Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

The Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant will be responsible for conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the project titled 'Promoting Climate and Finance Awareness for Women Smallholder Farmers and Small-Scale Cross-Border Traders to Adapt to Climate Risks.' The project aims to empower women farmers and traders in Kenya and Uganda by providing them with real-time climate and financial risk information through mobile-based platforms (USSD, WhatsApp, and SMS). The consultant will lead the evaluation process, including needs assessment, baseline, and endline studies, to assess the project's progress, impact, and effectiveness. **Key Responsibilities:** 1. **Inception Phase:** - Participate in an inception meeting with project staff and review relevant project documents. - Develop and submit an inception report or study protocol that includes: - An interpretation of the assignment; - The proposed study design and methodologies; - Sampling procedures; and - A detailed work plan. 2. **Data Collection Tools Development:** - Develop appropriate data-collection tools and instruments (e.g., questionnaires, interview guides) and present them to the Sauti team for review and approval. 3. **Field Data Collection:** - Conduct field-based survey interviews with women small-scale farmers and traders. - Undertake key informant interviews and focus group discussions with identified stakeholders, including community leaders, local authorities, traders, farmers, and representatives of private-sector and public institutions. - Provide general oversight and coordination of the evaluation process, including logistical arrangements for data collection, in collaboration with the project and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) teams. 4. **Data Management and Analysis:** - Submit all datasets collected during the evaluation process. - Process, clean, and analyze the collected data using appropriate software applications. 5. **Reporting:** - Prepare and submit draft reports for the needs assessment, baseline study, and endline study. - Revise the draft reports based on feedback from Sauti. - Submit final needs assessment, baseline, and endline reports to the Sauti team. **Evaluation Phases:** - **Needs Assessment:** - Adopt a qualitative approach involving approximately 100 women participating in focus group discussions (10 focus groups with ~10 participants each). - Facilitate in-depth discussions on participants’ information needs, challenges, and priorities. - **Baseline and Endline Studies:** - Conduct quantitative surveys with 250 respondents each (women small-scale cross-border traders and women smallholder farmers from the project locations). - Collect data on access to climate information, financial literacy, and adaptation strategies. **Methodologies:** - **Qualitative Methods:** - Key informant interviews; - Focus group discussions; - Direct observations. - **Quantitative Methods:** - Detailed surveys with women small-scale farmers and traders. - Data collection primarily via mobile data-collection platforms and telephone interviews. **Expected Outputs:** - Inception report/study protocol; - Approved data-collection tools; - Cleaned and analyzed datasets; - Draft and final reports for needs assessment, baseline, and endline studies; - Recommendations for adaptive programming and future interventions. **Project Context:** The project targets women smallholder farmers and small-scale cross-border traders in Kenya and Uganda, focusing on the Kenya–Uganda border regions (Malaba and Lwakhakha). The project aims to address gendered barriers in accessing climate and financial information, improve financial literacy, and enhance resilience to climate risks. The evaluation will assess the project’s relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability, providing actionable insights for future programming.

Applicants should demonstrate the following competencies and qualifications: - A team leader with at least five years of experience in evaluations and knowledge management relating to agritech, agricultural information services, or market information systems in Western Kenya, Eastern Uganda, or comparable contexts. - Demonstrated ability to undertake assignments in both Kenya and Uganda. - Strong and proven experience in qualitative, quantitative, and participatory data-collection approaches. - Previous experience addressing gender-based barriers to agritech adoption and economic development (considered an asset). - Strong analytical skills and the ability to integrate different datasets into actionable findings and conclusions. - Experience in results-based planning, report writing, and professional communication. - Strong English-language skills, as all reports must be written in English. - The ability to develop clear presentations and communicate findings to both technical and non-technical audiences. **Desirable Skills:** - Experience with mobile-based data collection platforms; - Familiarity with USSD, SMS, and WhatsApp-based survey tools; - Knowledge of climate risk assessment and gender-sensitive evaluation frameworks; - Experience working with women-led organizations or gender-focused development projects.