Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) Expert 

Selam is a Pan-African organisation with offices in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Stockholm. The organisation was created in 1997 and has since evolved into an international player, partnering with artists, cultural producers, the private sector, the media, institutions, researchers, and national and regional governments across the African continent as well in other regions in the world. 

Selam participates in global and African culture networks, as well as annual networking meetings and Pan-African conferences in Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. Selam has implemented several regional and national projects on the African continent. Currently Selam implements, together with partners, two Pan-African projects, PANAF and Connect for Culture Africa (CfCA) and one national project in Ethiopia. 

The CfCA initiative, implemented by Selam in partnership with the African Union (AU), aims to promote and develop the culture and creative sector within the AU member states. One key objective of the initiative is to lobby for increased public funding in the culture sector from government sources. 

To support the CfCA project in achieving its objectives, Selam is seeking to hire a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) officer. The officer will be based in Nairobi, Kenya or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing the overall planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning of the project in accordance with existing work and monitoring plans. The candidate will further develop new PMEL routines and work closely with staff and partners to support these functions across the project. 

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The MEL expert will be part of the CfCA implementing team and work closely with the program directors and coordinators both at Selam’s head-quarter (HQ) in Stockholm and regional offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

The expert will be the main party responsible for ongoing monitoring of the project’s progress against its objectives. This includes: 

• Preparing and implementing tools for data collection, such as evaluation surveys, interview questions etc.
• Developing new routines and procedures for MEL at the organisation and implementing these together with program managers
• Internal capacity building of Selam’s staff.
• Writing monthly output reports, six-month outcome reports and annual reports to donors. ● Support partners work with MEL continuously and collect information about outputs and outcomes.

The expert will be expected to have a flexible approach and be ready to accept working tasks outside of the original work description to support the rest of the project team when needed. 

3. TIME FRAME

The position is a full time one-year assignment with the possibility of extension. The successful candidate is expected to commence in April 2024. 

4. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERTISE 

As the MEL expert in Selam’s regional program team you should have at least three years of experience from Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of international development projects in African contexts. 

• You have deep knowledge of results-based management and reporting against outcomes, with a strong focus on learning. You are familiar with results frameworks based on a Theory of Change and have knowledge of outcome harvesting/mapping and similar methods.
• You have either led the MEL work in a medium-size civil society organisation or have been part of a larger MEL program team.
• You have experience from reporting to different international donors.
• You have experience from supporting your colleagues on how to strengthen their monitoring and reporting, as well as from providing technical support to partner organisations in their planning and reporting processes.
• You have a good understanding of MEL challenges in smaller/new civil society organisations. ● You have full proficiency in English and excellent reporting skills.
• Your formal education should ideally be related to the field of development cooperation and MEL, but proving relevant working experience from MEL is equally important. ● You have good knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, and different MEL tools.

It is further desirable if the candidate: 

• Knowledge of other languages, especially French, Portuguese and/or Swahili. 

You are happy to work both independently and in a team, and appreciate working in a dynamic and diverse work environment. We do not expect you to have knowledge of the culture and creative sectors but welcome a person that is passionate about culture’s role in democratic and inclusive societies. 

You must be based in either Nairobi, Kenya or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. If based in Nairobi, the candidate must have a licence to work as an independent consultant. 

5. APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested individuals are invited to submit a detailed CV and cover letter along with any other relevant documentation to cfcafrica@selam.se no later than 29 March. 

6. SELECTION PROCESS

The CfCA project team will evaluate the proposals based on the provided information. Only successful candidates will be contacted.