ROLE PURPOSE:

Under the overall supervision of the RMEAL Manager, The Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Specialist will take the overall responsibility of implementing the research, evaluations, and learning procedure by providing guidance and technical advice/support that ensure studies are appropriate to thematic and contextual needs of projects and activities. S/He will also help staff and relevant stakeholders understand what and when study evidence and learning is available to feed into strategic planning and decision making.

CHILD SAFEGUARDING:

Level 3: the post holder will have contact with children and/or young people either frequently (e.g. once a week or more) or intensively (e.g. four days in one month or more or overnight) because they work country programs; or are visiting country programs; or because they are responsible for implementing the police checking/vetting process staff.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

• Reports to: RMEAL Manager
• Staff reporting to this post: NA
• Context: Humanitarian and development
• Scope: Country focus

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

Strategic Support

• Collaborate with senior management and program teams to align research, evaluation, and learning agenda with organizational goals and priorities.
• Contribute to strategic planning processes by providing evidence-based recommendations and insights derived from research and evaluation findings.
• Represent the organization in relevant forums, conferences, and working groups to share insights, contribute to sector-wide learning, and promote best practices.
• Scope, seek out, engage, and maintain new partnerships with INGOs, UN and academic institutions to support the deliver our Evidence & Learning Agenda, including opportunities for information sharing and learning exchanges with external stakeholders.
• Ensure analysis of regularly collected monitoring data and feedback data into research and evaluation processes to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities and ensure the voices of children and communities are heard and acted upon.
• Engage with global SCI forums and working groups to present research findings and learnings, contributing to the organization’s global knowledge and advocacy efforts.

Research

• Together with the RMEAL Manager, maintain regular and proactive dialogue with PDQ team and field teams to identify critical programmatic knowledge and evidence gaps.
• In collaboration with Technical Advisors, RMEAL Manager, oversee research projects, including qualitative and quantitative studies, to cover evidence and knowledge gaps.
• Develop research methodologies, data collection tools, and sampling frameworks that adhere to ethical standards and ensure data quality.
• Analyze and interpret research findings, presenting results in clear and concise reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Facilitate the documentation and dissemination of research findings and evidence across Save the Children International (SCI) networks to contribute to global learning and best practices.

Monitoring & Evaluation

• Identify, design, plan and conduct needs-assessment, baseline, mid-term reviews, endline, end of project and impact evaluations to assess program effectiveness and inform adaptive management.
• Ensure appropriate coordination with external consultants who will lead on assessments and evaluations while involving relevant SC project teams.
• Review existing data collection tools and develop new evaluation tools.
• Collaborate with program teams to ensure that generated evidence is used for programmatic adjustments and strategic decision-making.
• Ensure that all assessment/evaluation reports meet donor quality criteria and promote the integration of recommendations and lessons learnt in project planning and future programming.
• Share evaluation results and insights with global SCI teams to foster a culture of shared learning and continuous improvement.

Learning

• Foster a culture of learning in the Country Office, including the systematic collection, storage and dissemination of evidence and learning that is used throughout the project cycle by all staff.
• Facilitate organizational learning processes to capture lessons learned, best practices, and innovations from program implementation.
• Support the dissemination of learning products, including case studies, success stories, and lessons learned briefs, to inform program design and advocacy efforts.
• Develop and maintain a knowledge management system to store, organize, and share research, evaluation, and learning outputs across the organization.

Capacity Building

• Provide technical support and capacity building to staff and partners on research, Evaluation, and learning methodologies.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in Social Science Research, Evaluation, or related field required
• Minimum of 4 years of applied research and/or evaluation experience, preferably in a nonprofit organization

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essential

• Skills in assessing program effectiveness, preferably in higher education or professional development
• Experience Conducting interviews, focus groups and analysing qualitative data
• Experience presenting research and evaluation findings
• Strong computer proficiency, particularly with Microsoft Excel and Word, and ability to use computer programs to collect, document and share assessment and monitoring results
• Proficiency in use of Stata, Power BI, Kobo toolbox and qualitative research analysis packages
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching.
• Excellent verbal and written skills in Arabic and good written and spoken English
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated understanding of emergency response activities.
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s MEAL approach, aims, values and principles.
• Training and capacity-building skills, particularly in research and MEAL methodologies.

Desirable

• Knowledge of qualitative data analysis software (e.g., NVivo).
• Experience in designing and implementing participatory and child-friendly research methodologies.
• Ability to work in challenging and complex environments
• Commitment to and understanding of Save the Children’s aims, values and principles including rights-based approaches

Additional job responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI Health and Safety policies and procedures.