Average temperatures and sea level are projected to rise by 2°C and more than 100 cm, respectively, over the following decades. These events have decimated a large majority of fringing coral reefs, an ecosystem that plays a fundamental role in food provision, shoreline protection, and enhanced water quality for the majority of coastal developing countries. Globally, natural resource managers are facing growing challenges from multiple and cumulative stressors that are increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems and societies that depend on their goods and services. While marine conservation and management practices have focused mostly on threat reduction (e.g. reducing overfishing and pollution), managers and agencies talk with increasing frequency about safeguarding or building resilience - i.e. supporting ecosystem processes that lower sensitivity, promote recovery and enhance adaptive capacity. One rationale for such a shift in management approach is the increasing pressures from climate change, a global driver that compromises the health of many ecosystems, and which increases the need for urgent and effective local scale management actions.

Specifically, Project REGENERATE - Reef Generate Environmental and Economic Resilience for Atoll Ecosystems - has been developed lo showcase and address coral reef issues in the Maldives. The overall aims of this project are to:

A. Improve access to science and technology for decision-making and establishing policy framework for increasing resilience to climate change
B. Increase stakeholder capacity to measure and monitor and adapt to climate stresses through education, training and outreach.
C. Strengthen governance in support of decentralized management for more resilient ecosystems.
D. Establish sustainable financing mechanisms to support climate resilient marine management.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Associate will be responsible for developing the monitoring and evaluation plan for the project and the project log frame as well as monitoring the progress made by the project on an annual basis. The incumbent will assist the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in the evaluation of the impacts and effectiveness of the project by working with the team and incorporating M&E tools in project activities and coordinate with project staff to set targets and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Based on the results and data acquired from the year, the position will assist in planning the scope of work for the coming year and make recommendations to ensure the targets set by donors are achieved. The M&E Associate will also collect detailed data of the project activities and will store them in a readily available format for the project stakeholders. In addition to data collection and analysis, the M&E Associate will also assist the CTO in maintaining positive relations with donors and partners. The main responsibilities of the M&E Associate will include:

1. Development of the M&E plan for the project
2. Development of weekly activity bulletins to be sent to the donors and provide a monthly compilation of activity bulletins to the Government of Maldives
3. Prepare quarterly reports on work plan progress and activity and monitor deliverables and impact of the project
4. Develop and maintain a database of key performance indicators for the project and monitor progress and success
5. Populate and maintain USAID’s Trainet online database which records all capacity building exercises across projects globally
6. Develop and maintain M&E tools which are capable of capturing the necessary information for KPIs.
7. Support the organisation of Technical and Coordination Committee meetings
8. Compile, analyse and submit M&E information to the DCTO as requested
9. Perform other duties as may be assigned including but not limited to responsibilities for managing related project components and contributing to the project team as and when needed.