Additional Grant for Emergency National Poverty Targeting Program Project – NPTP-AG

REPUBLIC OF LEBANON

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS

National Poverty Targeting Program

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Monitoring & Evaluation Officer

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

1. Introduction:

   Prior to the onset of the Syrian conflict and the inflow of large numbers of Syrian refugees, poverty in Lebanon was significant and regional disparities in living conditions were acute. The most recently completed Household Budget Survey (HBS 2011-12) shows that poverty in Lebanon was 27 percent (pre-Syrian crisis), which implies that about one million people had levels of consumption below the annual poverty line set at 4,729 thousand LBP per capita per year (US$3,150). Poverty is the lowest in Beirut (16%), followed by Mount Lebanon (22%) and Nabatieh (25%). The poorest regions are North Lebanon (36%) and the Bekaa (38%).

   The Syrian conflict is estimated to have increased poverty among the Lebanese population, pushing an additional 170,000 people into poverty in 2014 and making those already poor even poorer.[1] Indeed, according to the 2015-16 Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), the total vulnerable population in Lebanon today is approximately 3.3 million, of which 1.5 million Lebanese, 1.5 million Syrian refugees and 300,000 Palestinian refugees.

   With this in mind, in 2011, the Government of Lebanon (GoL) launched the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP), which seeks to identify and provide poor targeted Lebanese households social assistance that includes both health and education subsidies. In 2014, in response to rising poverty levels in communities hosting refugees and in order to help mitigate tensions between the refugee and Lebanese communities, the GoL, scaled up the NPTP (Emergency NPTP) to cover an increased number of poor Lebanese households, and improve the basket of benefits through the introduction of food assistance via an electronic card (e-card) targeting the poorest Lebanese households. To-date, NPTP benefits 105,000 households (or approximately 420,000 individuals), with the poorest 5,000 households (or approximately 27,209 individuals) benefiting from the e-card food voucher. The NPTP has established itself as Lebanon’s main social safety net program, playing a central role for donors, UN agencies, and other ministries in reaching poor and vulnerable host populations affected by the Syrian conflict. The NPTP is managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

   A recently approved US$10 million grant from the Lebanon Syria Conflict Trust Fund (LSCTF) will enable the GoL to both expand the coverage and further strengthen the services that are currently provided by NPTP. Specifically, through the new grant, the GoL will be able to: (i) continue to provide the e-card food voucher to the 5,000 poorest NPTP households, as well as  expand its coverage to the next 5,000 poorest NPTP households, for a total of 10,000 beneficiary households (or approximately 40,000 individuals); and (ii) pilot a “graduation” project (NPTP-G)[2], which will seek to promote increased and sustainable levels of income among some of the poorest NPTP households, in order to improve their overall relative poverty levels. To achieve this objective, NPTP-G will provide self-employment opportunities to male and female members of targeted NPTP households through the delivery of a comprehensive package of services, based on the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)/Ford Foundation graduation model that has been implemented in over 20 countries with high success.         

   Specialized agencies will be competitively hired to provide the different NPTP-G services to the targeted NPTP-G households. With regards specifically to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Field Work coordinators and selected MoSA social workers will benefit from a Training of Trainers (ToT) that will enable them to monitor that NPTP-G activities are carried out effectively and efficiently, as well as to provide life skills/coaching to the selected member of the targeted households.

    

   Objectives of the Assignment

   MoSA is looking to hire an expert to act as the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Officer for the NPTP. The NPTP M&E Officer will develop and manage the M&E system of the NPTP and its supported activities in Lebanon. The M&E Officer will plan and implement the day-to-day monitoring and evaluation activities at the program level, working closely with NPTP staff, external consultants, implementing agencies, and other relevant key stakeholders. Specifically, the M&E Officer will be responsible for overseeing the collection, analysis and reporting of aggregated NPTP data, as well as for monitoring progress and evaluating performance of program activities against all the key performance indicators included in the NPTP Results Framework.  Moreover, the officer will have M&E responsibilities and tasks at the household level. The officer will coordinate the post-distribution monitoring (PDM) of e-card food assistance provided by the NPTP; and will plan, develop, and oversee the implementation of a client monitoring system, which will track progress and assess performance of NPTP-G-supported activities at the household/individual level. Data collection will be carried out by those MoSA staff (Field Work Coordinators and social workers) who undergo the above-referenced ToT.

   The M&E officer will be part of the NPTP Project Implementation Unit (PIU) at MoSA, which together with the NPTP Central Management Unit (CMU) at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), is in charge of the implementation of NPTP.[3]

2. Scope of Work

   Under the supervision of the NPTP Manager/Coordinator and the NPTP-G Coordinator, and in close collaboration with PCM’s CMU and MoSA’s PIU teams, the M&E Officer is expected to undertake the following duties:

3. Qualifications

   Required:

    

4. Graduate degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Education or closely related field;
5. At least 5 years of professional experience, with a minimum of 2 years managing monitoring and evaluation activities in a multi-stakeholder environment;
6. Experience working with public sector and/or civil society organizations in designing, managing and/or implementing M&E systems;
7. Experience designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments, in particular surveys and focus groups;
8. Experience organizing and delivering M&E trainings and capacity building with local staff and key stakeholders;
9. Ability to communicate and coordinate with a wide range of actors, including donors and government officials;
10. Strong leadership skills to follow-up with the collection of data, analyses, and reporting;
11. Experience reporting clearly and comprehensively on a complex portfolio of activities;
12. Strong computer skills, particularly Excel; experience with other types of database, data analysis and management software being an added advantage (e.g., SPSS, Atlas, Nvivo, SAS, Stata, SQL, etc.);
13. Strong proficiency of English and Arabic, both oral and written;
14. Strong writing and editing skills, including the ability to translate academically-oriented ideas into clear, concise, and interesting communications pieces targeting a non-academic audience;
15. Strong interpersonal skills and pro-active approach to problem solving;
16. Ability to work independently under limited supervision;
17. Willingness to adhere to all MoSA policies and procedures.

