Head of MEL At INTEGRITY

Introducing Integrity

Integrity is an ethical consultancy and service provider working in challenging and complex environments around the globe.

We help our clients succeed in fragile and challenging environments while building trust and understanding as the basis for transformative change. We work across all phases of the programme and project cycle, delivering eleven complementary services: monitoring, evaluation and learning / data and knowledge management / research, evidence and analysis / advisory / project management / communications / risk management / technical assistance / capability and capacity development / stakeholder engagement / grant and fund management. Our services are underpinned by the principles on which we were founded, a commitment to providing reliable information and evidence, and expert and high-quality delivery.

Headquartered in London and Washington DC, Integrity also has offices in Jordan, Kenya, and Pakistan. Our multi-national team of over 60 deliver multi-year projects, programmes and consulting assignments to a wide range of government clients, international organisations, foundations and private sector clients.

Vision: Integrity sets the international standard for ethically delivered, expert services in complex and challenging contexts. Our work helps create stability, accountability and prosperity.

Mission: Based on evidence and learning, we help clients and communities to build trust and understanding as the basis for transformative change. We do not advocate: we listen, comprehend and recommend.

Commitment: Integrity upholds the highest ethical standards in our service delivery, our employment of staff and our interaction with people. Through adherence to our core values, we ensure not only that our clients receive the best possible service but that we benefit the individuals and communities amongst whom we work.

Further information about Integrity can be found at www.integrityglobal.com.

How H/MEL (UK) fits into the Integrity team

H/MEL (UK) will be a senior technical and management role at Integrity, providing internal and external leadership of Integrity’s UK MEL capability across the project cycle and wider stakeholder landscape.

H/MEL will oversee a growing MEL portfolio that includes several major multi-year projects across the world.

H/MEL will sit within the Services Team which leads the design and delivery of our work. The role includes responsibilities in company strategy and management, technical delivery, business and proposal development, and wider institutional learning. H/MEL will work flexibly across Integrity’s different services and teams and be attracted to a fast-paced working environment.

Your role will be based in UK and you will be managed by a more senior member of the Services team. You will work closely with Integrity’s MEL Experts and Managers, including in some cases as line manager. You will also work particularly closely with the Business team to design new projects, manage consultants and build relationships with key partners and institutions.

Scope of Work

H/MEL’s role is a varied one, particularly focused on providing technical and commercial leadership to drive quality, consistency and profitability across our MEL bids and contracted portfolio. Positioned at senior management level in the company, the role also includes strategy and management functions. You will own Integrity’s MEL (UK) strategy and work with colleagues to build our MEL capability, maintain a professional MEL cadre, and expand Integrity’s MEL portfolio.

You will play a major role in the delivery of contracted projects, including Project Director positions on high profile assignments. You will need to have proven technical, leadership and management expertise, including the ability to liaise effectively with senior stakeholders and team members.

You will oversee the technical design of MEL bids for clients including FCDO, World Bank and Foundations, as well as contributing to specific US-led pipeline opportunities. You will develop appropriate and innovative approaches and methodologies to meet the needs of our clients and assure the quality of our technical MEL proposals. Key thematic areas may include: governance; economic development; fragility and violent conflict; health; humanitarian assistance; gender and social inclusion, and climate, natural resources and environment.

In addition, you will also lead the consolidation of good MEL practice within the company. You will have line management responsibilities and may take on company management functions over time.

This is also an external facing role and you will engage with clients, partners and stakeholders on Integrity’s MEL offering. This will include representing Integrity and promoting our work at key events and conferences.

Terms of Reference

A. MEL Offer, Strategy and Plan (10%)

· In line with the Company Strategy and existing MEL strategy, own and drive continued improvements in Integrity’s MEL capability.

· Engage with and influence emerging MEL programmes and delivery concepts and ensure the MEL Strategy and Plan are responsive to market requirements.

· Lead internal and external communication of Integrity’s MEL (UK) offering.

B. MEL Portfolio Management and Delivery (35%)

· Sponsor select contracted projects in governance and/or management capacities as Project Director and/or as member of project governance board.

· Negotiate successful proposals to contract ensuring effective coordination with relevant parties across Integrity’s four directorates.

· Lead on project responses to strategic risks and opportunities.

· Balance internal and external resource requirements.

· Effectively, empathetically and diligently manage relationships with clients, consortium partners and stakeholders more broadly.

· Ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, to high levels of quality and in keeping with Integrity’s ethics and ethos.

· Provide oversight of all MEL (UK) programmes in delivery and facilitate lesson learning and sharing from the MEL portfolio across Integrity.

· Participate in and if necessary lead senior Services fora that coordinate Integrity’s Services functions and activities.

C. Technical Design (30%)

The H/MEL will provide technical leadership and oversight to drive consistency and quality of MEL technical proposals. You will work across Integrity’s teams to develop market leading approaches and to capture new business. You will:

· Oversight of the MEL (UK) pipeline, including supporting the Business team to identify and evaluate new MEL opportunities.

· Develop and sustain strong working relationships with key government clients and other relevant accounts.

· Contribute to and lead on technical design of new Integrity opportunities, from identification and pre-positioning to writing and submitting technical proposals.

· Work with the Integrity team to provide constructive quality assurance of technical and commercial offers on selected new programmes and/or bids.

D. Thought Leadership and Learning (10%)

· Enhance Integrity’s MEL approaches and methodologies, with a view to promoting innovative practices and positioning the organisation as a practice/thought leader.

· Share knowledge gained through MEL project delivery and wider experiences with the internal team.

· Drive the company’s participation in external technical events, fora and relevant communities of practice in the MEL space.

E. Staff Management and Development (10%)

· Line manage select Integrity staff.

· Continue to build a MEL cadre in Services through convening and mentoring relevant colleagues.

· Work with colleagues under line management to develop their careers, contributing to professional advancement, job satisfaction and personnel retention.

· Work with colleagues not under line management to support their professional development in areas of specific expertise or companies, including supporting the development of in-house training materials and delivery of training.

F. Company & Services Forums/Committees (5%)

· Member of Capabilities Development Team and other senior Services forums.

· Eligible to sit on the Executive Management Committee and Company Committees on invitation (e.g., Risk, Resource, HR).

Your Experience and Expertise

The H/MEL will have:

· 12-15 years+ experience working on MEL or research within international development and/or the consultancy sector.

· Experience directing/managing medium and larger size projects and/or programmes. Confident in contract management, budget setting and work planning, resource and risk management.

· Advanced understanding of research cycle, with ability to supervise teams on design of approach, instrument development, sampling strategy selection, data collection, development of analysis plans, analysis, report writing and dissemination.

· Excellent written communication skills, with ability to develop user-focused report outlines and templates, and supervise delivery of high-quality reports that deliver clear and compelling narrative.

· Significant experience of quality control and quality assurance of raw data and analytical reports.

· Extensive experience developing MEL systems, logframes, Theories of Change, and/or results frameworks, and tracking progress through a variety of indicators.

· Good understanding of contextual analysis, verifications of results, and process evaluations as part of Third-Party Monitoring contracts.

· Substantial experience designing and delivering evaluation projects, with good understanding of core methodologies such as contribution analysis, case studies, development evaluation, outcomes harvesting, and experimental and quasi-experimental approaches (expert in at least some of these).

· Experience in senior technical and management roles on international development projects, including proven expertise in at least one of the following areas: third party monitoring; programme and portfolio evaluation; and organisational learning.

· Advanced analytical skills, with ability to analyse quantitative or qualitative data using different approaches.

It is desirable that the H/MEL will also have:

· Advanced understanding of 1-2 key thematics in development sector, with ability to contribute to thought leadership in area. Candidates with understanding of health and education, climate and natural resources, and governance and peace-building strongly preferred.

· Mixed methods skills.

· Expertise in relevant software such as MAXQDA, NVivo, STATA, Python, R, Microsoft Excel, Power BI etc.

· Working in FCAS environments.

· Track record of MEL publications and presentations at key industry conferences.

Languages:

· Written and oral fluency in English, with the ability to write clear and compelling narrative, and excellent communication skills.

· French and/or Arabic language skills desirable.

Core Competencies

You should also demonstrate the following core competencies:

Level 1: Team competencies

· Ethics

· Leadership

· Planning and Organising

· Development and Continual Learning

· Results Focus and Initiative

· Teamwork

· Customer Orientation

· Communication

· Managing Change

Level 2-4: Management competencies

· Analytical and Flexible Thinking

· Achievement Focus

· Managing Resources

· Teamwork and Team Leadership

· Customer Orientation

· Influencing

· Organisational Knowledge

· Organisational Alignment

· Strategic Thinking

· Accountability

· Developing Talent