Monitoring and evaluation

Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) is looking for an experienced professional or student interested in monitoring and evaluation of the organization's programmes. AVAG seeks a passionate individual committed to social change and interested in village development in rural Tamil Nadu, India.

AVAG is the primary outreach organization for Auroville, an international township (http://www.auroville.org). An integrated village development programme is implemented in 80 villages and Dalit hamlets neighboring Auroville. For more on AVAG's mission and programmes please visit, http://www.villageaction.in.

AVAG relies on volunteers and interns from around the world who help to support and develop programmes that support the organization's social activities. Volunteering for AVAG is a wonderful way in which young people can gain valuable experience and for more experienced individuals to contribute to a worthy and fulfilling cause.

All internship opportunities with AVAG are dependent on the specific skill set of the individual intern. AVAG would ideally like to match each intern to their specific interests but may need to assign positions based on need. A certain degree of overlap in responsibilities can be expected from any of the internship positions. Most work is done at the office located within the AVAG campus but field trips can be offered each week for any of the below positions.

Position Description:

AVAG has approximately 4,350 women and men organized in 250 Self-Help Groups (SHG), and Women's and Men's Federations of leaders. The Monitoring and Evaluation position will be responsible for producing in English outreach and published materials documenting AVAG's integral development programmes. Activities AVAG conducts include:

Community Development- Inter-caste and gender social exchange programmes; physical village infrastructure Micro Projects and Work Camps; cultural celebrations and performances; Awareness and Service Camps.

Economic Development- Micro finance and savings programme; livelihood and entrepreneurial trainings; social enterprise development (see separate postings on Idealist for these positions).

Capacity Building- Seminars and trainings comprise a multi-faceted education across development issues such as health and hygiene, environment and global warming, linkages with government and private institutions in addition to Exposure Trips.

Psychosocial Services- Somatic Experiencing; Energy Healing; Anti-depression and Self-analysis workshops; support for victims of human rights abuses.

Qualifications required include:

• Previous experience/study in M&E
• Previous work with an NGO or related experience in for-profit company
• Availability of minimum 3 months
• Strong interpersonal and management skills
• Self-motivated and able to work independently in a constantly changing environment
• Fluency in Tamil a plus (not required)

Responsibilities of the position could include:

• Analyzing surveys and writing reports for distribution and/or publication
• Preparing questionnaires for future surveys
• Working with field staff to translate existing Tamil monitoring tools into English
• Writing/standardizing format for Activity Reports
• Disseminating completed materials
• Networking with potential partners
• Assisting with office tasks when needed