Job Details
**Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager**City/Country Location Details **Washington, DC**Employment StatusJob Type **Project****Scope of Work****Position Title:**Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager**Contract Name:**Feed the Future Market Systems & Partnerships (MSP)**Contract No:**7200AA20C00054**Place of Performance:**Washington, DC preferred, but will consider candidates based elsewhere that have the right to work in the US or UK.**Maximum Level of Effort (LOE):**Full Time (LTTA)**Position Overview:** The MEL Manager will play a pivotal role in monitoring performance results especially from a global network of private sector partnerships; harvesting outcomes and influence on learning and practice changes amongst USAID and implementing partner staff working in economic development; and supporting ongoing evidence-based learning and adaptive management for the program team. The position is a full-time with theFeed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Activity (grilinks.org/msp) , which is USAID s primary, global program to advance learning and good practice in two of its priority areas: private sector engagement (PSE) and market systems development (MSD). This position will work alongside MSP colleagues, USAID clients, consortium subcontractors, and private sector partners in the Partnership Facility to design, execute, and ensure quality control of MSP s MEL processes and activities, as well as lead MEL data verification, analysis, and reporting. The MSP MEL Manager forms an integral part of the MSP team, directly supervises a data quality analyst, and will have primary responsibility for data review, quality, and analysis of MSP indicators and implementation of the MEL Plan.**Program Overview:** The Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Activity is advancing learning and good practice in market systems development (MSD) and private sector engagement (PSE) within USAID (Washington and Missions), USAID implementing partners, and market actors. A flexible, demand-driven mechanismwith a $79 million funding ceiling, MSP is a D.C. based mechanisms with a globalreach. MSP currently has23buy-ins with USAID and on the ground implementation in20countries.A learning agenda guides MSP s initiatives, which include developing tools and guidance, creating peer exchange spaces and communities of practice, hosting trainings, conducting assessments, and generating evidence. In addition, MSP has a private sector partnership facility; there are currently partnerships with 28 companies throughout sub Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and the Pacific. MSP is currently in year 3 of its six year timeframe. _To learn more about the program, visit_ _www.agrilinks.org/msp_ _and click the Resources tab._**Context of the Position:** As a program focused on advancing learning and good practice - and one using collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) as a core implementation and management approach - MEL is a critical tool for MSP s success. MSP s portfolio comprises a diverse set of activities that require a nuanced and light-touch approach to MEL, driven by learning priorities and client needs. The overall program monitoring framework is broad and nimble, allowing individual buy-ins to contribute top-line metrics toward MSP s overall results, while integrating more targeted strategies to surface learning within individual buy-ins where needed. For example, MSP has a small set of overarching custom indicators that provide best proxy measures of the scope of MSP s progress towards its goal, and applies a set of standard indicators across its rapidly expanding, $30 million global Partnership Facility to measure key outcomes around investment (e.g. dollars leveraged), innovation (e.g. technologies in stages of R&D and commercialization) and growth (e.g. sales). In addition, MSP also seeks opportunities to advance in-process learning through custom metrics, facilitated reflection sessions (internally to MSP staff as well as with firms engaged in the Partnership Facility), perception surveys to end users, and other tools embedded into individual engagements to support learning and adaptive management and help track emerging outcomes from our engagements. MSP has instilled a learning culture within the team, ensuring that we advance knowledge by addressing gaps, capture learning from activity implementation, and utilize adaptive management. This model emphasizes frequent measurement of mechanism and buy-in level outputs and outcomes and subsequent adaptation for maximum impact.**Job Description Requirements:** The MEL Manager will be directly responsible for overseeing the implementation of MSP s MEL Plan, ensuring capture and analysis of requisite data to measure the established indicators for this Feed the Future program. S/he will ensure that all project performance monitoring activities and systems, including necessary data management and visualization software and data collection instruments, are collected, stored, managed, analyzed, and reported at a high degree of quality. As the program heads into Year 3 of 6, the MEL strategy will also increasingly seek opportunities to collect qualitative and quantitative data that provides insights on access to MSP learning, adoption of key practices, influence and outcomes, using mixed methods that utilizes a diverse set of instruments and collaborating with other technical specialists as necessary. The MEL Manager supervises a full-time Data Quality Associate. The MEL Manager is supervised by the Senior MSD Learning Advisor and works collaboratively across a small team of engagement managers, technical advisors, and operations specialists.Tasks and responsibilities include but are not limited to:**_Data management, analysis and reporting_**Develop and manage all project performance monitoring activities and systems, including necessary data management and visualization software and data collection instruments, to collect, store, manage, analyze and report M&E data on output, outcome, and impact indicators.Use PowerBI or similar software to build relational models and create responsive dashboards and visuals that