 

Preferred:

 

18. Knowledge of/experience with poverty-targeted social assistance programs that support self- employment and provision of social services (e.g. education, health) and/or food assistance;
19. Experience in the delivery of coaching services and/or soft skills training;
20. Experience in planning, managing, and delivering ToT activities;
21. Experience in overseeing computer-based management information systems;
22. Strong proficiency of French, both oral and written, would be an asset.

 

 

23. Timing and Reporting

1. Support the update and development of NPTP’s M&E system at the program level, in close collaboration with PCM’s CMU team, MoSA’s PIU team, and the World Bank team supporting NPTP (10%):
   • Update the results framework of the NPTP, and ensure that it includes result indicators at the output and outcome levels as well as their baseline and target values for all program components –including the new NPTP-G Project;
   • Develop an overarching M&E plan for the NPTP, including results indicators, baseline and target values, key M&E deliverables and their intended use, data collection arrangements, M&E management (incl. database development, data quality control and verification, data analysis, reporting, etc.) and responsibilities, as well as M&E timeline and budget;
   • Develop and test data collection instruments based on the program’s monitoring needs and requirements specified in the M&E plan. This may include registration forms for enrollment in NPTP, guidelines/questionnaires to be used for focus groups, templates for activity/progress reports, monitoring & reporting forms, etc. These instruments will enable MoSA social workers to collect data related to the program’s components, thus ensuring comparable reporting on program inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes;
   • Support the integration and compatibility of the project’s M&E system with MOSA’s Management Information System as needed.
2. Collect, monitor, and report data regularly at the program level (30%)
   • Supervise and work closely with MoSA the Field Work Coordinators (FWC) and social workers in collecting monitoring data to determine whether project activities are being carried out as planned, and assess progress to-date as well as achievement of all key performance indicators.
   • Ensure the effective delivery of M&E products and services included in the NPTP M&E plan. Manage the information-gathering process, and provide quality data analysis to produce M&E monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports in a timely manner;
   • Regularly review monitoring indicators and the data collection process to ensure accuracy and consistency. Perform data quality assessments and make adjustments as needed;
   • Conduct regular visits to Social Development Centers, points of distribution of NPTP e-card food assistance, and NPTP-G project sites to carry out proper monitoring of project activities, and ensure compliance with operational procedures[4];
   • Report information obtained through M&E activities to the Director General of MOSA, and alert him/her of any implementation challenges or problems identified that need to be addressed for the succesfull completion of the program.
   • Draft monitoring reports and other reporting documents (e.g. briefings, summary notes, presentations, etc.), and provide timely information on the state of progress and achievements of the program to both internal and external stakeholders.
3. Coordinate, in close collaboration with PCM’s CMU and MoSA’s PIU teams the monitoring of NPTP’s e-card food voucher component (10%)
   • Coordinate the monthly collection of post-distribution monitoring (PDM) data of e-card food assistance beneficiary households;
   • Provide guidance and assistance to social workers for ensuring the timely collection and reporting to the Business Process Officer of high quality PDM monitoring data at the household level.
4. Develop and oversee the implementation of a client monitoring system for the NPTP-G component at the household level (20%)
   • Design a client monitoring system and oversee its implementation. The client monitoring system will enable MoSA to monitor and track progress of all NPTP-G financed activities at the household/individual level;
   • Develop data collection instruments for monitoring progress and assessing results of NPTP-G activities at the household/individual level;
   • Train the Field Work Coordinators and social workers on how to use the NPTP-G client monitoring system and its related instruments, to enable them to successfully collect data, report progress, and identify and alert of any problems/challenges encountered during implementation.
5. Support the implementation of NPTP evaluation activities, including impact and process evaluations (10%)
   • Support the design of impact and process evaluations. This includes providing substantial technical inputs to the Concept Notes that will be drafted for the evaluations, as well as to any other related documents;
   • Support the development of instruments for both impact and process evaluations;
   • Support field coordination, including supervising the data collection firm (s) that will be hired for the impact and process evaluations, and ensuring that data collection activities are timely and effectively carried out.
6. M&E capacity building for selected staff from Social Development Centers within MoSA (15%)
   • Carry out organizational assessments of MoSA staff to assess training needs relevant to monitoring, evaluation, and management information systems;
   • Conduct hands-on M&E training for MoSA social workers on data collection, monitoring, and progress reporting;
   • Manage M&E training activities for MoSA staff and other stakeholders as needed;
   • Advise MoSA staff on how to design and strengthen their M&E systems and provide ongoing technical assistance as needed.
7. Knowledge Management and Dissemination (5%)
   • Document good practices, lessons learned, trends, cross-cutting design and implementation issues, etc.;
   • Contribute to the production and diffussion of policy notes, reports, case studies, research papers, presentations, etc to enhance the dissemination of program achievements and lessons learned;

      

The selected candidate will be hired for an initial duration of one year, with the possibility of renewal based on satisfactory performance. Pay will be commensurate with the candidate’s capabilities and experience. The selected candidate will provide a timesheet and monthly report along with his or her monthly invoice for payment. The selected candidate will be paid on a monthly basis, provided basic monthly reports and deliverables are in good standing, and he or she is fulfilling the obligations listed in these Terms of Reference. The selected candidate will work closely with the NPTP-G Project Sub-Coordinator, who will serve as his or her direct supervisor. The NPTP M&E Officer will report to the Director General of MOSA. The selected candidate will be based in Beirut, Lebanon. Regular travel within Lebanon is expected.