What does a monitoring and evaluation officer do?

What does a monitoring and evaluation officer do? Well to answer this question straight to the point, M&E officers do a lot...…….And I mean a lot. You see folks, sometimes people wont understand the role these people play in an organization because they simply don't appreciate what enormous contribution they make to an organization. It can even get worse because some people actually feel that its a role that can be assumed by just anybody who feels they are better suited for the job. Underline that phrase "anybody who feels they are better suited...".

A monitoring and evaluation officer spends all his/her time ensuring that the project activities, outputs  and outcomes are being achieved as planned. Think of a monitoring and evaluation officer as the eyes and ears of management. The purpose of having such a person cannot be overly emphasized because its clearly written on walls. The M&E officers main responsibility is to ensure that the plans in the strategy are being fulfilled. Its easier said than done because this can get a lot complicated especially if there are budgetary constraints, technical or even buy in from Management. In order to fully understand the role of Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, lets understand what would happen if they were not present.

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