Counterpart International is implementing the USDA Food for Progress (FFPr) Promoting Rural Infrastructure, Modernization, and Efficiency (PRIME) project, which aims to modernize Morocco's slaughterhouse and cold-chain infrastructure across the livestock value chain, contributing to improved food safety, market efficiency, agricultural productivity, and trade. Aligned with Morocco's Generation Green 2030 strategy and USDA Food for Progress objectives, PRIME will strengthen regulatory compliance, build institutional and workforce capacity, facilitate public and private investment, and improve market access through enhanced traceability and consumer awareness. Working with government institutions, private-sector actors, and technical partners, PRIME aims to mobilize substantial public and private financing for infrastructure modernization and support 125 slaughterhouses in improving hygiene and food safety practices. The project will promote sustainable, market-driven improvements that strengthen Morocco's livestock sector while creating opportunities for agricultural trade and commercial cooperation between Morocco and the United States. Job Profile Counterpart is seeking a qualified Monitoring, and Evaluation (M&E) Manager to lead the design, implementation, and oversight of a robust MEL system for the USDA-funded PRIME Morocco Food for Progress project. The M&E Manager will ensure that project performance measurement, evaluation, learning, and reporting are aligned with USDA Food for Progress requirements, the approved project Results Framework and Theory of Change, and Counterpart standards. The M&E Manager will lead timely collection, verification, analysis, visualization, and use of high-quality quantitative and qualitative data to support accountability, adaptive management, learning, and continuous improvement. The position will work closely with the Chief of Party, technical teams, implementing partners, relevant Government of Moroccan institutions, regulatory authorities, private-sector stakeholders, and implementing partners, and Counterpart's Global MEL team. The ideal candidate will bring demonstrated experience leading MEL for complex agricultural market systems and/or food systems programs, preferably under USDA Food for Progress or comparable donor-funded programs. Relevant technical experience should include livestock and/or poultry value chains, food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems, slaughterhouse or agro-processing modernization, cold-chain and post-production systems, agricultural trade and market access, access to finance, private-sector engagement, and institutional capacity strengthening

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, implementation, and periodic updating of the project's MEL Plan, including the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), Results Framework, Performance Indicator Reference Sheets (PIRS), performance indicator tracking tables, annual targets, data collection tools, and learning agenda in accordance with USDA requirements.
• Provide technical oversight and coordination for independent baseline, midterm, and final evaluations, including development and review of evaluation terms of reference, methodologies, sampling approaches, instruments, reports, dissemination products, and management responses.
• Lead implementation of the project's non-experimental mixed-methods evaluation approach, including contribution analysis, outcome harvesting, triangulation of quantitative and qualitative evidence, longitudinal/panel measurement, organizational assessments, and enterprise-level surveys, as appropriate.
• Establish and maintain measurement systems for PRIME's key results, including slaughterhouse modernization and compliance, food safety and SPS practices, post-production efficiency and food loss, cold-chain capacity, enterprise sales and throughput, access to finance and investment, institutional performance, and adoption of improved practices.
• Ensure appropriate measurement of Food for Progress Strategic Objectives, including clear documentation of contribution pathways and consistency between activities, results, indicators, and targets.
• Establish and maintain clear beneficiary definitions, counting methodologies, disaggregation requirements, and procedures to prevent double counting across project activities, value-chain actors, and indicators.
• Lead development and implementation of project MEL systems and tools, including digital data collection instruments, indicator databases, data-flow protocols, feedback mechanisms, and standard operating procedures.
• Lead the project's MEL data management system, including offline-capable digital data collection, data validation and verification, secure storage, access controls, regular backups, supporting documentation, data visualization, and reporting through approved platforms such as DevResults, KoboToolbox, Power BI, or other project-approved systems.
• Establish and implement data quality assurance procedures, including routine data verification, periodic data quality assessments (DQAs), source-document reviews, data cleaning, site-level verification, corrective action tracking, and documentation of data limitations.
• Ensure timely and accurate analysis and visualization of quantitative and qualitative data using appropriate statistical and analytical software.
• Coordinate MEL activities and data-sharing arrangements with relevant Moroccan government institutions, training providers, financial institutions, slaughterhouses, private-sector actors, and implementing partners, ensuring consistent indicator definitions, reporting standards, and data quality requirements.
• Strengthen MEL capacity among project staff, implementing partners, grantees, and relevant local stakeholders through coaching, training, technical assistance, and routine feedback.
• Collaborate with third-party evaluators and consultants conducting external evaluations, baseline, midline and endline, and other project learning activities while safeguarding evaluator independence.
• Produce high-quality performance reports, dashboards, data summaries, evaluation inputs, and other MEL deliverables required for USDA reporting and project management.
• Facilitate adaptive management and learning through semi-annual performance reviews, pause-and-reflect sessions, stakeholder consultations, after-action reviews, evaluation dissemination, and systematic follow-up on recommendations and agreed actions.
• Analyze performance data and generate actionable insights for the Chief of Party and technical teams, including early identification of deviations from targets, implementation bottlenecks, emerging risks, and opportunities for program adaptation.
• Ensure systematic capture, documentation, and dissemination of learning across the project and contribute to cross-project learning and strategic support across Counterpart's USDA portfolio.
• Collaborate closely with Counterpart's Global MEL and program teams to ensure alignment of field-level MEL activities with organizational standards, technical strategies, and USDA requirements.
• In coordination with the Director of Finance and Risk Management and the Grants and Procurement Manager, support the design and management of systems to track cost-share and leveraged resources, ensuring consistent definitions, supporting documentation, and compliance with USDA requirements and Counterpart policies.
• Collaborate with the Grants team throughout grant-making and implementation, including review of applications, participation in relevant review processes, establishment of grantee MEL requirements, oversight of grantee data collection, and review of indicator and MEL reports submitted by project beneficiaries.