Post Title: Project Coordinator,
GCAP-Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (Ghana)
Reports to: Deputy Country
Director and Research Manager
Project: Commercial
Agriculture
Location: Accra,Ghana and will involve frequent travel to rural
areas of Ghana.
Deadline to Apply: October 31,
2013; Applicants are reviewed on a rolling base
Desired Start Date and Duration:
ASAP or November 1; 2 year commitment required
Background Information:
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit
research organization. Based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C.
and worldwide, IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to
create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, to communicate
“what works” in development and to scale up successful projects in a variety of
fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.
Position Summary:
Innovations for Poverty Action is seeking a Project Coordinator to assist
with the design and implementation of the impact evaluations that will take
place as part of the GCAP Project. The Project Coordinator will be based in Ghana. The
Project Coordinator will work closely with the World Bank’s Africa Region
Gender Innovation Lab; the Government of Ghana’s Project Coordination Unit for
GCAP; and any Ghana-based survey or research firms that may be assisting with
the impact evaluation.
This position involves working with a cluster of interventions, a number of
different partners, and Government and private sector counterparts. This
Project Coordinator will have primary responsibility for day to day supervision
and management of the GCAP impact evaluations’ fieldwork, but will also play a
key role in helping design the impact evaluations, and identifying and creating
opportunities within GCAP for rigorous impact evaluation.
Innovations for Poverty Action is working with the World Bank and the
Government of Ghana on impact evaluations being carried out as part of the
Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP). GCAP aims to increase agricultural
productivity and improve livelihoods via increased access to land, private
sector finance, and input- and output-markets by smallholder farms and others
engaged in commercial agriculture in the Accra Plains and Savannah Accelerated
Development Authority (SADA) zone.
The Accra Plains component of GCAP is more focused geographically in its
design, and will involve fewer counterparts. It is centered around the Kpong
Irrigation Project (KIP) – a state-managed irrigation scheme ostensibly for
small-holder rice farmers. Kip covers an area of 1,825 hectares, and the plan
under GCAP is to rehabilitate the existing system and to develop an additional
7,260 ha. Reflecting the PPP approach, an investor will be sought to take on
both the work of rehabilitating the existing system, building the expansion,
and operating the entire system. The SADA zone component of GCAP includes
increasing the total area under irrigation through bunding in inland valleys;
expanding warehousing capacity for crops; helping to generate new employment
opportunities on commercial farms and promoting new outgrower schemes between
nucleus commercial farmers and smallholders; and stimulating entrepreneurial
activity in agri-business.
The overall responsibility for implementing GCAP rests with the GoG, with
the World Bank providing constant implementation support throughout the
project. Rigorous impact evaluation has been incorporated as an integral part
of the Project, as all project partners are interested in learning throughout
the GCAP process, and incorporating lessons learned into the later phases of
the GCAP project, and other projects.
Impact Evaluation Focus and
Objectives
GCAP is comprised of a collection of interventions, all with the same
objective of promoting agricultural productivity and livelihoods. Within GCAP,
there is the opportunity to evaluate the impact of some of these interventions.
The plan is to create several distinct IEs as part of GCAP, each of which is
designed to evaluate the impact of different elements of GCAP’s approach. Some
possible impact evaluations that might take place under GCAP include:
(a) The impacts on smallholders of becoming outgrowers;
(b) The welfare, investment, and gender impacts of wage labor positions on
commercial farms;
(c) The impacts of a childcare intervention on women’s labor supply and
productivity;
(d) The impacts of warehouses on
smallholder’s post-harvest losses and profits;
(e) The impacts of an agricultural input voucher subsidy and advance
purchase scheme on smallholder’s input use and productivity, and on
agri-businesses’ growth and profitability;
(f) Testing nucleus farmers’
provision of agricultural extension, in contrast with a public cell-phone based
agricultural extension service;
(g) Measuring and mitigating risks
associated with weather-based crop failures and their impacts on smallholders’
investments and futures;
(h) Measuring the long-term welfare impacts of land use agreements signed
with large investors on land owners and original inhabitants of the land; and
(i) Identifying the most effective land dispute resolution mechanisms, Accra
Plains. The final selection of which impact evaluations to take place will be
made by the impact evaluation team, in consultation with the Government of
Ghana, and in response to how the project evolves, as the PPP approach of the
project requires that designs are adapted as partnerships are formed and
developed.
Responsibilities:
Effective Cooperation
Provide daily coordination between the impact evaluation
team and the project implementation team, ensuring that concerns are
effectively communicated between parties, flagging emerging issues that may be
of potential concern to one or both parties, and in general ensuring that
effective and productive collaboration is maintained.
Work closely with the project implementation unit (PIU)
to ensure that design and roll-out of interventions accommodate, to the extent
possible, the impact evaluation. Help identify which interventions will form
part of the impact evaluations.
Help ensure that all project implementation activities
are in accordance with the impact evaluation design, i.e., in a way that
supports and does not damage the impact evaluation.
For interventions that form part of the impact
evaluation, work with these subprojects on recruitment, targeting, and
selection of beneficiary smallholders. Help ensure that targets are met on
time, and that all is done in accordance with the study design. And help ensure
that benefits are rolled out only to the smallholders selected by the impact
evaluation team.
