Purpose of the position :

World Vision International Lao PDR is looking for a Monitoring and Evaluation and Education Coordinator (M&E and EC) for a newly awarded three-year grant project, the “Improve Learning Outcome for Early Education and Primary School Children (iSTUDY) Project” in Toomlan District, Salavan Province. The project is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan, and is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Sports, among other partners.

The goal of the iSTUDY Project is to ensure children develop grade-appropriate reading proficiency, as a foundation to continue learning and to achieve full potential in life. Towards this goal, the project will support children in pre-primary schools attain holistic development and school readiness required to start learning in primary schools, and support children in Grades 1-3 learn to read.

Key areas of intervention of iSTUDY are :

• Increase children’s school readiness to start learning in primary schools
• Improve literacy teaching practices
• Increase caregivers and community engagement, with better school governance, and support for school facilities construction
• Strengthen partnership for improved quality of project governance, including monitoring mechanism to enhance impact and sustainability

Responsibilities of this position include :

The M&E and EC will be responsible for quality, accurate and timely data collection, reporting and monitoring of the project to ensure activity implementation is according to the project log frame. The M&E and EC will also be responsible for implementation of activities along with the project team in target villages assigned to them. The M&E and EC will work to engage with teachers, caregivers, Village Education Development Committee (VECD), and community members to implement UL and LR activities of the project.

• Coordination of project baseline survey, monitoring and evaluations (midterm, final) conducted at district and village levels, ensuring accurate and timely data collection following the project M&E Plan
• Lead project data collection and management, including data analysis and ensure all data are available for project indicators and periodic reporting to different stakeholders
• Lead implementation of education-related project activities at field level with the project team
• Engage with District Education and Sports Branch (DESB), teachers, VEDC, parents and community to actively participate in project activities
• Follow up and support to teacher after training to apply new teach techniques in their classrooms
• Supporting community volunteers to implement community engagement and support learning for children outside school.

Major responsibilities :

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Communication :

• Establish and maintain effective project reporting, monitoring, evaluation, and communication systems.
• Coordinate project monitoring and evaluations (midterm, final) conducted at district and village level, ensuring accurate and timely data collection following the project M&E Plan
• Lead project data collection and management, including data analysis for periodic reporting to different stakeholders (donors, WV internal system, Government) and for communication products. Ensure all data are available for project indicators.
• Build capacity of, and coach, iSTUDY project staff on M&E requirements and standards to ensure quality data collection & reporting.
• Train and mentor staff in using monitoring tools and data collection, including for project baseline and evaluations
• Work closely with Project Manager (PM) and Deputy Project Manager (DPM) to support the development of timely accurate and professional reports that meet donor, Government and WV requirements
• Work closely with PM and DPM to support the organization of PIMC and DIMC meetings and lead collation and presentation of data and project progress. Support DPM for the development and finalization of MOU reports
• Ensure iSTUDY project database is updated and linked to project outcome indicators
• Share and report data/issues from monitoring and evaluation for project modification as needed
• Document good practices and project success stories for wider sharing
• Assist in any other tasks that contribute to the development and roll-out of the project M&E system

Learning evidence :

• Consistently look for more effective and efficient implementation methods and opportunities to increase impact
• Facilitate learning of best practice by ensuring a continuous learning process is developed and in place with key staff and partners
• Support practice of using evidence to support learning by stakeholders at province/district/village level to enhance children’s learning outcomes, based on documented lessons from project activities, with guidance from Project and Operations Managers
• Establish a mechanism for knowledge sharing between education projects and within WVI-L

Project planning and implementation :

• Develop Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) in consultation with PM, DPM and technical team
• Plan and coordinate all education-related project activities in consultation with PM, DPM education technical team and government counterparts
• Lead and manage implementation of all education project activities with the project team
• Track and manage activity budgets and ensure timely and cost-effective project implementation

Technical support to ensure achievement of results :

• Ensure the quality of activity implementation through technical review and planning, and make adjustments as needed in consultation with PM, DPM and education technical team
• Facilitate education planning at community level, including supporting VEDC for the development and implementation of school/education development plans. Provide monitoring, coaching and supportive supervision in their implementation
• Support development of capacity building plans for teachers and monitor and provide coaching support for the implementation of the plans through regular monitoring visits
• Conduct supportive supervision and mentoring/coaching sessions for teachers
• Provide coaching support to teachers, VEDC and community reading group facilitators for their capacity building and to implement activities according to the project design
• Support the building and running of peer network of teachers and VEDC for cross sharing and learning
• Hold reflection meetings on key education program activities and indicators

Manage procurement for project activity implementation :

• Ensure all procurement requests are submitted, and all materials are readily available for all UL and LR activity implementation
• Track and manage procurement-related activity budgets and ensure timely and cost-effective budget expenditure

Collaboration and coordination :

• Manage proactive and responsive relationship with Project Partners, Government stakeholders, and other partners in the field, under the guidance of the PM and DPM
• Build and sustain effective close working partnerships with stakeholders including DESB/PESS counterparts, teachers, VEDCs, community reading group facilitators and caregivers to facilitate quality project implementation and to build capacity of the stakeholders to achieve and sustain results of the project.

Required professional experience :

• Minimum of 5 years’ professional experience in M&E, education and community work
• Demonstrated professional experience in M&E in iNGO contexts
• Demonstrated competency in implementing assessments/evaluations, including:
• designing assessment/evaluation methodology, data collection and analysis tools
• managing data collection in the field analyzing data
• Demonstrated experience in monitoring and evaluation of development work, including program logic, indicators, log frames, theory of change, and community empowerment
• Demonstrated professional experience implementing early childhood education and/or early grade reading promotion activities

Required education :

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or relevant field
• Driving license for motorcycles
• Technical training in education sector and M&E
• Excellent computer skills (Excel) database and data analysis software with demonstrated experience working with data analytical software (Epi Info, SPSS, KOBO)
• Good oral and written communication skills in English and Lao, and good report writing skills.

Preferred knowledge and qualifications :

• Technical training in education sector and M&E
• Knowledge of development work, including program logic, theory of change, and community empowerment
• Good understanding of Lao Government policies, laws, and institutions and ability to work together with various stakeholders
• Ability to identify and plan work strategically and to work to meet deadlines
• Ability to train others, ability to provide technical guidance and support to TDFs
• Excellent management and administrative skills, including use of Microsoft Office
• Ability to provide technical guidance, to train and mentor operations staff, and to work collaboratively and respectfully with others
• Good analytical/problem-solving skills and an eye for detail
• Ability to work strategically, and to function efficiently and effectively with little day-to-day supervision,
• Commitment to World Vision Core Values, mission and Vision Statements.