About ARCH and the role

ActionAid Denmark manages ARCH – the Fund for African-Danish Relations through Exchange of Culture and Arts. Funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this new program supports equitable cultural partnerships between Denmark and up to fourteen African countries through grants, exchange, and shared learning.

As ARCH’s MEL Officer, you will be based in Nairobi and join a Secretariat team working across Denmark and several African countries. You will report to the Head of Secretariat in Denmark.

You will join as ARCH moves from inception into implementation. Building on the MEL framework established during the inception phase, you will operationalise and manage practical systems for monitoring, evaluation and learning, ensuring that results and lessons are captured, understood and used to improve the programme. A key part of the role is making MEL useful and accessible for grantees, including small cultural organisations and collectives with limited MEL experience, so they can plan, track and report on results with confidence.

Your main responsibilities

Monitoring, evaluation and results management

• Operationalise, maintain and continuously improve ARCH’s MEL framework, monitoring tools, reporting templates and data collection systems, building on the Inception Report.
• Conduct ARCH’s media-coverage baseline study using the inception-phase methodology and maintain ongoing media monitoring for this indicator.
• Track progress against ARCH’s Results Framework: outcomes, outputs, indicators, baselines and targets.
• Apply and maintain a tiered partner-monitoring approach, ensuring requirements are proportionate to grant size.
• Maintain, verify, consolidate and analyse quantitative and qualitative data across the grant portfolio, including through ARCH’s digital grant management platform.
• Ensure that youth engagement, gender equality, disability inclusion, cultural diversity and human rights-based approaches are captured systematically in data and reporting.
• Quality-assure partner and grantee narrative and results reporting in English and French, and maintain organised, audit-ready MEL records.
• Support monitoring visits, spot checks and verification activities together with Secretariat colleagues, Local Liaison Officers and partners.

MEL training and support to grantees

• Design and deliver practical MEL training, onboarding and webinars for grantees and partners, adapted to grant tier, language and experience; develop accessible tools and provide hands-on follow-up.
• Brief and support Local Liaison Officers to help grantees with basic monitoring and data collection.

Reporting, learning and adaptive management

• Prepare results data, indicator updates and draft MEL sections for reports to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ARCH governance bodies.
• Organise structured reflection after calls for proposals and regular portfolio-wide learning harvests.
• Capture and share lessons and good practices through the Annual Learning Report, Grant Learning Notes, case studies and other knowledge products.
• Identify trends, challenges and opportunities in programme data and translate them into practical recommendations that strengthen programme planning, strategic dialogue, governance, decision-making and adaptive management.
• Support learning processes linked to the ARCH Strategic Dialogue Forum and other learning events.
• Prepare data, evidence and documentation for the external Mid-Term Review in 2028 and the internal end evaluation.

About you

We are looking for a structured, curious and collaborative MEL professional with a practical approach and strong analytical skills. The role is particularly suited to an early-career candidate who can explain MEL concepts clearly, support others to build their skills and turn evidence into useful insights.

Essential requirements

• A relevant degree in monitoring and evaluation, development studies, social sciences, statistics, economics or a related field.
• Up to three years of relevant professional experience is preferred. Candidates with up to five years of experience are also welcome to apply.
• Hands-on experience designing or implementing MEL systems for donor-funded programmes, including collecting, analysing and reporting on indicator data against a results framework or logframe.
• Working knowledge of results-based management and theory of change approaches.
• Good quantitative and qualitative analysis skills, including experience developing indicators, data collection tools and reporting templates, and preparing clear analytical or donor reports.
• Experience designing and delivering training, workshops or coaching for partners, community groups or colleagues, with the ability to explain MEL concepts in simple, practical terms.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Strong organisational, problem-solving and communication skills, with integrity and close attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams and cultures and to build constructive relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Professional working proficiency in written and spoken French is strongly desired.

