Vacancies

Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

Start date: February 2025

Report to: 

• Direct: PMU Manager
• Dotted line: Senior Programme Officer AKF UK

Technical advisory: AKF KG and TJ MERL Leads

Location: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Base: The position is seconded to Accelerate Prosperity and will be based at the office of AP Kyrgyzstan.

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) brings together human, financial, and technical resources to address some of the challenges faced by the poorest communities in the world. With an emphasis on women and girls, AKF invests in human potential, expanding opportunities and improving quality of life. AKF was established in the Kyrgyz Republic to support sustainable socio-economic development in mountain communities by building partnerships. AKF aspires to improve the quality of life and self-reliance of young people and women in the Kyrgyz Republic through inclusive and innovative community-driven solutions, constant learning, and integrity.

Accelerate Prosperity (AP) is a global initiative of the Aga Khan Development Network(AKDN) in Central and South Asia which offers creative financial solutions as well as pre and post-investment technical assistance to help grow early-stage businesses, startups, and innovative ideas. AP with the vision for an inclusive and prosperous society powered by entrepreneurs, intends to inspire rising entrepreneurs in emerging regions to grow new markets, create sustainable employment, and strengthen communities. AP program is mandated to facilitate the creation of sustainable and commercially viable Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) in priority sectors of Agribusiness, ICT, Education and ECD, Textiles, Hospitality, Green Growth, and Health. 

Background:

AKF has secured funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) funding, supplemented by AKDN’s own contributions, to fund the “Central Asian Green Inclusive Growth Fund (GIG)”, comprised of two components, leveraging activities and initiatives from each of components:

Component 1: Central Asia Green Inclusive Growth Fund’s SME Investment Finance Facility (GIG-IFF)

The objective of Component 1 is to increase access of startups and small and growing businesses (SGBs) to diversified investment through an established GIG Investment Finance Facility and other investors via intermediate outputs of:

• GIG Investment Finance Facility established for Central Asia
• Increased pool of investment-ready startups/SGBs available for financing from the GIG Investment Finance Facility and other investors

Increased availability of data-driven documented learning and evidence about innovative investments in women-led and green startups/SGBs

Component 2: Central Asia Green Inclusive Growth Fund’s Business Development Services (GIG-BDS) - The overall objective of Component 2 is to foster green and inclusive entrepreneurship sector to support Central Asia in its transition toward a green and inclusive economy that tackles inequality while supporting economic diversification covering all Central Asian countries, namely Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (Turkmenistan will be based on outcomes of initial feasibility study).

The specific objective of this Component is that entrepreneurs achieve improved competitiveness and success in starting, maintaining, and growing profitable, innovative, and green startups, and small and growing businesses (SGBs). GIG-BDS will achieve this through:

• Innovative startups/SGBs supported through tailored training and advisory services in priority sectors
• Blended digital platform (Virtual Accelerate) upgraded and expanded
• Startups/SGBs supported raising investments, promoting market linkages, and trade
• Increased availability of documented learning and evidence about women-led, people living with disabilities-le,d and green entrepreneurship and trade

The creation of new start-up enterprises, the growth of small businesses, and a focus on youth, women, and people with disabilities-led ventures will be critical. GIG-BDS aims to contribute to positive trends in Gross National Income, and Gender Development Index scores and contribute to relevant Sustainable Development goals.

AKF Kyrgyz Republic is actively looking for a MERL Manager who shall be responsible for the overall MERL management of the recently awarded multi-country action “Central Asia Green Inclusive Growth Initiative” which will be implemented in Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan (and Turkmenistan, pending outcome of the feasibility study). We are seeking a highly motivated individual who is passionate about promoting entrepreneurship in Central Asia and has the required MERL management experience, specifically in FCDO-funded projects, to be able to facilitate the implementation of a complex four-country action in liaison with country-specific implementation teams. The successful candidate is expected to actively contribute to shaping the PMU and effectively meet all reporting and compliance requirements of the action in liaison with the country-specific programme and MERL teams of the Aga Khan Foundation and Accelerate Prosperity country, regional, and global teams. The MERL Manager will be responsible for oversight and management of three implementing partners in Central Asia, and support AP Kyrgyzstan with regional initiatives and activities.

This action is planned to be leveraged for possible funding from other donors and investors for Central Asia and may be added to the structure of the programme, also under management and oversight of the existing role as additional tasks on donor deliverables and project financial management. Restructuring will be explored as relevant to expanded responsibilities. 

