Project Manager

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer (01)
Duty Station: To be based in Dindigul (Tamil Nadu), India
Reports to: Project Director/Technical Lead
Date of issue: 1st December 2023
About SEEDS Trust:

SEEDS Trust (Social Education and Environment Development Scheme Trust) is a non-profit, working for the development of livelihood of forest dependent communities and for the conservation of landscapes and species, in Tamil Nadu. It works on conservation plus initiatives, to ensure better landscapes to ensure better livelihood to the communities dependent on them. More details available in the organization website: www.seedstrust.org.in
The Project:
Currently SEEDS Trust is beginning an agroforestry project in the Ayyalur landscape of Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu, with the support of the Livelihoods Carbon Fund SICAV-RAIF-LCF3, Luxembourg. The main objective of the project will be to rehabilitate the degraded landscape and to achieve better livelihoods for the communities that are largely dependent on the surrounding forests.
The project will plant multi-purpose and fruit tree saplings in around 8,000 ha in private farmlands of about 8,000 families in the fringe villages of the proposed Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary. The income generation from the trees and other allied income generation activities promoted by the project are expected to reduce the pressure on the Ayyalur forest and improve the resilience of the communities, both of which will directly impact contribute to the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN at the larger level.
In order to facilitate the project implementation, SEEDS Trust seeks to recruit the services of one (01) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer on an annual contract basis, renewable based on annual performance evaluations. This is a full-time position, requiring local travel and will be based at Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

Main function
Reporting to the Project Director, the Monitoring & Evaluation Officer will be responsible for the overall monitoring, evaluation and learning needs of the project, by providing technical support to the team in managing the Project’s Information System and Applications (MIS, and App). The officer will be responsible for developing digital tools for capturing real time data on activities and Key performance indicators (KPIs) in line with SEEDS Trust and Livelihoods Venture requirements. The M&E officer will play a key role in promoting key learning functions and accountability for continuous improvement of the project and for wider learning of the organisation and stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:
• Develop and update the M&E plan for the project and ensure its implementation for timely project reporting, learning and improvement requirements.
• Transfer capacity and skills to project staff in terms of M&E and MIS usage
• To coordinate, supervise and be responsible of regular data collection and ensure quality of the data by random verifications and validations.
• To record, manage and preserve monitoring and evaluation data in MIS as required.
• To document and report project participants feedback and grievance resolution as required.
• To analyse and discuss findings based on regular monitoring of data.
• Provide technical support on M&E and evidence-based recommendations to the Project Manager and Partners.
• Support partners in conducting tree audits, carbon verification, annual surveys, interim evaluations, etc. and support the Project Management team in the creation of reports of the same.

Expected skills and competencies:
? Postgraduate degree in social or natural science discipline.
? Understanding the current M&E systems in development organizations
? Minimum experience of 3 years in monitoring and evaluation positions.
? Working experience in agroforestry or agriculture related projects involving GIS data collection and management will be an added advantage.
? Knowledge on non-timber forest products, forest rights etc will be added advantages.
? Skills in GIS and advanced Excel and other data management computer packages, Power Bi a plus.
? Skilled in MS Office (Excel, Word & Powerpoint) and data management computer packages; GIS knowledge a plus
? Excellent writing and presentation skills in English. Working knowledge of Tamil is important.
? Proactive and resourceful with good inter-personal skills, able to interact at all levels of the project.
? Result-oriented and self-motivated.
? Willing and able to travel and spend 60% of his/her time on the field.
? Ability to multi-task with tight deadlines/schedules and attention to details.

Contract Type: Annual (with a probationary period of three months), with a possibility of extension based on annual performance assessments. Salary corresponds to industry standards.
How to Apply: Interested candidates please submit your CV, and a cover letter addressed to the Project Director, SEEDS Trust, with two references from previous work and expected join date. Please send CV and all details as a single PDF document to jobs@seedstrust.org. We will be able to communicate only to the successful candidates selected for an interview.

Application Due Date: 25th December 2023 and tentative interview date around 1st week of January 2024.