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E3 - Monitoring and Evaluation Career Growth: 4 Practical Tips for Choosing Your Next Job

by Godfrey Senkaba
January 17th 2021
00:12:43
Description

Godfrey Senkaba – discusses four important factors to consider when deciding if the next job will take you to a higher level in your monitoring and evaluation career.

 [00:34] Hello, everyone... More

this is the monitoring and evaluation boost. With Godfrey sink kaaba. Every week we share tips and practical stories to help you master the monitoring and evaluation job and perform it to your best. If you haven't yet, please take a moment to hit that subscribe button so you're automatically updated about new episodes. And that way you can continue to grow your money career every day. It also helps to show your support to this podcast and improve its ranking on the platform. We really appreciate that effort. Now let's get started. Hi Everyone I'm good for saying cover your host monitoring and evaluation both podcast. This is episode three career growth for practical tips on how to choose your next monitoring and evaluation job. In this episode I discuss the important issues you should consider when assessing. If the monitoring and evaluation job you're interested in will advance your career. Let's get set tip number one job title.

Sorry consider the job description are not the job title. Suddenly it feels a sense of achievement and advancement. Moving to a job whose job title reads higher than your current job. For example if you're monitoring and evaluation officer it's possible that you are interested in moving to a monitoring and evaluation specialist position. Job titles can be deceptive. A monitoring and evaluation officer in company. A may have a similar set of responsibilities as the monitoring and evaluation specialists in company B as I discussed in episode two titles of monitoring and evaluation positions will depend on several factors which include organizational policy and priorities for monitoring and evaluation administrative structure where in some companies their levels from assistant to officer to specialist to manager. While other organizations basically have a flat structure. All monitoring and evaluation professionals or individuals will be called officers.

Other considerations that organizations have done a requirements monitoring and evaluation framework and others. The other issue for you to note about the job description is that always read it and understand it. In fact I normally encourage people to read and re read the job description and determine if the roles and responsibilities described represent skills, growth Tip # two. Your personal profile. What kind of monitoring and evaluation professional are you or do you want to become? Do you want to be a monitoring and evaluation professional who can be described as a generalist or a method? A logical expert or a technical specialist. Let me describe each of these three career path for monitoring and evaluation professionals. One journalists, a journalist can perform most monitoring and evaluation roles and tasks but without depth they are familiar with many of the tools and methods or approaches we use in monitoring and evaluation but they are not an expert in any of them.

If you want to be a journalist, be sure to choose monitoring and evaluation positions that require general application of monitoring and evaluation methodology. Let's look at method a logical experts. Now these tend to prefer monitoring and evaluation jobs that require specific application of a monitoring and evaluation methodology tool or approach such as outcome monitoring theory of change surveys. Participatory research methods or integration of geographical information systems in monitoring and evaluation to mention. But several a mythological expert will focus will zero in on a particular tool or approach and they will tend to go for those jobs that describe such roles and responsibilities. The third career path for monitoring and evaluation professionals is technical specialists. I draw this third monitoring and evaluation career path from the many settings and sectors in which monitoring and evaluation is practiced. The settings include education, livelihoods, health transport, trade, disaster management, among others.

A monitoring and evaluation Technical specialist will be more skilled in monitoring and evaluation theories, approaches tools or methods that relate to the setting or sectors such as health or any of the others that have just described it is for this reason why an organization providing community health and nutrition programs needs to hire a candidate with the training in public health beyond traditions in monitoring and evaluation. I'm sure you are not surprised why many university graduate programs in health are offering a concentration in monitoring and evaluation. So I've just described three career pathways for monitoring and evaluation professionals. One a generalists too. Method, a logical expert. Number three technical specialist. If your technical specialist, it means that you're going to prioritize monitoring and evaluation jobs within a particular sector with a trade or health or education. If you're methodologically expert and this is your interest, you tend to look for those jobs that cut out a specific tool or approach like a logical framework approach.

You tend to focus on monitoring and evaluation jobs that are calling out program design. Now if your journalists basically any job that requires Jenna application of monitoring and evaluation methodology, you will go for tip number three organization of profile. Everyone would like to work for an organization that has a good and supportive policy and culture for monitoring and evaluation. Some organizations may be a good fit for you. If you're looking for a particular methodology or technical area of programming. For example if you're interested in growing your skills in education, assessment methodologies then monitoring and evaluation job within the education sector is the best fit for you. But beyond the job description, find out if the organization has a good monitoring and evaluation framework, what do we mean by framework? A framework is a set of principles methods, approaches and tools that guide the practice, conduct of monitoring and evaluation of programs and activities within that particular organization.

