M&E Consultant: School Education Programme Algeria

About the project

The British Council is seeking expressions of interest from Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) experts with experience of working on basic education programmes to support a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded programme in Algeria which is focused on improving teaching and learning in schools. The programme will work with the Ministry of National Education in Algeria to support its national education reform priorities through the development of improved capacity at ministry, inspectorate and school level around pedagogy, school leadership, and quality assurance.

The programme will work primarily through a core representative cohort of school inspectors and school leaders, selected by the ministry, who will be responsible for implementing change within Algerian schools. It is the aim of the ministry to eventually cascade to all schools in Algeria any capacity-building developed through the programme. In order to monitor and evaluate the impact of the programme outcomes we will work with a selection of pilot schools from across Algeria.

Up to 50 days are available for a Monitoring and Evaluation Lead until the end of March 2018. Up to 10 of those will be spent in Algeria. Dependent on continuation of funding until March 2019, a further 50 days will be required.

About the role

We are looking for an expert, either an individual or part of an institutional team, who can:

• develop a full theory of change, MEL framework, and MEL plan for the programme 
• design appropriate MEL tools to capture the impact of the programme over its lifetime
• support capacity building and provide training to programme staff on how to use the MEL tools
• lead the continuous collection and analysis of date, and ensure outcomes are fed back into the MEL process and to the project team to inform any necessary revisions
• write a summary evaluation report by the end of March 2018 including recommendations for next steps. 

A project kick-off meeting will take place in Algiers at the end of August, which the appointed MEL expert will be required to attend.

Most of the work can be home-based, but travel to Algeria, for up to 10 days, will be required. 

Qualifications and experience required

Interested candidates should have the following qualifications, skills and professional experience.

Essential

• Master’s degree in a related field or more than than five years’ experience of leading monitoring, evaluation and learning for international development programmes in the area of reform in school education systems 
• Stakeholder relationship management skills, including evidence of leading work with government ministries in developing or emerging countries 
• Diplomatic, culturally-sensitive approach and ability to represent the British Council in a professional manner
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to work as part of a team
• Excellent writing and analytical skills combined with a high degree of competence in report writing. 
• Experience of supporting international development programmes in the following areas, with a focus on reform in school education systems:

- Developing theories of change and MEL frameworks 

- Designing practical tools to capture MEL data 

- Building capacity and delivering training on MEL

- Leadership of remote teams to conduct fieldwork

- Designing and overseeing research on topics related to reform in school education systems 

- Production of evaluation reports to meet funder requirements. 

Desirable

• Experience in and/or understanding of the Middle East and North Africa, with proven knowledge of the challenges facing the education system in Algeria an advantage
• Excellent and effective (verbal and written) communication skills in French and/or Arabic.

For more information and to apply, please go to the British Council’s e-Tendering portal. You will be required to register on the portal if you have not done so previously.

Please quote project reference number BC/00347 and/or project title ‘Short-Term Consultancy Opportunity: Monitoring and Evaluation of School Education Programme in Algeria’.

If you have any difficulties accessing the in-tend portal, please contact susan.linklater@britishcouncil.org.