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improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. Our staff of
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The
Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) program is a joint initiative between the
Australian Government and BAPPENAS (The National Planning Agency) to improve
the quality of public policies in Indonesia through the use of research,
analysis and evidence. The program seeks to achieve this by supporting the
capacity building of think tanks, to improve the quality of their research to
meet policy maker’s needs, improve systems and regulations in government to
support research-based policy making, and to develop effective models for
procuring and using research to strengthen policies in education, health and
social protection that will benefit the country’s poor. The program, projected
to be 15 years in duration, began implementation in May 2013.
The overall goal of KSI is that Indonesia has the capacity
to develop effective and socially accountable policies that meet priority
development needs. Revitalising the Indonesian knowledge sector is an enormous
effort, well beyond the scope of any one agency or development partner. DFAT’s
objective in supporting this program is to catalyse reform efforts by providing
its partners with a framework and resources to drive a reform process. It does
not do everything. Designing the program interventions required striking a
balance between the need for a comprehensive approach to knowledge sector
reform and realism about what can be achieved with limited capacities,
resources, and timeframes.
Nevertheless, analysis suggests that in Indonesia
the time is ripe for launching this change.
KSI will use a research approach to performance assessment.
This will have two dimensions:
- At the impact level, establishing and testing a basic hypothesis.
- At the outcome and output levels, measuring key hypotheses.
RTI International as the managing
contractor for the Knowledge Sector
Initiative (KSI) Project is seeking highly qualified candidates to fill the
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E
Officer) position to be based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Position Summary:
The objectives of the assignment are as follows:
- At the impact level, the basic hypothesis is that targeted support to the knowledge to policy process will improve Indonesia’s overall ability to produce and use high-quality evidence for policy-making. An important role of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework for the program will therefore be to test this hypothesis.
- To work with the Senior M&E Specialist, Lead Technical Advisor, M&E Manager and the Senior Management team to implement the design needed for impact, process and impact evaluations as needed to test, measure and research the effectiveness of the program, its components and the knowledge to policy cycle.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the
direction of the M&E Manager, the three M&E Officers will support the
delivery of all operational aspects of the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. They will work in close coordination with the
M&E Manager, the Lead Technical Adviser, and at times, the Senior
Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist.
- To support the M&E Manager help set broad parameters for measuring the overall success of components and hypothesis testing for measuring program success. Provide support to all Component Leaders in implementation of the M&E Framework.
- Support the development of a robust M&E framework as well as plans at the program and component levels, and the key measures of progress and tools to monitor both service delivery (notably in terms of capacity building) and research to policy improvements.
- Support and at times, manage under the supervision of the M&E Manager, operational research, research design, evaluation design, data collection, data management, data presentation and report writing for the project, including regular and required reporting to DFAT.
- Work collaboratively with national level counterparts (e.g., from BAPPENAS, Supply Side Organisations and Balitbangs, and others) to ensure buy-in and assist the Senior Management Team in capacity building for various stakeholders.
- Support the M&E Manager in meeting additional evaluation data requirements from the KSI team and DFAT.
1. Experience
Essential
- Experience implementing M&E systems for programs in resource constrained settings.
- Demonstrated practical experience in research or evaluation design and implementation.
- Demonstrated experience in a research environment or in a policy environment.
- Demonstrated ability to breakdown and communicate complex concepts simply with a range of stakeholders in multi-cultural settings.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver M&E capacity building activities for implementation teams.
- Demonstrated ability to facilitate learning from, and response to, M&E findings with implementation teams and other relevant stakeholders.
Desirable
- Demonstrated experience in the delivery of development programs. This is required to ensure that the Officers are sensitive to the difficulties of implementing development programs in complex settings, that the design is feasible, and that the M&E systems meet the needs of all relevant stakeholders.
- Demonstrated commitment to keeping up to date with the theoretical and practice developments in the field of evaluation.
2. Terms
of Reference
- Provide regular support to the implementation of the M&E Plan, assuring the quality of the M&E system implementation and providing technical support for the collection, analysis and interpretation of data.
- Support the implementation of a capacity building plan to develop, monitor and evaluate relevant M&E skills internal to the project team and with KSI partners, and to ensure that there is an enabling environment in place to implement the M&E plan.
- Support the compilation of KSI progress reports that meet the requirements of DFAT and other primary users of the information such as national partners. An evidence-based, timely contribution to the Quality at Implementation Reports, Independent Progress Reports and Activity Completion Reports should be prepared where requested. Reports must reflect an analytical contribution where the implications of findings are explored, not simply reported.
- Contribute to the intellectual development of KSI during implementation. Working as a facilitator, support the implementation team and other relevant stakeholders to learn from, interpret and respond to M&E findings over the life of the initiative.
- Under the guidance and support of the M&E Manager and the Senior M&E Specialist, support the development of the methodology for the collection and analysis of data on the contractor performance indicators.
- Provide on-going training and guidance to other national team members to ensure that they understand the purpose and objectives of the M&E Plan and to help them fulfil their roles in implementing the Plan.
Required Qualifications:
- At least five years of professional experience and demonstrated research design and monitoring and evaluation experience. Experience in policy research and knowledge to policy theory a plus.
- Master's Degree and/or PhD in relevant social science or policy field.
- Excellent communication, facilitation and inter-personal skills. Ability to work well within a team and to work effectively with government and non-government stakeholders in the field.
- Excellent writing skills in Bahasa Indonesia. Fluency and strong capacity to read and write reports in English.
- Experience in one of the initial priority sectors (health, education, social protection) of KSI an asset.
Interested candidates should send
the following documentations: Application
letter and CV with 3 referees. Please indicate the position you are
applying for in the email subject, and submit the application by 24 June 2014 to
hr@ksi-indonesia.org.
RTI values equal employment
opportunities. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
Only
short listed candidates will be contacted.