Additional advantages

• Familiarity with institutional donor results and reporting requirements, such as those of bilateral agencies, the EU or UN agencies.
• Experience with MEL in grant-making or sub-granting programmes across multiple organisations or countries.
• Experience with digital data collection, analysis and visualisation tools such as KoBoToolbox, ODK, Excel or Power BI.
• Experience with participatory or qualitative learning methods, such as outcome harvesting or Most Significant Change.
• Experience with media monitoring or communications analytics.
• Knowledge of the arts, culture or creative sectors.

Practical information

Location and working arrangements

This is a full-time position based in Nairobi, Kenya. You will work from the Nairobi office alongside the Senior Admin and Financial Management Specialist two to three days per week, with the option to work from home on the remaining days. Some travel within ARCH countries and internationally may be required.

Salary and benefits

The salary range is fixed at a junior level and informed by Kenyan NGO and INGO market benchmarks. The gross cash salary includes amounts equivalent to a 10% pension contribution and an allowance for health and life insurance, which employees arrange themselves. Salary, benefits and employment conditions will be discussed with shortlisted candidates.

• Operationalise, maintain and continuously improve ARCH’s MEL framework, monitoring tools, reporting templates and data collection systems, building on the Inception Report.
• Conduct ARCH’s media-coverage baseline study using the inception-phase methodology and maintain ongoing media monitoring for this indicator.
• Track progress against ARCH’s Results Framework: outcomes, outputs, indicators, baselines and targets.
• Apply and maintain a tiered partner-monitoring approach, ensuring requirements are proportionate to grant size.
• Maintain, verify, consolidate and analyse quantitative and qualitative data across the grant portfolio, including through ARCH’s digital grant management platform.
• Ensure that youth engagement, gender equality, disability inclusion, cultural diversity and human rights-based approaches are captured systematically in data and reporting.
• Quality-assure partner and grantee narrative and results reporting in English and French, and maintain organised, audit-ready MEL records.
• Support monitoring visits, spot checks and verification activities together with Secretariat colleagues, Local Liaison Officers and partners.
• Design and deliver practical MEL training, onboarding and webinars for grantees and partners, adapted to grant tier, language and experience; develop accessible tools and provide hands-on follow-up.
• Brief and support Local Liaison Officers to help grantees with basic monitoring and data collection.
• Prepare results data, indicator updates and draft MEL sections for reports to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ARCH governance bodies.
• Organise structured reflection after calls for proposals and regular portfolio-wide learning harvests.
• Capture and share lessons and good practices through the Annual Learning Report, Grant Learning Notes, case studies and other knowledge products.
• Identify trends, challenges and opportunities in programme data and translate them into practical recommendations that strengthen programme planning, strategic dialogue, governance, decision-making and adaptive management.
• Support learning processes linked to the ARCH Strategic Dialogue Forum and other learning events.
• Prepare data, evidence and documentation for the external Mid-Term Review in 2028 and the internal end evaluation.

• Excellent written and spoken English
• Strong organisational, problem-solving and communication skills
• Integrity and close attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams and cultures
• Ability to build constructive relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Professional working proficiency in written and spoken French
• Familiarity with institutional donor results and reporting requirements
• Experience with MEL in grant-making or sub-granting programmes
• Experience with digital data collection, analysis and visualisation tools
• Experience with participatory or qualitative learning methods
• Experience with media monitoring or communications analytics
• Knowledge of the arts, culture or creative sectors

• A relevant degree in monitoring and evaluation, development studies, social sciences, statistics, economics or a related field.
• Up to three years of relevant professional experience is preferred. Candidates with up to five years of experience are also welcome to apply.
• Hands-on experience designing or implementing MEL systems for donor-funded programmes, including collecting, analysing and reporting on indicator data against a results framework or logframe.
• Working knowledge of results-based management and theory of change approaches.
• Good quantitative and qualitative analysis skills, including experience developing indicators, data collection tools and reporting templates, and preparing clear analytical or donor reports.
• Experience designing and delivering training, workshops or coaching for partners, community groups or colleagues, with the ability to explain MEL concepts in simple, practical terms.