurance over M&E processes in Catch-Up.
• Build the capacity of MoE at all levels (central, province, district, zone, school), creating strategies and systems for government departments to access and use Catch Up data regularly for targeted support and decision making.
• Lead data analysis and dissemination. You will analyse Catch-Up data and share key insights with MoE and the VVOB team on the successes, challenges, lessons learnt and highlight areas that require urgent attention.
• Quality assures the assessment data content for provincial and district reflection meetings and troubleshoot as necessary.
• Work with MoE counterparts, EMIS and Quality Assurance departments to continually refine monitoring tools, response mechanisms and reflection systems.
• Pilot new measurement ideas & conduct regular school visits to assess effectiveness.
• Facilitate M&E for learning within the Catch-Up implementation team and coordinate with team members on learning objectives and future research projects.
• Summarize findings from the data to report the achievements and areas of strengthening of the Catch-Up programme to donors and other stakeholders.

If you’re our MEAL advisor, your workweek at the office will include the following highlights:

1. In the regular online Catch-Up project team meeting you brief the team on key findings and issues arising from the just ended midline assessments, highlighting where the team needs to follow up.
2. You develop a new tool for collating data on trainings. You meet with VVOB and Ministry of Education colleagues to take them through the new tool. You get their feedback and adjust the tool.
3. You attend a district review meeting to learn about the learning outcomes in the district and the challenges faced during data collection, particularly when using the revised data collection tool.
4. Lunch! A perfect time to nurture relationships with VVOB colleagues and have an informal exchange on best practices.
5. You organize a training for PRCCs, DRCCs and planners on interpreting learning outcomes data and using it for monitoring plans. You develop case studies for hands-on practice during these trainings.
6. You are on a call with DRCCs to explain the data verification process during midline.
7. You prepare and present national data on learning outcomes to a team of donors.

Who are you?

This is a national position, open to Zambian Nationals

Your expertise and experience

• Master’s degree in a relevant subject (e.g., social sciences, statistics, demography, international development, research, policy) or equivalent field experience.
• 3 years demonstrable experience in a similar position in Monitoring, Evaluation Accountability and Learning; experience in projects strengthening government systems and structures or projects in the education sector is an asset.
• Demonstrable experience with the development of indicators, the use of M&E tools and implementation of M&E processes, including data collection techniques and methodologies, data collection and analysis.
• Knowledge and/or experience with monitoring learning outcomes at early childhood education level is an added advantage.
• Experience with data collection and quantitative analysis methods and tools, especially MS Excel and KoboCollect/SurveyCTO/ODK. Knowledge of Stata and PowerBI/Tableau is a plus.
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently.
• Experience with working in a multicultural team.
• Language skills: Fluent in English.

Matching competences

VVOB core competences:

• Results orientation
• Continuous improvement
• Cooperation

Function specific competencies:

• Creativity Development oriented 360° empathy
• Communication skills
• Problem analysis and judgement

What we’re offering:

• A full-time fixed term contract with opportunity for renewal
• 25% gratuity at year’s end
• In-patient and out-patient medical package for you and your legal dependents (as proven by marriage certificate and birth certificate(s))
• Education allowance for your legal children
• Transport allowance and housing allowance in line with the Zambian employment legislation
• Supportive environment enabling continuous professional development.
• An opportunity to work in a very well liked, evidence-based project aimed at ensuring that learners across Zambia acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills!