Organizational Setting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Sri Lanka support national efforts to achieve food security and sustainable development in agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Under the leadership of the FAO Representative, the FAO Representation in Sri Lanka provides technical assistance and coordinates development initiatives aligned with national priorities. It leads monitoring and evaluation activities, stakeholder engagement, and strategic programmes such as the Hand-in-Hand initiative and the agriculture census, contributing to evidence-based decision-making and improved project outcomes.
Reporting Lines
Under the overall administrative supervision of the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka and the technical guidance and direct supervision of AFAOR (Programme), the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist is responsible for operational-level monitoring and evaluation of FAO development projects.
Technical Focus
The position focuses on field-level M&E implementation, participatory monitoring with beneficiaries, and facilitating the dissemination of good practices and results among projects. The M&E Specialist ensures upward accountability (towards the FAOR, government agencies, and development partners) and downward accountability (towards project beneficiaries and primary stakeholders).
Tasks and responsibilities
• Develop and maintain robust M&E frameworks for all development projects, including establishment of indicators, data collection methods, and monitoring schedules
• Apply monitoring instruments for individual projects, including project work plans, logical frameworks (log frames), monitoring plans, and progress against log frame tables
• Conduct participatory monitoring activities according to approved instruments, supporting AFAOR with engaging relevant key stakeholders including communities, beneficiaries, and implementing partners
• Work directly with project staff and support AFAOR with engaging implementing partners (Government, NGOs, CBOs) to ensure timely and accurate generation of information relating to performance indicators at field level
• Support the establishment and maintenance of community feedback mechanisms by assisting in the design of tools, materials and coordinating with projects staff to facilitate stakeholder training sessions led by official FAO representatives
• Develop, establish, and maintain comprehensive beneficiary databases for all representation-implemented projects, updating regularly with project activities
• Coordinate with M&E Officers of other FAO projects to ensure consistency in data collection methodologies and database management
• Assist in the preparation of periodic operational reports by compiling data and inputs from project teams, under the guidance of Project Managers, for onward sharing by FAO officials with Government counterparts, implementing partners and beneficiaries
• Support field monitoring visits to project sites to verify implementation progress and quality of activities
• Assess short and medium-term impacts of project interventions through systematic data collection and analysis
• Support AFAOR to work closely with relevant stakeholders to set up overall M&E system strategy and implementation of related activities within projects and via partners
• Identify and document good practices, lessons learned, and success stories from field-level implementation for dissemination
• Provide support to AFAOR for training and capacity building to project partners on M&E tools, data collection, and reporting requirements
• Update and review M&E frameworks periodically based on implementation experience and changing project needs
• In coordination with AFAOR support the implementation of the H-in-H project for Sri Lanka
• Support the work for agriculture census in Sri Lanka in close consultation with RAP
• Work closely with Sr. Coordinator- Monitoring and Reporting to update the DSS Platform
• Undertake any other tasks assigned by the supervisor or relevant duties in support of efficient implementation of projects
CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING
Minimum Requirements
• University degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Social sciences or any other related discipline. An advanced university degree in a related discipline is considered an asset
• Minimum 4 years of relevant work experience in Monitoring and Evaluation
• Working knowledge of English and Sinhala/Tamil Is required
• National of Sri Lanka or resident of the country with valid work permit
FAO Core Competencies
• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement
Selection Criteria
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including data analysis and reporting functions