Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Analyst - Part time (50%)

UNDP in Lao PDR: Guided by the global Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and the UNDP Country Programme Document (2022-2026), the country office of UNDP in Lao PDR works closely with government agencies, mass organizations, civil society, development partners, and the private sector at both national and sub-national levels in pursuit of the development priorities defined in Lao PDR’s five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s work is strongly focused on the provision of policy advice and technical support to the Government in the design and implementation of national legislation and strategies across four broad Priority Pillars: (1) inclusive growth and reduced inequalities, (2) unexploded explosive ordnance clearance and risk education, (3) natural resources, climate change and disaster risk reduction, (4) and effective, responsive and accountable governance.

The IWRM-EbA Project: The Integrated Water Resource Management and Ecosystem-based Adaptation in the Xe Bang Hieng river basin and Luang Prabang City project aims to support the government of Lao PDR to promote the integrated management of land and water resources at target sites in the Xe Bang Hieng River Basin and Luang Prabang city. This will increase the climate resilience of communities to the impacts of floods and droughts — both of which are projected to become more intense and frequent under future climate scenarios. The project will be implemented over the period of four-years from Dec 2022 to Dec 2026 by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The project aims to strengthen the climate resilience of communities in two particularly vulnerable areas of Lao PDR – namely Savannakhet Province and Luang Prabang City – particularly focusing on the impacts of floods and droughts. This improved resilience will be achieved through three complementary project components, specifically: 

• Component 1: Developing national and provincial capacities for Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) and integrated urban Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) for climate risk reduction; 
• Component 2: Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) interventions, with supporting protective infrastructure and livelihood enhancement; and 
• Component 3: Knowledge management and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).

FARM project: The Financing Agrochemicals Reduction and Management project aims to reduce the use of harmful agrochemicals by incentivizing farmers to adopt sustainable crop management practices, improving access to low/non-chemical pest control alternatives, and improving access to financing environmentally sound management of hazardous pesticides and agricultural wastes including plastics in Lao PDR

• Component 1 “Strengthen Regulatory, Policy and Investment Frameworks” aims to enhance regulatory frameworks for sound agricultural chemicals and waste (including plastics) management, promoting the reduction of harmful pesticides use
• Component 2 “Improve access to finance aligned with the demonstration and promotion for sustainable alternatives and agricultural practices for income raising” aims to incentivize investments and financial frameworks to encourage finance flows towards sustainable agricultural production and reduction of harmful agrochemicals use.
• Component 3 “Effective knowledge management platforms and capacities built in agrochemical waste management and disposal methods” aims to build capacity and make knowledge accessible for the environmentally sound management (ESM) of hazardous waste, including unwanted pesticides and agricultural plastics among main stakeholders in agriculture value chain.

Under overall supervision of the Team Leader of Natural Resources Management, Climate Change and DRR Unit, UNDP Lao PDR and the respective Project Coordinators, the position will work closely with the three GEF project Management Units (PMUs) as well as the key government counterparts at the Department of Water Resources (DWR), MONRE and the Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). 

This position will be located at, Vientiane Capital, with occasionally travel to project sites in the provinces of Savannakhet, Luang Prabang city, Xieng Khuang, Oudomxay, Luang Namtha and Bokeo. 

The MEL Analyst has overall responsibility for monitoring, evaluation, learning and results reporting activities for the project. Key tasks include:

• Set up and maintain a database for the management of the indicator framework.  In collaboration with data providers, identify data sourcing methods and agree on all aspects of budget, frequency, reporting, etc.
• Collect and document baseline information and provide monitoring data to key project management processes.
• Support project staff in the reporting of project activities and undertake quality assurance of project activities.
• Systematically document and disseminate project lessons. 
• Support monitoring project progress and provide inputs to annual and other progress reports ensuring that they meet the necessary reporting requirements and standards.
• Ensure project’s M&E meets the requirements of the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF)  
• Oversee and guide the design of surveys/ assessments commissioned for monitoring and evaluating project results.
• Assist Project Coordinators/ Managers in supporting project supervision missions, mid-term and terminal evaluations, or audits of the projects, including management responses.

Implementation of the Project M&E framework:

• Oversee and ensure the implementation of the project’s M&E plan, including periodic appraisal of the project’s results framework with reference to actual and potential project progress and results.
• Prepare a quarterly results tracker with key activities, indicators, baseline and targets under four result areas to obtain quarterly progress towards attainment of the annual results. 
• Undertake regular visits to the field to support implementation of MEL and to identify where adaptations might be needed. 
• Prepare draft TORs and evaluation questions for reviews and evaluations in accordance with UNDP guidance.
• Ensure that project’s results are well captured in the UNDP’s corporate platforms:  Integrated Work Plan, ROAR, Annual Business Plan, Strategic Plan reporting etc.

Capacity development

• Provide advice, support and recommend assistance to project management in regard to monitoring and evaluation, performance management/ monitoring and results reporting.
• Organize and provide training in MEL for project and counterpart staffs and primary stakeholders with view to developing local MEL capacity.

Lesson learning

• Working with the Chief Technical Advisor and Project Coordinator, support the design and implementation of a system to identify, analyse, document and disseminate lessons learned. 
• Document lessons learned by the project with a focus on results, impact and outcomes, and present these at least every 6 months.
• Facilitate annual reviews of the project and produce analytical reports from these annual reviews, including learning and other knowledge management products.
• Providing inputs to the development of a web-based monitoring and reporting and the updating of the project’s knowledge hub/ online portal.
• Visit project sites as and when required to appraise project progress on the ground and validate written progress reports (troubleshooting as needed).

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

• Multi-stakeholder engagement: Knowledge and ability to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships, and remove any obstacles to resource mobilization and multi-stakeholder funding platforms
• Strategic Engagement: Ability to capture and sustain attention, interest and agreement of high-level, influential policy and decision makers and secure their buy-in of high-level vision and objectives

• System Thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results
• Risk Management: Ability to identify and organize action around mitigating and proactively managing risks

• Nature, Climate and Energy: Water Governance: Integrated Water Resources Management; Climate Change Adaptation: Water Management.