Position Description

RTI is seeking a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist for the USAID End Wildlife Crime Activity. The Senior MEL Specialist will be responsible for overseeing all MEL activities on the project.

This position will report to the Chief of Party and can be based in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, or Thailand.

Responsibilities

• Oversees all monitoring and evaluation activities and is responsible for quality and timely reporting against the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP).
• Manages the mobilization of international, national, and local MERLA expertise from partners.
• Oversees MERLA activities implemented throughout all result activities and assists building local capacity on data collection, management, and sharing.
• Leads the development, implementation, refinement, and harmonization of the project’s MEL system; works with technical staff to develop and operationalize indicators, set targets, and monitor (including data collection tool development) progress in accordance with the activity contract.
• Trains staff and partners on MEL system operations, collection methods, storage, and analysis.
• Contributes to project efforts to build the technical, systems, and operational capacities of local partner organizations and other relevant stakeholders.
• Responsible for the development of the learning agenda (in collaboration with technical staff and partners) and leads the planning for learning activities such as periodic analyses, pause and reflect sessions, or other learning events to support feedback loops that inform project learning and adaptation.
• Contribute to and/or lead writing sections for contractual reporting requirements, such as quarterly progress reports, workplans, and annual progress reports.
• Establish systems for gathering, reporting, and analyzing performance data and indicators in compliance with USAID guidelines and best practices, and integrate data collection and learning throughout all project activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 12 years of experience, or master’s degree and 10 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience managing monitoring, evaluation, CLA, and reporting systems, particularly pertaining to locally led and locally relevant development, private sector engagement, and inclusive development.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.
• Experience in Southeast Asia.

Preferred Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in MEL and data analysis.
• Experience in program evaluation and implementation research.
• Experience building capacity of partners and stakeholders for data collection and use for learning.
• Demonstrated experience with developing and implementing learning agendas, activities, and events into programming to support improved implementation.