Now such organizations are likely to have clear administrative monitoring and evaluation structures with progressive job levels. It's not uncommon to find that these organizations already have jobs titled monitoring and evaluation Assistant monitoring and evaluation officer monitoring and evaluation specialists and they are likely to have monitoring and evaluation manager or director or the monitoring and evaluation specialists will be reporting to a program manager. You are likely to thrive in these organizations. If the established monitoring and evaluation framework translates into resources for monitoring and evaluation or even a good and supportive culture that will help you to perform your monitoring and evaluation effectively. However, please note that an organization that has a well developed monitoring and evaluation framework may limit your innovation and critical thinking skills. As many of the things that you need to do already prescribed basically almost everything is standardized when you're coming there will be clear policies, clear standards, clear tools for you to implement.

It's for this reason that some people prefer to join organizations within no or less developed monitoring and evaluation structures or policies or stools so that they can innovate so that they can be the ones to develop these tools and they all establish the systems the fourth and final tip convergence of personal priorities with the jobs, nontechnical aspects and I will explain this by giving a personal example. We all have different priorities and dreams in life. In fact if determined nothing can stop us. Seven years ago I migrated from Uganda to the United States. I moved here because I got a job as a program quality officer at one of the international nonprofits. The program quality officer job that I got was actually not a step higher. If you compare the last three jobs that had held within the monitoring and evaluation profession while in Uganda I was served as Associate director for program quality and performance management where I was in charge of the monitoring and evaluation function among other responsibilities, I was also supporting our human resource department with programmatic performance measurements.

Aaliyah had served as the country manager for monitoring and evaluation. And in fact in this role I was overseeing over 60 community development projects and earlier had served as a senior adviser for monitoring and evaluation on a large. You said nutrition grant. Now the program quality officer job that I got in the U. S. Was requiring me to support other countries with monitoring and evaluation systems, support, system strengthening, program design. And these are roles that had performed four or six years earlier. But what was different and why would I still consider this job step higher in my career? Now the reason why I still take it as an advancement in my career is that it gave me an opportunity to work in a different context while in Uganda there's several aspects that you can think about. For example diversity. There's so many tribes in Uganda. But when you're in Uganda issues of diversity and culture don't really come so strong.

When you're working all of us are the same because we can understand each other. We are of the same descent. We speak more or less similar languages. But when you work in a foreign country or in the U. S. One of the greatest learning for me is appreciation of cultural diversity. When I was here. We are working with so many people from all walks of life. Even in my own job out mafia from the U. S. And travel around the country. How do you understand each other when you don't speak the same language? I realized that monitoring and evolution methodology can become the same language that all of us can speak. Have supported programs in Middle East, have supported programs in Southern Africa, East Africa, the caribbean in Asia. All because of the job that at first I didn't consider as an advancement in my career. So next time you want to grow in your career. Yes the job title is important but look at the job description, look at your own personal profile.

Who are you? What do you really want to become within the monitoring and evolution field, what is going to be your career path? Are there non technical aspects of the job that you hold dear? Like for me I wanted to work in a different context. Different cultural context altogether. And most importantly outside my country and to me that was a deal maker. So always remember that career growth is a personal decision for all the reasons that have mentioned earlier. Very important. But another person would say all these four reasons are very important but I need to add composition. I need to add duration on the job and several other factors. Whereas duration of the job of compensation that you'll get from a job are important if you really want to get meaningful advancement, if you really want to make meaningful decisions about your career, you really need to consider these four reasons. They're very important. The job description and not just the job title, your personal profile, the organizational profile and the convergence of personal priorities with the jobs, nontechnical aspects.

Thank you my friends. This is it for today. See you next time. Thank you for listening to the monitoring and evaluation boost with Godfrey sent Kaba, please let us know your comments or any topics you would like to hear and please check out our website www dot M and E boost dot com. If you have comments about this episode or experiences you would like to share regarding the ideas discussed in this podcast. Please let us know again. Please visit our website to share. That's W W W dot M and E boost dot com. Thank you. Yeah. Mhm.

E3 - Monitoring and Evaluation Career Growth: 4 Practical Tips for Choosing Your Next Job
E3 - Monitoring and Evaluation Career Growth: 4 Practical Tips for Choosing Your Next Job
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