State-Based Monitoring and Research Assistants (MRAs) at Palladium Group

Programme Background

• Propcom+ is a new, eight-year (2023-2030) rural and agricultural market development programme supporting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry that benefits people, climate and nature. The programme, implemented by The Palladium Group, aims to transform Nigeria's rural economy by addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges in the country's food and land-use system. It will do this by (i) increasing productivity, improving nutrition and food security, (ii) enhancing climate resilience, pursuing lower emissions, and protecting and restoring nature, and (iii) helping tackle some of Nigeria’s underlying drivers of conflict and insecurity.
• The programme seeks to stimulate sustainable pro-poor climate-resilient growth in selected rural markets.  It does this by working as a ‘market facilitator’, identifying constraints in market systems and facilitating changes to enable rural markets to work better for the benefit of poor and climate-vulnerable smallholder farmers and rural small-scale entrepreneurs. 
• Propcom+ aims to increase the incomes and climate resilience of 3.79 million poor and vulnerable men and women in Nigeria, 50% of whom will be women, through a “3Ps” approach of interlinked components:
• P1: Scaling up a focused basket of Proven climate-smart interventions around agricultural and primary processing/storage practices and models to get these adopted by millions of poor and vulnerable smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs.
• P2: Building markets by developing and Piloting new business models that improve productivity, enhance resilience to climate change, reduce emissions, and improve nutrition outcomes.
• P3: Enabling Policies that support a strengthened enabling environment for sustainable food and land-use system.

Purpose

• Propcom+ seeks to engage 5 individuals (male or female) to serve as monitoring and research assistants (MRAs) in Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Jigawa, and Kano, where programme interventions are ongoing. To be engaged in their respective states of residence, the MRAs will oversee data validation activities, market data collection, and primary data collection for various research purposes.

Scope

The MRAs are expected to carry out the following tasks:

• Review programme information, including intervention decks and implementation updates.
• Review related MERL information - intervention results chains, indicators, and indicator reference guidelines.
• Attend onboarding training, orientation, and other supplementary training to aid their understanding of the programme and its Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) requirements.
• Undertake field visits to programme intervention locations – visiting partners, market actors and end beneficiaries.
• Support partner market actors in implementing an electronic data collection system to ensure quality data flow from the point of collection to the partner systems. This may include training partners field-level data collectors to use electronic data collection tools and forms.
• Carry out a desk review of data submitted by programme partners and engage the partner focal persons to communicate improvement feedback.
• Conduct data validation/verification activities and spot checks following the desk reviews. This will be done through virtual interviews and in-person field visits to confirm the contents of datasets submitted by partners.
• Collect and track market-related data, including agricultural inputs and produce prices across key markets in assigned states.
• Support programme-commissioned surveys, evaluation and research by reviewing field data collection schedules, mobilising respondents, leading consultants to designated data collection sites, pilot-testing data collection tools, collecting data, transcribing recorded interviews, and supervising the data collection as required.
• Identify success stories and case studies; collect preliminary data and work with the programme Knowledge Management teams to develop the knowledge products.
• Take photographs and short video clips of programme intervention activities, and liaise with the intervention partners to obtain intervention-related photos and video clips and share with the Communications team
• Lead other programme consultants and stakeholders to programme locations, partners and beneficiaries; provide translation services as required.
• Attend programme events and activities within assigned states as required.
• Submit activity-based reports and month-end reports detailing completed activities and outputs, attaching relevant means of verification such as pictures, attendance sheets, etc.

Location, Timing and Duration of Assignment

• Each MRA is expected to work in their state of residence. The timeline for the assignment is from 1 August 2024 to 31 March 2025. This assignment will be provided on a call-down basis. From the above scope of work, specific work orders will be generated and executed monthly, as needed, to clarify the expected tasks and Level of Effort (LoE) and deliverables.

Management Arrangements

• The MRAs will report to the MERL Manager, who will be closely supported by the MERL Specialists. Close collaboration is expected with members of the various intervention implementation teams.

Expected Qualifications, Competencies and Experience

• Successful candidates are expected to have the following qualifications, experience and tools:
• A degree holder in any agricultural discipline, social sciences and related fields.
• Demonstrated strong data collection skills - evidence of carrying out primary data collection for agricultural-based surveys in Northern Nigeria.
• Intermediate use of Microsoft Excel application for data entry, validation checks, and preliminary pivot table analysis.
• Intermediate use of Microsoft Word application to write activity-based and monthly reports.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to speak and write in both Hausa and English languages.
• Ownership of a functional Laptop and Android mobile phone.