Reports to: MERL Senior Advisor
Salary Range: Part-Time, $40,000 at 50% LOE ($80,000 annualized).
Anticipated Start Date: July
Term of Employment: Part-time, 20 hours per week
Apply by: ASAP and submit a cover letter
Base of Designation: Washington, DC
Remote Eligible: Remote (must be based in the Continental US)
Conditional on Funding? NO
World Learning seeks a Part-Time MEL Specialist to provide support for its Global Development and Global Exchange Division units. The Part-Time position is at 50% LOE, working 2.5 days (20 hours) per week. This is a remote eligible position, but applicants must be a US citizen or US permanent resident and are required to be based in the US to be eligible to work remotely as a World Learning employee. Please also note that as we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the US is a precondition of employment.
In this role, the Part-Time MEL Specialist will ensure the highest quality monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for better program management, accountability, learning and adaptation, and to document progress and success. They will work with proposal, HQ project management and international teams to build capacity in M&E through mentoring, training and direct technical assistance. The incumbent will be expected to work on program proposals, reviews, provision of on-going support, data analysis and participation in other initiatives of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Unit. The Part-Time MEL Specialist will report to the MERL Senior Advisor.
Responsibilities
- Proposal Development related to new Business Development efforts- upon assignment (proposal development responsibilities are shared among the team) the incumbent is expected to be familiar with the RFA/RFP from the US Department of State and/or USAID; do any M&E related research that may be needed; and work with program teams to develop a preliminary results framework, logical framework, results to be achieved, as well as some key indicators and assumptions that have to be addressed. During the proposal process the incumbent will attend subsequent meetings; review or help draft M&E plans that are in sync with the project technical approach (and point out areas in the approach that do not match the expected results); and assist in setting targets and review past data sets to baselines as required (this includes comparing output indicators to budget to ensure consistency).
- Start-Up – upon award, the incumbent will assist with developing the final M&E plan for submission to the donor (if required). This will be done in tandem with HQ staff and international staff. This includes M&E information flows and communications systems; instrumentation including surveys; data quality based on the actual situation; and PIRS (USAID projects) or the equivalent for non-USAID projects to ensure indicators meet quality standards and methods. Staff in international offices and HQ may require training on the M&E system.
- On-going Support – MERL maintains a door-open policy. We exist to solve problems and provide support to international and HQ staff. The incumbent will help provide guidance, support and assistance on M&E issues (all team members provide these services); assistance in preparing, revising and analyzing data; assist with internal and external Data Quality Assessments (DQA), and preparation of revised M&E plans based on programmatic learning.
- Capacity Building – MERL conducts formal and informal training and other activities to build M&E capacity of staff. The incumbent will be expected to contribute to these efforts- conducting and/or participating in training; identifying training needs for incorporation and implementation in our annual plan; and keeping abreast of the latest developments in monitoring and evaluation.
- Evaluation – The incumbent will be expected to help design evaluations, baseline and other surveys as needed, manage teams as needed, review evaluation reports and conduct internal evaluations as necessary.
- Project Data Analysis – World Learning collects a lot of data, especially through surveys. The incumbent will provide support to international and HQ staff in analysis of data, especially in DevResults.
- Internal Data Collection and Tracking – The incumbent will be responsible for regularly collecting and analyzing program data for organizational indicators.
- Other – as both World Learning and MERL continue to grow and expand, other duties may arise.
Required Experience/Education:
- Bachelor’s Degree with 3-5 years relevant experience; Master’s degree with 1-year relevant experience. Master’s preferred.
- Practical experience in: educational program design, exchange and visitor programs, experiential education, program implementation or project management, monitoring and/or evaluation.
- Familiarity with donor M&E requirements (especially USAID and Department of State)
- Familiarity with standard M&E tools used in education, training and exchange, and CSO Institutional Development/Capacity Building.
- Familiarity and experience in conducting evaluations, and/or research.
- Knowledge and experience of qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and management methods using technology and known software packages, such as Microsoft Office, Devresults, Kobo Toolbox, Dedoose, NVIVO, NodeXL, or others.
Additional Skills:
- A logical and inquisitive mind that can deduce M&E from objectives and strategies
- Creativity and Problem-solving Skills
- Ability to work in, with and lead teams
- Excellent writing skills
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Commitment to the principles of inclusive approaches to programming that encourages full participation of individuals regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other marginalized status; commitment to challenging practices which may be exclusionary.