Collaboration, Learning, Adapting (CLA) Advisor – Niger At SoCha LLC

Background

SoCha is contracted to provide Monitoring, Reporting, and Capacity Strengthening (MRCS) support to complement and augment USAID’s Sahel Regional Office (SRO) performance management of activities within its portfolio. Over a period of five years (2023-2027), MRCS is providing this technical assistance to the Sahel Regional Technical Office (SRTO), Sahel Regional Program Office (SRPO), the Niger Mission, the Burkina Faso Country Office, the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs) in Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as limited support to other SRO-supported countries.

SoCha seeks a highly qualified Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA) Advisor to work on SoCha’s MRCS team. The position is full time and will be based in MRCS’s country office in Niamey, Niger.

Scope of Work

The CLA Advisor will ensure that learning and related capacity building is intentional, systematic, and resourced throughout the activity, so that learning and evidence inform project and activity design, portfolio reviews, mid-course stock-taking, and other key decision points and pause-and-reflect sessions. The required approach must address collaboration, strategic learning, and opportunities for reflection. The CLA Advisor will develop plans to engage stakeholders, address knowledge gaps, and support enabling conditions for adaptive management throughout the program cycle.

The CLA Advisor will work under the direction of MRCS Chief of Party.

Responsibilities of the CLA Advisor will include:

• Conducting learning events on key thematic topics such as learning forums, pause and reflect sessions, and After-Action Reviews (AARs).
• Leading CLA capacity building/training activities for Mission staff, Implementing Partners (IPs), and other Mission stakeholders (e.g. government and local development organizations). This includes supporting curriculum and material development and facilitating the activities.
• Tracking progress on Regional and Country Mission’s CLA Plans and supporting their implementation.
• Working with USAID to coordinate partner and MEL Working Group meetings with Mission and IP representatives, facilitate sharing new and timely CLA resources, and ensuring alignment with the USAID/Mission Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) development objectives and overarching approaches (e.g. conflict sensitivity, humanitarian development, and peacebuilding nexus).
• Facilitating regional working groups and meetings comprised of USAID and IP representatives (and, as relevant, government representatives), focused on coordination and collaboration at the regional level and connecting back to the national level working groups to ensure integration of field level information into these groups and to inform adaptive management.
• Reviewing IP Activity CLA Plans at the request of COR/AORs.
• Supporting development of learning agendas, implementation of the learning activities including in the learning agendas and events, and tracking progress.
• Creating convening spaces for data-driven adaptive management, including utilizing information collected by IPs, context monitoring, and secondary data sources; and supporting data analysis on CLA index and other organizational development-related AMELP indicators.
• Conducting quality assurance reviews of MRCS reports and other key documents and finalizing them for external disseminations.
• General facilitation and rapporteur support.
• Designing, preparing and leading dissemination events for key activity work products (e.g. studies and assessments).

This position may require occasional travel to various countries in the MRCS portfolio.

Minimum Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in organizational development, communications, social sciences, business management, or a related field.
• At least eight (8) years of experience with event management, facilitation, CLA, organizational learning, adaptive management, change management, monitoring and evaluation, communications, and/or knowledge management in the private sector or international development sector.
• Strong facilitation skills with experience designing and delivering learning events, meetings, and trainings.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of international development policy and best practices in learning and MEL.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively interact with local professionals, international donor organizations, civil society and private sector, host country government counterparts, and other IPs in developing countries.
• Professional communication skills and strong proficiency in written and spoken English and French.
• Knowledge of USAID reporting requirements.

Location

Niamey, Niger