Senior Director, Measurement and Evidence for Learning and Impact (MELI)

Overview:

S/he will advise other leaders within the organization on how to use data for informed decision-making in the development of organizational policies and procedures and the achievement of strategic priorities.

S/he will actively contribute to Global Programs Reimagining, including visioning as well as translating new structures and approaches into operational practice.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning, Engagement, Leadership, and Oversight (65% LOE)

MELI (Unit Level):

• Ensure quality production of all MELI-related deliverables for the organization.
• Lead planning and oversee implementation of MELI Unit’s strategic and operational priorities.
• Provide senior-level management and administrative oversight of the day-to-day operations and activities of the MELI unit.
• Lead MELI engagement and promote organizational (internal) strategic coordination between MELI and country and other HQ units, including Global Programs, Strategic Growth and Partnerships, Communications, and IT.
• Lead in the development of MELI job descriptions, recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and training to fill critical staffing gaps within the MELI team to reflect existing and emerging staffing needs.
• Ensure adequate staffing to meet MELI project needs, including support to new business development, ongoing projects, field programs and staff.
• Provide ongoing staff supervision, mentoring, and professional development to ensure staff morale, motivation, retention, and quality technical support; this includes line supervision for at least 5 MELI staff.
• Support and advance the strengthening of systems, capacity, processes, tools, and approaches that ensure high quality, relevant programmatic monitoring and evaluation data is generated and used to inform program design, program quality, and thought leadership.
• Lead the design and facilitation of regular MELI meetings, retreats and related team building processes.
• Respond to requests from executive and programmatic leadership for detailed updates on MELI activities and deliverables.

Program Quality and Accountability, Global Programs:

• Represent MELI on the Program Quality and Accountability Senior Leadership Team and other key relevant organizational leadership groups and initiatives.
• Ensure effective coordination and collaboration across Program Quality and Accountability and Global Programs and contribute to cohesive leadership of the office/department, co-designing and carrying out GP-wide mandates across all functions, offices, and programs of the organization, providing strategic inputs, and co-creating an effective vision for the function of Global Programs enterprise-wide.
• Provide leadership, in collaboration with SGP staff, on ensuring the effective use of evidence-based design, including Theory of Change methods in the design and implementation of all projects.

Global Communities (Organizational Level):

• Serve as the organizational subject matter expert in robust Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Systems.
• Lead selected organizational strategic activities and initiatives, including the organizational initiative (Data for Good) to improve access and use of results data for improved decision making and visibility,
• In collaboration with Communications, PQA Leadership, Strategic Growth and Partnership, country-based program staff, and the Knowledge Management Specialist, advance how knowledge and evidence from programming is effectively shared externally to advance thought leadership and visibility of Global Communities.
• Contribute to efforts to effectively plan, coordinate, and communicate MELI-related strategic priority areas and activities with other relevant actors at Global Communities.
• Promote and advance a culture of learning within the organization, through advancing personal learning and subject matter expertise in relevant MERL-related areas and actively promoting and contributing to internal learning in MELI related areas at Global Communities.

• Provide MELI support to significant new and existing Global Communities projects across the life cycle annually.
• Strengthen MELI-related capacity of relevant internal and partner staff, in areas including data management, analysis, reporting and utilization of findings for data driven decision making, knowledge management, and learning.
• Participate in the drafting and/or review of all significant technical reports, including donor reports, project or study briefs, or other dissemination products to ensure stakeholder accountability, to promote learning, and enhance visibility of organizational efforts.
• Lead/facilitate at least 1-2 stocktaking exercises annually such as pause and reflect sessions, results utilization activities, before action reviews, after action reviews, critical reflection workshops and others to give and receive stakeholder feedback and identify lessons learned.
• Coordinate with other technical and MELI members in the field and IO that support relevant projects (including members of the Project Support team) for effective MERL-related coordination and support to projects.

