Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist (TVET)

Please Note: This position is contingent upon award and USAID approval with an anticipated start date of September 2022.

Overview

Global Communities works at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and financial inclusion to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. We support communities at the forefront of their own development in more than 35 countries, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous and equitable global community. We work with government, non-government, private sector, and community stakeholders to promote transparency, foster accountability, and access the channels they need to make their voices heard, promote change, and realize their full potential.

Global Communities seeks a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist for the anticipated USAID West Bank/Gaza Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Project. This five-year $30M program will empower Palestinians, in collaboration with non-governmental TVET institutions, to become more employable or entrepreneurial in the current competitive technical sectors. The Activity intends to develop new technical training while improving the quality and relevancy of existing programs and increasing youth access.

The MEL Senior Specialist will lead the design and oversight of all project MEL . S/he will work closely with the project leadership team, MEL staff, and local partners to design and implement monitoring systems that are responsive to all programmatic and donor reporting needs. S/he will also support the development and implementation of the project’s learning agenda in close collaboration with project and external stakeholders and disseminate evidence-based learnings. The execution of these duties requires a high level of analysis, project management, staff capacity building, familiarity with technology, and independent and critical thinking.  We are looking for passionate, dedicated professionals to help us build the world we envision: one of expanded opportunity, where crises give way to resilience and all people thrive.

Responsibilities

The Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist will be responsible for the leadership, oversight and management of all efforts related to performance monitoring, internal evaluation, learning, and oversight of activities associated with the external evaluation managed by USAID.

• Develop the project’s MEL plan, systems, strategies, and tools for the timely collection, management, analysis, and reporting of valid and reliable data that meet donor reporting requirements.  
• Contribute to project deliverables, including annual workplans, and quarterly and annual reporting, undertake periodic reviews of program and/or country M&E systems and lead design of M&E system strengthening actions and oversee the dissemination of information on approaches, lessons learned, etc.  
• In collaboration with project leads, establish appropriate indicators, targets, data collection tools, documentation systems and management information systems for reporting to the key stakeholders on progress towards achievement of targets for process, output and outcome indicators.
• Develop and implement internal data control systems and quality improvement processes that ensure quality and timeliness of all project data, including facilitating routine data quality assessments and verifications, identifying deficiencies, and implementing corrective actions to ensure data quality.
• Provide oversight and technical assistance to programmatic learning activities, ensuring that assessments, studies, and learning initiatives are carried out according to the agreed plan and protocol ethically and with rigor.
• Lead the regular review and updating of the CLA Framework and Plan for the project, in close collaboration with the COP, DCOP and Technical Leads.
• Guide and facilitate collaboration with/across key stakeholders to regularly identify and capture lessons learned from program activities. Facilitate the documentation and dissemination of learning through various platforms.
• Design, roll-out and continually improve CLA-related processes and tools to support effective project implementation and collaboration, learning and adaptation in relation to the program.
• Lead internal collaboration efforts between technical teams to sequence, layer, integrate and leverage each other's strategies to maximize resource utilization and increase complementarity of project interventions.
• Work closely with project leadership to integrate CLA activities into the project workplan, M&E system, and into job descriptions and individual performance goals.
• Responsible for effective written reports and oral presentations on the program.
• Represent Global Communities and overall program interests as necessary and appropriate.
• Build and maintain strong working relations with key internal and external stakeholders, beneficiaries, prime and subcontractors, suppliers, and partners. Provide effective and timely responses to inquiries and concerns.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline (international development/affairs, economics or related field) with a minimum of 8 years of experience in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation and/or Collaboration, Learning and Adaption; or,
• Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to international development/affairs, economics, or similar field with a minimum of 10 years of experience in Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation and/or Collaboration, Learning and Adaption.
• Minimum of five years of experience in performance measurement, evaluation and research, learning, and knowledge sharing: including indicator selection, target setting, reporting, database management, Data Quality Assessment (DQA), MEL capacity building, facilitating learning events, report writing, Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA), and developing Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plans (MELP).
• Demonstrated past success in supporting the design, implementation, and efficiently operating activity’s MEL systems from activity initiation to closeout stages at the field-level.
• Ability to design a data capture and reporting system that includes alerts when the activity is not achieving its targets or when participants/subs are not achieving their goals.
• Experience collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data using methods that are suitable for changing and complex environments. Experience with measuring changes in organizations capacity, and the use of cost-effective and sustainable monitoring and evaluations methodologies.
• Experience in managing MEL teams and supporting the MEL capacity building of sub-partners’ staff.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Desired Qualifications:

• Minimum of ten years professional experience, including seven years of progressively responsible professional work experience in leading and managing monitoring, evaluation and learning of international development activities.  
• Experience in the Middle East region, with preference for work in West Bank/Gaza.
• Arabic language knowledge.

Global Communities positively welcomes and seeks applications from all sections of society.  We are committed to a work environment that respects the dignity and worth of everyone and offers equal opportunity.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

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