Job Description

Job Vacancy: Program Quality Improvement Advisor

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Period of Performance: July 15, 2021 until Oct. 1, 2022

Background: SoCha is USAID / Kenya East Africa’s Implementing Partner for the Mission Support for the Journey to Self-Reliance Pivot (MSP) Activity.

The MSP Activity supports USAID / Kenya and East Africa (KEA) staff and stakeholders to be more efficient, effective, transparent and skilled in achieving development outcomes through the use of evidence, performance management techniques, and Collaborating Learning and Adapting (CLA) practices that enable KEA’s journey to self-reliance.

MSP has the following overall intermediate results:

• Strengthen monitoring, verification, and reporting systems to enhance USAID / KEA Mission programmatic effectiveness and accountability to stakeholders.


• Strengthen the design of and carry out evaluations, assessments, and analyses to enable the Mission to make informed decisions and utilize and disseminate learning.


• Improve coordination and collaboration within the Mission and with external stakeholders to enhance institutional learning and program effectiveness.


• Enable Mission staff and its stakeholders to adapt based on learning and inform mid-course corrections, shape future programming, and increase accountability and transparency.


• Support strategy development and process management as part of the program cycle to enable continuous planning, delivering, assessing, and adapting of development programs.

The Program Quality Improvement Advisor (PQIA) leads the PQI Team, which is the primary team providing support across all objectives, leading Objectives 1 (see below).

The PQI team, comprised of a Monitoring and Verification (M&V) team, MEL Manager, and a Database Manager, will be led by the PQIA—an expert in MEL approaches, programmatic learning and quality oversight; and will be supported by STTA, where necessary.

The PQI Team was built to ensure strong, inhouse capabilities to support the data collection, management, and analysis required to drive the Fixed Price CLIN 1 deliverable, as well as manage the M&V and EAA tasks.

Scope of Work

Objective 1: Adaptative management advanced through evidence-based learning.

Key tasks include:

• Oversee Third-Party Monitoring, including data verification, context monitoring, implementation monitoring, data quality assessments, compliance monitoring, data analysis and visualization.


• Develop, review, and align project and activity MEL plans to Mission’s performance management plans (PMP) for the Country and Regional Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCS and RDCS).


• Provide technical assistance and support to the Mission’s information management systems and performance reporting.


• Carry out limited meta-evaluations, sector assessments, and thematic analyses.


• Provide support for the development of responsive evaluations, assessments and analyses, including drafting statements of work/objectives and cost estimates.


• Provide expert advice and facilitate the utilization and integration of evaluations, assessments and analyses findings and recommendations into the program cycle.


• Build Mission staff’s capacity in a variety of MEL approaches and methods through training (live and in-person), mentoring, etc.; support the Mission’s MEL Working Group.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Report writing for high level deliverables.


• Quality Assurance of all products, documents and deliverables prepared by the PQI Team.


• Presentation of findings to USAID representatives and implementing partners.


• Line management and capacity building of the PQI team members and relevant STTA.


• Other duties as requested by SoCha Management and/or Chief of Party

Note: Due to the strong requirement for report writing and quality control, shortlisted applicants will be required to undertake a monitored writing test as part of the interview process.

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in economics, international development, or another related field.


• 10 years demonstrable experience in performance management, data management and analysis, and or monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL).


• Previous experience in overseeing Third-Party Monitoring (TPM), including data verification, implementation monitoring, data quality assessments, compliance monitoring, data analysis and visualization.


• Experience in developing, reviewing, and aligning activity and project MEL plans to Mission performance management plans (PMPs).


• Ability to provide support in the development of responsive evaluations, assessments and analyses, including drafting statements of work/objectives and cost estimates.


• Experience providing training and/or building the capacity of Mission/IP staff in a variety of MEL topics.


• Experience in supporting technical teams and IPs to conduct periodic data quality assessments.


• 5 years of demonstrated experience managing teams across multiple on-going projects.


• Advanced communication and presentation skills, with experience in presenting to USAID missions.


• Advanced writing skills in English.

How to Apply

To lodge an application, please lodge your CV via the following link: https://jobs.socha.net/program-quality-improvement-advisor-kenya/

Applications close 6 June 2021, application review will be on a rolling basis

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