• Serve as MELI lead on at least four significant proposals.
• Ensure sufficient quality engagement by MELI staff on all proposal preparation teams.
• Work with other programmatic teams to identify, pursue, and secure new growth opportunities both with existing donors, and new and non-traditional donors and investors, including the private sector.
• As part of proposal preparation teams, lead in the writing, developing, and/or reviewing of relevant components of project proposals, including the design, and drafting of monitoring, evaluation, research and learning components, CLA/knowledge management plans, Logic Models and/or Theory of Change, and MELI implementation plans.
• As part of proposal preparation teams, lead in the identification and/or formation of at least two new strategic partnerships annually to support MELI Tech, research, CLA, and other relevant areas.

• Contribute to Global Communities’ technical expertise and reputation in relevant areas to improve visibility of MELI work within Global Communities and the broader development sector through:

1. Staying up to date on industry best practices

POSITION SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ability to travel, including to remote and/or resource-limited areas within country portfolios.
• Provide ongoing supervision, mentoring, and professional development to ensure staff morale, motivation, retention, and quality technical support of directly supervised staff and other staff members.
• Participate in organizational initiatives.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong negotiation and facilitation skills. Proven capacity to effectively manage processes and programs, as well as manage and mentor staff with various levels of skills and experience.
• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with staff, professional contacts, resources and/or networks and relate to people with sensitivity, tact, discretion, and professionalism.
• Understanding and experience with program and/or MELI requirements of US Government donors (i.e., USAID, USDA, PEPFAR, CDC, State Department, Department of Defense) strongly preferred
• Experience in a variety of technical areas and integrated technical approaches including community development and civil society, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, maternal and child health, food and nutrition security, humanitarian assistance, gender, and disaster risk reduction.
• Experience communicating and collaborating effectively and working with a diverse set of technical and non-technical counterparts and stakeholders, including global headquarter staff, country stakeholders, host government, non-governmental organizations, health care providers and community representatives.
• Strong writing and editing skills for a variety of audiences with proven capacity to write for donors and for publication. Reports include scientific publications, promotional materials, technical products, and proposals.
• Highly motivated, organized, and able to produce results fast-paced, deadline-oriented environment.
• Familiarity with and sensitivity to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as gender issues.
• A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities
• Second language abilities in Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, etc. a plus.
• Experience / familiarity with knowledge management information platforms, mobile technology, and web technologies

Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in a related discipline and a minimum of 11 years of related work experience or 15 year of related work experience.
• Experience with program monitoring and evaluation, including MERL strategies, systems development, project-level monitoring and verification, data quality assessments, MERL capacity building, assessments and project design, mid- and final performance evaluations, and impact evaluations.”
• Proven leadership ability and collaborative approach to finding solutions and achieving quality work.
• Experience and capacity in institutionalizing organization-wide monitoring, evaluation and learning systems / Experience and capacity in institutionalizing organization-wide research systems and coordination structures.
• Must have U.S. work authorization.

Application Instructions

To be considered for this position, please apply (including your resume and cover letter) by 10/25/24. Applications received after this date may be reviewed on a rolling basis until the job has been filled.

Location and Work Schedule

This selected candidate can be based in Silveer Spring, MD; San Diego, CA. Candidates must be authorized to work in their preferred country without any restriction.

This role is on a hybrid/telework schedule. The selected candidate is expected to work at least twice as week (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) from either our San Diego or Silver Spring office and the remainder of the week from an approved remote location.

Salary and Compensation

The estimated salary for this position is between $138,520 - $173,150. Final salary will be based on several factors including qualifications, geographic location, experience, and internal equity. Global Communities provides a comprehensive benefits package; please note that this position is not eligible for allowances.

COVID-19 Policy

Effective January 3, 2022, all U.S.-based Global Communities employees are required to provide proof of having received full dosage of COVID-19 vaccine that is FDA approved, approved for emergency use authorization, or have an approved medical or religious exemption on file with Global Communities, as a condition of employment.

Safeguarding Policy

The incumbent is required to carry out their duties in accordance with Global Communities Safeguarding policy and the Standards of Conduct.

EEO/ADA

Global Communities is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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.

Global Communities complies with all applicable provisions of the ADA and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities unless it provides undue hardship to the organization. If reasonable accommodation is necessary to participate in the recruitment process, please contact recruitment@globalcommunities.org.