Title: International Team Leader

Team: USAID/Nigeria MEL Support Activity

Project: USAID/Nigeria: Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity

Location: Federal Capital Territory – Abuja, Nigeria

Reporting to: Assessment and Evaluation Advisor

Employment Type: Independent Contractor / Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA)

Period of Performance: August 2023 – February 2024

Number of Positions: 1

Background:

Navanti supports a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Support Activity program that assists USAID/Nigeria in advancing its broader organizational learning and development efforts. This program strengthens the Mission’s capacity and performance in programmatic monitoring, evaluation, learning, collaborating, and adapting. The MEL Support Activity closely aligns with USAID/Nigeria’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and provides a broad range of specialized technical assistance, training, data gathering and analysis, field-based monitoring, evaluations and assessments, facilitation of organizational learning and adaptation initiatives, and short-term technical assistance.

Performance Evaluation Objectives:

USAID/Nigeria has engaged the MEL Support Activity to conduct a final performance evaluation of the Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity. The primary purpose of this final performance evaluation is to determine whether the assistance provided by USAID/Nigeria through the Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity achieved the stated development objectives and to understand the lessons learned from this Activity in Nigeria.

It is intended to provide an independent examination of the overall progress and accomplishments of the Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity. The evaluation should:

1. provide a detailed picture of the major accomplishments and weaknesses of the Activity since its inception and determine how its successes can be sustained.
2. provide data on outcomes and achievements.
3. elucidate the lessons learned and include specific recommendations to USAID/Nigeria about how the Activity achievements and successes can be sustained and
4. highlight how interventions that produced those achievements and successes can be adopted and scaled by other FTF activities, partners, private sector firms, or by the Government of Nigeria (GON).

The estimated start date will be August 28, 2023. The evaluation is expected to last until February 2024, and the estimated LOE will be 65 days, maximum.

Candidates are advised to submit applications early.

Position Description:

Navanti is seeking an International Team Leader who will be responsible for the overall management of the evaluation, including coordinating deliverables and ensuring a rigorous and high-quality evaluation. The Team leader develops the outline for the draft report, presents the report, and after incorporating USAID/Nigeria staff comments, submits the final report to USAID/Nigeria through Navanti within the prescribed timeline.

Locations:

• Benue State
• Cross River State
• Delta State
• Ebonyi State
• Kaduna State
• Kebbi State
• Niger State

Responsibilities:

Under the technical leadership of the MEL Support Activity, the team leader will be working alongside other team members. The team leader will consult with and facilitate input from all team members throughout the duration of the evaluation. In addition to the position description, the Team Leader will:

Preparations

1. Finalize and negotiate with USAID/Nigeria the team’s work plan.
2. Establish assignment roles, responsibilities, and tasks for each team member.
3. Ensure that the logistics arrangements in the field are complete.

Management

1. Take the lead on preparing, coordinating team member input, submitting, revising, and finalizing the assignment report.
2. Manage the process of report writing.
3. Manage team coordination meetings in the field.
4. Coordinate the workflow and tasks and ensure that team members are adhering to the schedule.

Communication

1. Ensure harmony within the team.
2. Serve as the primary interface with USAID/Nigeria and serve as the spokesperson for the team.
3. Debrief USAID/Nigeria as the evaluation progresses and organize a final debriefing.
4. Keep USAID/Nigeria apprised of progress challenges, work changes, team travel plans in the field, and report preparation via phone conversation or email at least once a week.
5. Serve as the primary interface with USAID/Nigeria for the submission of draft and final reports, and deliverables to USAID/Nigeria.
6. Make decisions in conjunction with USAID/Nigeria about the safety and security of the team.

Direction

1. Assume technical direction lead, as required, in order to ensure quality and appropriateness of assignment and report content.

Qualifications:

The candidate is expected to have the following qualifications:

• A graduate degree in Development Economics, Public Policy, Economics, Business Administration, Agriculture, or a related field.
• At least ten years of experience assessing or evaluating USAID and other donor-supported agricultural policy, finance and investment, and agricultural value chain activities.
• Previous experience serving as an evaluation Team Leader on a USAID-supported agriculture-related and/or access to finance activity.
• Previous experience working in Africa.
• Experience facilitating and providing leadership in collaborative and participatory evaluations with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• The ability to produce preliminary and final reports on time.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. Please, no phone calls.