support both adaptive decision making and reporting.Liaise with multiple stakeholders (MSP colleagues, USAID, sub-contractors, implementation partners, private firms, etc.) for timely data collection, verification and feedback.Work with communications team to track engagement metrics across various digital communications channels, provide regular insights on access and uptake and informing strategy.Conduct regular and ad-hoc data analysis, working closely with other team members.Produce reliable data for key reports and project products (such as the semiannual performance report, quarterly partnership updates, a Partnership Lookbook) to demonstrate progress and learning.Ensure data is input into USAID indicator reporting systems (e.g. annual DIS entry).Engage with private sector firms to review MEL-related milestones (such as sales ledgers, small-scale market research insight surveys, etc) to ensure data quality and, collaboratively with MSP Engagement Managers and Grants Specialists, support useful analysis and adaptive management.Provide technical guidance on survey design, sampling, etc to support private sector partners to design and deploy light-touch customer and supplier insights surveys, a feature of MSP s Facility.**_Collaborating, Learning and Adapting_**Support the MSD Learning Advisor in developing and facilitating tools and activities to help in the identification, analysis, and synthesis of lessons learned from program implementation.Facilitate incorporation of lessons real-time into program decisions, through proactive share-outs of analysis, occasional portfolio reviews, prompting reflective discussions, etc.Participate in occasional reflective discussions with partners to surface learning, reflect on performance, and gather information that advances learning prioritiesSupport MSP in the development and dissemination of thought leadership and learning content including the preparation of responses and products for ad hoc learning requests from USAID.**_MSP and Buy-in MEL Plan Development and Implementation_**Lead annual MSP MEL Plan updates process to adjust the MEL Plan and PIRS as needed.Ensure implementation of established partnership buy-in specific MEL strategies, including indicator tracking, analysis and reporting, alongside any tailored learning questions, in collaboration with MSP Engagement Managers/ Advisors.Verify transaction close-out reports and documentation; review other MEL-related deliverables.**_Data Quality Assurance_**Responsible for overall data quality control; conducting data verification and other quality assurance activities (e.g. spot-checks, data quality assessments) to ensure accuracy of MEL data and reports.Facilitate and/or provide M&E training to the project staff and partners.**Reporting:** The MEL Manager will report to the Senior Systems Learning Advisor.**Travel** : Limited travel is anticipated (monitoring is largely remote or third party), but may be necessary.**Place Of Performance** **:** The MSP Team is currentlyoperating under a hybrid structure; staff are based in the U.S., Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa, with roughly half of the team based in Washington, D.C. (EDT), including the MEL Manager s supervisor and supervisee. For this position, preference will be given to applicants located in the Washington D.C. region, though applicants based elsewhere will still be considered. Staff based in the Washington D.C. region meet with colleagues in-person one day a week and work remotely otherwise.**Required Qualifications**Bachelor s degree in a related discipline and 5 - 8 years of relevant work experience or Master s degree in a related discipline that demonstrates complementarity to the scope of requirements and 3 5 years of relevant work experience.At least 2 years of proven experience managing MEL or research on donor-funded projects.Working knowledge of USAID, FTF or other donor MEL guidance and policy.Demonstrated ability to coordinate with multiple stakeholders for data collection, data verification, reporting and dissemination.Demonstrated experience in data analysis and data visualization.Excellent writing, communications and data management skills and attention to detail.Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.Ability to work collaboratively with members of a complex team, pulling in resources and expertise as needed to address challenges and identify solutions as a team when needed.**Desired Qualifications**Demonstrated MEL experience in the areas of agriculture, market systems or private sector engagement.Familiarity with approaches to measuring capacity development, behavior change, or institutional learning and experience using light-touch monitoring options to understand pathways of influence, such as perception surveys, outcome harvests, most significant change, etc.Experience building capacity of staff and partner organizations in MEL.Ability to use PowerBi, Kobo Toolbox (or similar online survey tools), Google Analytics**Compensation & Benefits:**Grade P6: For employees working in the United States, the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $75,000 $95,000.Salary for part-time employees will be prorated based on actual hours worked. Actual offers will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, qualifications, relevant education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and business or organizational needs.Eligible U.S. based employees, will be able to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance, plus a 401(k)-retirement plan with a company match. Additionally, employees will be eligible for company-paid annual leave (vacation & holidays), sick leave, parental leave; as well as short- and long-term disability coverage. Detailed information will be provided at the time a formal offer is extended.For employees working outside of the United States, compensation and benefits will vary based on location.**DAI Organization and Values**DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner. DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.DAI is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.Back (be.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/searchResults?org=DAINC&cws=48)