Job Description:

The MERL Manager will be responsible for designing and implementing systems to ensure appropriate tracking and assessment of all AP project activities. S/he will have primary responsibility of reporting on FCDO and other donors' outputs and outcomes and for ensuring the quality of interventions. H/she will be responsible for all data submissions in accordance with the requirements of AP, AKF as well as FCDO. S/he will provide technical guidance and support to all implementation partners and sub-grantees (as applicable) in establishing and implementing their monitoring and evaluation systems for the project. 

Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Lead the development and implementation of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan, in alignment with the project’s results framework.
• Develop and lead the roll out project-specific monitoring tools in collaboration with relevant personnel in AKF and AP and country specific MERL teams.
• Support PMU Manager and implementation partners in developing project results frameworks (input, output, outcome, and impact), and develop relevant indicators and targets for result areas.
• Develop high quality quantitative and qualitative methods and participatory methodologies to monitor programme quality for performance and result of projects.
• Develop data collation and aggregation tools, as well as maintain activity and project databases.
• In collaboration with the AP Kyrgyzstan, PMU Manager as well as the Aga Khan Foundation, lead the implementation of the FCDO project’s learning agenda, including the development of learning questions and implementation of evaluations, data analyses, and other activities that are responsive to the learning agenda.
• Integrate the use of innovative technologies, and data platforms for data collection, management, and reporting.
• Review and finalize Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual MERL work plans and budgets for AP countries and projects.
• Oversee the development of donor reports, ensuring that all donor reporting requirements on programme impact are met.
• Coordinate the design and implementation of baseline, mid-term, and end-of-project evaluations, surveys, special studies, and other components of the AP and FCDO project’s MERL system.
• Liaise with counterparts within all countries under the projects in related activities and collaborate in promoting high quality results and complementary efforts.
• As applicable, provide one-on-one technical assistance, mentoring, and coaching to support implementation partners in ensuring realistic targets are set for all required and customized indicators, as well as conducting and facilitating MERL training for partners that include basic MERL, data quality management, basic data analysis, and managing evaluations.

Requirements:

• Education
  • (Required) At least a Masters/ MBA in Project Management, Development Administration, Planning, MIS, Entrepreneurship, or a relevant field from a reputed and recognized university.
• Experience
  • Minimum 8 years of hands-on experience in establishing/designing and executing MERL systems and tools, preferably for FCDO and other donor programmes.
  • Experience with qualitative and quantitative M&E data collection and analysis methods.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with FCDO reporting and MERL indicators.
  • Demonstrated experience in designing and managing operational research and evaluations.
  • Experience in programme quality management (both services and data quality) and quality improvement systems.
  • (Preferable) Experience working in Central Asia
  • (Preferable) Experience in projects related to entrepreneurship, business development, SMEs, etc.
• Technical Knowledge
  • Knowledge of various MERL templates, specifically those typically used by FCDO.
  • Excellent writing and reporting skills specifically for donor-funded projects.
  • Knowledge of quantitative data collection, analysis, and visualization software/tools/platforms (e.g., Stata, SPSS, Ona, Power BI, and others).Computer literate (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).
  • Good knowledge of the project management cycle.
• Soft Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, and Russian is preferred. Other relevant local languages an asset (e.g., Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Kazakh, Turkmen, etc.).

• Highly proactive and passionate about work.
• Capable of producing high-quality results within often tight deadlines.
• Ability to multitask and work under pressure.
• Ability to distill large volumes of data in short periods of time.
• Intellectual curiosity and demonstrated record of professional development/growth.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work through complex models to determine the key assumptions, implicit caveats, and limitations.
• Demonstrated ability to work cooperatively with all levels of management.

AKF offers a competitive remuneration package and a conducive working environment. We are an equal-opportunity employer - women are encouraged to apply.

Interested candidates should submit their cover letter and CV with the subject line “FCDO PMU: MERL Manager” by 12 January 2025  to akf.hr.kg@akdn.org

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited for interviews.

“The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is committed to safeguarding, which means it promotes respectful relations with and between all staff, associates, beneficiaries, and wider communities with whom it works, and takes all reasonable measures to prevent harm, including all forms of sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment (PSEAH), bullying, discrimination, harassment and abuse of power that may arise from contact with its staff, programmes or operations.

AKF also adheres to child safeguarding principles, as set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s), employment history and any potential history of misconduct. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a full background check.

All employees of AKF are required to adhere to the organizational safeguarding standards and principles and at all times to act with dignity, respect and to contribute to a safe environment free from any type of harassment, abuse or discrimination.

For more information about AKDN, please visit www.akdn.org

For more information about AP, please visit www.accelerateprosperity.org