Cooperate effectively with all project implementation
agencies and co-workers, as well as national, provincial, and local government
officials, and any other stakeholders or external collaborators.
Baseline, Midline, and Endline Survey Design and Data Collection Management
Support the impact evaluation team creating baseline,
midline, and endline survey instruments.
Design data collection instruments and protocols;
recruit, hire and supervise Surveyorss to collect and enter data; and compile
and summarize the data. Oversee and monitor data collection and survey field
work, including planning, logistics, hiring, and training. For each data
collection effort, ensure data quality, integrity of analysis, and adherence to
budget.
Conduct qualitative research to inform research and
survey design.
Run pilot survey exercises, provide feedback on field
operations and survey instruments, and monitor improvements.
Provide quality control for collected data through data
cleaning and analysis.
Provide close, on-site supervision of data collection,
while surveys are ongoing.
Report Writing and Analysis
Keep both the rest of the impact evaluation team and
relevant members of the project implementation team routinely updated on
activities, concerns, and decisions that need to be made. Provide routine
updates on activities, plans, and any observations or emerging findings that
may be of importance to the PIU and the impact evaluation team.
Communicate regularly with relevant members of the PIU
and impact evaluation leadership on matters including finance and logistics.
Write up reports on findings from qualitative investigations
on particular matters.
Write reports with feedback and analysis on relevant
project implementation progress.
Write reports with feedback and analysis of how the
survey instruments seem to be working.
Assist in the analysis of the survey data, and the
writing of project reports, academic papers, and policy memos. Important
note: the Project Coordinator will NOT be listed as a co-author on the papers
that result from this project.
Review monitoring reports and help identify the causes of
potential bottlenecks in project implementation.
Resource Management and Supervision
Prepare a budget and track and oversee expenditures
for all activities and expenses related to impact evaluation, keeping
activities on budget, initiating changes to the budget where needed, and
figuring out ways to control costs. Prepare and produce Terms of Reference for
individuals and firms hired to support the impact evaluation activities; ensure
that qualified individuals and firms are selected; and supervise those hired to
ensure that work is carried out in accordance with specifications and plans.
Capacity Building
As needed, organize and conduct capacity-building and
training workshops to support and strengthen the Project’s M&E, including
with data collection consultants, external partners involved in data
collection, primary stakeholders and the various partner organizations involved
in implementing the Project.
Organize (and provide) refresher training in M&E and
impact evaluation for project and implementing partner staff, local
organizations and primary stakeholders, in line with the Project’s objectives.
Collaborate with staff and implementing partners on
qualitative monitoring to provide relevant information for ongoing evaluation of
project activities, effects and impacts.
Qualifications:
A Master's degree in economics, social sciences, public
policy, or related fields;
Training in development economics;
A strong conceptual grasp of how to design rigorous
impact evaluations, including randomized controlled trials, is required.
Experience actually designing and running rigorous impact evaluations is
preferred;
Experience in designing survey questionnaires, and
analyzing quantitative survey data, is preferred;
Prior work or volunteer experience in development in
developing countries a plus;
Experience living and conducting field research in a
developing country is a strong plus;
Excellent management and organizational skills along with
strong quantitative skills;
The ability to present positions and to negotiate with
senior officials;
Fluency and excellent communication skills in English;
Flexibility, self-motivation, the ability to manage
multiple tasks efficiently as a team player.
Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships
with partner organizations.
Knowledge of Stata (strongly preferred), SAS, or other
data analysis software
Well organized, detail-oriented, able to prioritize, and
manage multiple tasks simultaneously with minimal supervision.
Project management experience, as well as experience
supervising, designing, and implementing data collection and/or field work
activities, and managing teams of field workers, is preferred.
Several years of relevant work experience preferred.
Application Instructions:
Please follow the application instructions below. Any applications or
CVs submitted outside this process will not be considered. Note, only
short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview. Applicants will be
reviewed on a rolling basis.
1) Send an email to info-ghana@poverty-action.org and cc
jobs@poverty-action.org, following these instructions exactly:
In the email body: Copy exactly the following position
line: 100985 IPAGhana, Project Coordinator Commercial Agriculture
Attachments: Please attach ONLY your CV and cover letter.
In the subject line: Put your full name, first (given)
name followed by last (family) name.
Please do not include any text besides your name in the body of the e-mail.
Adding extra text will interfere with the processing of your application
2) Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application indicating that you are
interested in applying for a "Type 3: Research Manager or Project
Coordinator" position. Please include two letters of recommendation,
statement of purpose, CV, and transcripts.
IPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer
All persons shall have the opportunity to be considered for employment
without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry,
alienage or citizenship status, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation,
veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal,
state or local laws.
IPA will endeavor to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified
applicant with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue
hardship on the operation of our business. If you believe you require such
assistance to complete this form or to participate in an interview, please
contact us at jobs@poverty-action.org.
Read more information from the
original posting by following the link below;
http://poverty-action.org/getinvolved/jobs/Africa/IPAGhana100985
Friday, October 18, 2013
Project Coordinator, GCAP-Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (Ghana)
2:13 AM
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