Job Opportunity: Monitoring Systems Manager – ForAfrika Apply by 17 December 2025
ForAfrika—an African-founded and African-led organisation with over 40 years of impact—continues to advance its vision of a thriving Africa through humanitarian, development, and social enterprise initiatives.
Operating across multiple countries, the organisation supports millions each year with interventions in clean water, food security, health, education, and livelihoods.
Central to this mission is a commitment to evidence-based programming and accountability, led by the Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (DMEAL) unit.
Role Overview
The Monitoring Systems Manager plays a critical leadership role within the DMEAL unit, guiding the development and maintenance of robust, organisation-wide monitoring systems. This position ensures data-driven decision-making across ForAfrika’s humanitarian and development portfolio by strengthening real-time data collection, indicator tracking, and performance monitoring.
The Manager works through matrix relationships with country offices to uphold technical quality, support adaptive programming, and ensure alignment with ForAfrika’s 2032 vision.
Key Responsibilities
1. Monitoring Systems Development and Management
The Monitoring Systems Manager leads the creation and oversight of integrated monitoring systems that support consistent, high-quality evidence generation across diverse contexts.
Key responsibilities include:
- Developing organisation-wide monitoring frameworks aligned with ForAfrika’s results framework and strategic vision.
- Creating standardised protocols and tools that can be contextualised across country offices without compromising technical rigour.
- Ensuring monitoring approaches are participatory, community-centred, and capable of capturing both quantitative and qualitative data.
- Leading the configuration, optimisation, and governance of the ActivityInfo platform as the primary data management system.
- Establishing automated dashboards, data validation processes, and system security protocols.
- Coordinating with IT teams to ensure seamless integration between monitoring platforms and other organisational systems.
- Exploring new technologies that enhance data quality, efficiency, and field accessibility.
2. Quality Assurance and Technical Support
The Manager ensures that monitoring plans across all country offices meet internal standards, donor expectations, and global best practices.
Key responsibilities include:
- Reviewing and approving country-level monitoring plans for technical soundness and alignment with DMEAL standards.
- Ensuring indicator selection follows SMART criteria and appropriately reflects outputs, outcomes, and impact.
- Providing continuous technical support on indicator measurement, data collection methodologies, and monitoring plan adaptation.
- Leading training, workshops, and mentoring initiatives to strengthen DMEAL capacity across teams.
- Facilitating regular cross-country learning and technical troubleshooting sessions.
3. Data Analysis and Insights Generation
This role requires strong analytical expertise to transform raw monitoring data into actionable insights.
Key responsibilities include:
- Conducting advanced statistical analyses using R or Python, including regression modelling, time series analysis, and predictive analytics.
- Creating analytical frameworks that support real-time programme adaptation and early warning systems.
- Developing templates and guidance for routine data analysis at country level.
- Producing organisational-level meta-analyses to identify trends, risks, and learning opportunities.
- Presenting complex findings in accessible formats for diverse internal and external audiences.
4. Business Development Support
The Monitoring Systems Manager contributes technical leadership to proposal development for multi-country and strategic initiatives.
Key responsibilities include:
- Designing robust monitoring frameworks and logical measurement strategies for new proposals.
- Reviewing and quality assuring monitoring components of country office submissions.
- Ensuring monitoring budgets are realistic, comprehensive, and aligned with donor expectations.
- Advising on indicator selection, measurement approaches, and reporting mechanisms.
- Developing adaptable template frameworks for use across various donor and programme contexts.
5. Matrix Relationships and Coordination
This position requires close collaboration with other DMEAL functions and country teams to ensure cohesive, organisation-wide evidence generation.
Key responsibilities include:
- Providing day-to-day technical guidance to country DMEAL teams and overseeing the quality of submitted deliverables.
- Coordinating virtual support sessions and producing written technical guidance notes.
- Collaborating with the Evaluation and Research Manager to ensure complementarity between monitoring and evaluation activities.
- Working with the Knowledge Management and Learning Specialist to document and disseminate monitoring insights.
Knowledge, Skills, and Competencies
- Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Development Studies, or a related quantitative field.
- Minimum 7 years’ experience in M&E, including 4 years in monitoring systems management.
- Expertise with ActivityInfo or similar platforms.
- Strong quantitative research and advanced statistical analysis skills.
- Proven ability to build monitoring systems for complex, multi-country programmes.
- Demonstrated experience in capacity building and technical support.
- Advanced proficiency in R or Python for data analysis.
- Skilled in data visualisation, dashboard development, and results-based management.
- Familiarity with participatory monitoring, gender-responsive approaches, and donor compliance standards.
Key Performance Indicators
- Quality and timeliness of monitoring system implementation.
- Improvement in data completeness and accuracy.
- Effectiveness of technical support provided to country teams.
- Contribution to winning proposals through strong monitoring frameworks.
- Adoption of innovative monitoring tools and methods.
- Demonstrated capacity improvement across country DMEAL teams.
