Senior MERL Associate, South America At Internews

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Under the supervision of the Americas’ Regional MERL Manager, the Senior Regional Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Associate for South America will support the implementation of MERL processes and plans for the South America subregion. This position plays a key role in capturing and demonstrating the impact of Internews’ work at the local and subregional level. The Senior Regional MERL Associate will be responsible for supporting the design and delivery of high-quality data collection and monitoring processes, as well as contributing to evaluative efforts within the South America subregion. This includes providing technical support for developing and implementing MERL frameworks, approaches, plans, and systems during the proposal and project start-up phases. Additionally, they will devise and implement mechanisms to monitor quality, gather insight to share with the implementation team regularly, and take a hands-on approach to completing impact-related tasks as needed and addressing any gaps that arise.

LOGISTICS

This position will be based remotely in Latin America and the Carribean, with a preference for candidates based in Colombia, Brazil, or Ecuador. Candidates must possess independent work authorization in their location.

OUR COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING A CULTURE OF BELONGING

We are an organization of dynamic, mission-driven individuals who are passionate about our core values and about supporting positive change in the world. We pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and flexibility. We believe that diverse teams are strong teams and work to support an ethic of belonging, dignity, and justice for all people. Our current team includes a mix of genders, parents and non-parents, and people of multiple races, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We are an EEO employer and encourage candidates of all races, genders, ages, orientations, ethnicities, and national origins to apply, and welcome those with alternative backgrounds and experiences.

MERL Technical Support for Conservando Juntos (CJ)

• Lead the implementation of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (MELP) for the CJ project to capture project performance results.
• Manage essential reporting of data for the CJ project, including into the consortium platform, updating the workplan with information on deliverables and indicators, contributing data to semi-annual narrative reports, and gathering data for the performance indicator tracking table.
• Monitor the results and the work of external consultants and project staff in the implementation of Internews’ organizational Capacity Assessment methodology.
• Support the CJ team in following methodological guidelines to compile and present project results and support the CJ team in drafting the workplan and semiannual reports.

MERL Technical Support for Other Projects in South America

• Assist program teams in South America in creating and implementing MEL frameworks, procedures, and data collection and reporting tools, for the monitoring and evaluation of project activities.
• Lead the project startup and data entry for South America projects in Internews’ ProgramSource database.
• Support the project teams to track indicator data in performance indicator tracking tables, in compliance with data quality standards of Internews, USAID, and other funders.
• Conduct MEL check-ins with relevant staff members and use feedback to adapt the MEL plan and data collection systems accordingly.
• Collaborate with the South America project teams to gather, document, and share relevant success and impact stories using both quantitative and qualitative data.
• Compile written documentation on MEL activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports, as appropriate.

Maintain MERL Processes for All Projects in South America

• Work collaboratively with members of the project team and Americas regional and project-based MERL staff to ensure coordination, implementation of standard processes, and quality of subregional data.
• Support the South America subregion to ensure the integration of Belonging, Dignity, and Justice (BDJ) principles into our programming for a comprehensive and inclusive approach.
• Contribute to proposal efforts from a MERL perspective, support project design and MERL plans for proposals.
• Support the Regional MERL team in developing, implementing, and ensuring alignment of monitoring and evaluation processes, including implementation of MEL plans, project kick-off and closeout, internal evaluations, impact measurements, and capacity-building workshops for project teams throughout South America.
• Support capacity-building efforts for local partners in MERL needs and priorities within projects in South America, including training, mentorship, and accompaniment.

Contribute to Overall Regional MERL Strategies:

• Contribute to Americas MERL strategic planning and Americas overall strategic planning.
• Contribute to documenting subregional best practices that can be implemented in other subregions.
• Liaise with Internews’ Global Impact and Learning teams and experts, when appropriate.
• In all duties, uphold Internews’ Core Values and demonstrate commitment to fostering a culture of Belonging, Dignity, and Justice.

QUALIFICATIONS WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Required

• University degree or equivalent lived/professional experience.
• At least 3 years’ experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning and/or implementation of international programs, preferably with experience with USG donors and/or in the media development sector.
• Spanish and English fluency.
• Experience with contributing to or leading the design of logical frameworks and the development of indicators and corresponding data collection methods.
• Knowledge of or aptitude for grasping common organizational methods such as social network analysis, Outcome Harvesting, organizational capacity assessments, and digital analytics.
• Experience or interest in delivering trainings and building capacity to colleagues and local partners.
• Strong time management and organizational skills; ability to effectively manage a dynamic workload and shifting priorities.
• Proven ability and/or interest to operate in a multicultural and remote work environment.
• Proven ability to work both independently and as an effective team member.
• Flexibility to travel periodically to other countries for meetings with colleagues, local partners, and donors.
• Flexibility to work outside traditional office hours as required.

Preferred

Note: Candidates who do not have these preferred qualifications, but who are interested and willing to learn, are encouraged to apply.

• Familiarity with the media landscape and information ecosystems in Latin America, including main challenges and opportunities for media and public access to information.
• Experience implementing US funded projects a significant asset; experience with other government-funded programs, or other programs with significant reporting, evaluation, and compliance components, strongly desired.
• Experience working for an international nonprofit or in the international development sector.
• Experience in supporting projects in closed or hostile environments; knowledge of security risks and mitigation protocols.
• Experience with implementing projects in diverse information environments and training in technologies that support access to information, and experience with privacy, censorship circumvention, and anonymity tools.
• Familiarity with and experience in implementing projects in diverse information environments and training in technologies that support access to information, and experience with privacy, censorship circumvention, and anonymity tools.
• Experience with implementing projects to strengthen organizational capacity and inclusion of marginalized communities.
• Portuguese familiarity and/or fluency.

TO APPLY

Please submit a CV and cover letter.