Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer

About the role

ARCH, the Fund for African-Danish Relations through Exchange of Culture and Arts, is a new cultural cooperation programme funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that supports cultural partnerships between Denmark and up to fourteen African countries. As its MEL Officer, you will join the Nairobi Secretariat team and report to the Head of Secretariat in Denmark. You will operationalise and manage MEL systems as the programme moves from inception to implementation, making MEL useful and accessible for grantees, including small cultural organisations.

The position is full-time and based in Nairobi, with two to three days per week in the office and the rest from home; some travel may be required. Applicants must be based in Nairobi and have the right to work in Kenya, and professional French is strongly desired.

Key responsibilities

• Operationalise, maintain and improve the MEL framework, tools, reporting templates and data collection systems, and conduct the media-coverage baseline study and ongoing media monitoring.
• Track progress against the Results Framework and apply a tiered partner-monitoring approach.
• Maintain, verify and analyse quantitative and qualitative data, including through the digital grant management platform, and ensure youth engagement, gender equality, disability inclusion, cultural diversity and human rights are captured.
• Quality-assure partner and grantee reporting in English and French, support monitoring visits and spot checks, and train grantees and Local Liaison Officers in MEL.
• Prepare results data and MEL sections for reports to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organise learning harvests, capture lessons in the Annual Learning Report and prepare evidence for the 2028 Mid-Term Review and end evaluation.

Required profile

• A relevant degree in monitoring and evaluation, development studies, social sciences, statistics, economics or a related field.
• Up to three years of relevant experience preferred; up to five years also welcome.
• Hands-on experience designing or implementing MEL systems for donor-funded programmes, including indicator data against a results framework or logframe.
• Experience designing and delivering training, workshops or coaching for partners or colleagues.
• Excellent written and spoken English; professional French strongly desired.

Required skills

• Working knowledge of results-based management and theory of change.
• Good quantitative and qualitative analysis, including indicator development, data collection tools and reporting templates.
• Advantages: familiarity with institutional donor reporting (EU, UN, bilateral agencies), MEL in grant-making, digital tools such as KoBoToolbox, ODK, Excel or Power BI, participatory learning methods, media monitoring, and knowledge of the arts and culture sectors.

Applications are made through the online recruitment system by 13 November 2026, with online interviews scheduled for 20 November 2026 and an expected start date of 4 January 2027.