Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Senior Specialist

Position Overview

The Global Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Senior Specialist will be part of the Global MEL team. This position will advise on MEL implementation for donor-funded international agricultural development projects, provide MEL technical support to new business development efforts, and lead MEL departmental initiatives. This role is expected to oversee MEL activities across a portfolio of 4-5 projects and contribute to 2-3 new business development efforts each year under the guidance of Global MEL Senior Managers/Group Director. The GMEL Senior Specialist will report to the Group Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.

This position can be based in Washington, DC or Arden Hill, MN.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

Project Support

• Partner with GMEL Senior Managers/Group Director to advise and coach project MEL staff to design and carry out a quality MEL plan, which will include the development of data collection tools, review of project data and reports, reviewing evaluation deliverables, conducting data quality assessments, organizing learning meetings, attending regular project update meetings, and other tasks defined in the MEL Plan;
• Design and manage an electronic system used for project data collection and analysis, in collaboration with the vendor; and
• Lead Power BI dashboard and ArcGIS map development for project data visualization

Support to New Business Development

• Partner with GMEL Senior Mangers/Group Director to develop of theories of change or other logic models to underpin proposal design;
• Provide technical inputs into the recruitment of proposed project MEL staff; and
• Conduct research to inform proposal theory of change, MEL plan and indicator target.

Departmental Initiatives

• Contribute to thought leadership on the direction of monitoring, evaluation and learning at Venture37;
• Research and share learning about state-of-the-art approaches to MEL;
• Lead department initiatives such as facilitating a MEL community of practice, and organizing the collection of standard indicators across projects, development of MEL tools, or leading a training; and
• Promote a culture of learning, data analysis and reflection within Venture37, in collaboration with key departments.

Required Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s level degree in economics, agricultural economics, statistics, monitoring and evaluation, or related field;
• Minimum 3 years of experience in MEL in a development context;
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative research, analysis, and evaluation skills;
• Familiarity with theory of changes and other type of logic models
• Proficiency in Power BI;
• Proficiency in a common statistical software, such as Stata, SPSS, etc.;
• Ability to work well independently and function effectively as a member of a geographically dispersed team;
• Ability to take on diverse tasks and manage many priorities simultaneously;
• Excellent writing, presentation, and facilitation skills; and
• Ability to travel internationally.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Master’s Level Degree in relevant field;
• Experience in MEL for international agriculture projects;
• Experience providing MEL support to projects funded by USAID, USDA, and/or Gates Foundation;
• Experience with electronic data capture and analysis platforms
• Proficiency in ArcGIS; and
• Proficiency in French, Portuguese, and/or Arabic.

Salary Range: $75,700 to $92,600