Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) & Collaborating, Learning, Adaptation (CLA) Team Lead, Ethiopia Resilience in Pastoral Areas

ACDI/VOCA is a global development design and delivery partner that has implemented effective economic and social development projects in nearly 150 countries since 1963. We empower people to make positive changes in their lives by applying our expertise in sustainable agriculture, resilience, economic opportunity, access to finance, and equity & inclusion to create meaningful, lasting impact. ACDI/VOCA and its affiliates design and implement donor-funded projects, facilitate impact investing, deliver financial services, and partner with businesses to promote inclusive practices and build sustainable supply chains. In 2024, ACDI/VOCA was named a Top Workplace by the Washington Post and received 2024 Top Workplaces Culture Excellence recognition for its innovation, work-life flexibility, compensation & benefits, leadership, and purpose & values.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) & Collaborating, Learning, Adaptation (CLA) Team Lead, Ethiopia Resilience in Pastoral Areas

ACDI/VOCA is seeking an MEL & CLA Team Lead for an upcoming Resilience in Pastoral Areas Activity in Ethiopia funded by USAID. The anticipated project will increase the resilience of households, markets, and governance institutions as well as the utilization of early warning signs across pastoralist communities in Ethiopia’s lowlands, contributing to their enhanced food security and inclusive economic growth.

The MEL & CLA Team Lead will co-develop and facilitate learning workshops with MEL and technical leads, engaging partners in identifying evidence-based ways to adapt and scale interventions. They will design and manage the CLA and MEL plan and learning agenda on technical and management processes. They will supervise the MEL, KM, and reporting functions to systematically generate, synthesize, share, and apply learning, effective, and adaptive management. The program is anticipated to start in 2025 and this position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for MEL knowledge exchange and the implementation of learning and adaptive management approaches and interventions based on best practices and global learning
• Support the design of and manage the MEL framework and plan that incorporates CLA principles and components
• Develop and maintain strong relationships and foster collaboration with diverse stakeholders including implementing partners in the region, research institutions, think tanks, government agencies, donors, private sector, and local organizations
• Support the development and test the efficacy of data visualization tools, methods, and analytics to foster learning and adaptive management
• Leverage informational sources and innovative and well-established research methods including observations, assessments, surveys, and reports to drive learning and adaptive management
• Ensure effective reporting, data collection, and monitoring systems are in place
• Oversee local organizations’ preparation and implementation of learning events, forums, platforms, conferences, and workshops
• Oversee learning and adaptive management and organizational capacity building initiatives
• Actively support internal and external learning processes, including activity implementation (and events) debriefing, identifying and analyzing lessons learned from technical activities
• Manage short-term technical assistance in the areas of learning, instructional design, and institutional behavior change
• Conduct data quality reviews to ensure that all information required for submission to donor is collected in a valid, reliable, and timely manner
• Complete impact assessment, baseline, midline, and end line surveys to assess the impact of the project on livelihoods

Qualifications

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in evaluation, management, organizational development, economics, statistics, or related field is required.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience leading the M&E component of a donor funded project and translating programmatic learning into adaptive programming is required.
• In-depth understanding of resilience, food security, livelihoods, or market systems programming.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral learning and adaptive management efforts and proven expertise in providing learning and adaptive management guidance, including familiarity with applying the Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) approach to management.
• Demonstrated experience developing content and coordinating learning events, as well as applying diverse adult and organizational learning including coaching, mentoring, peer-to peer, and others.
• Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods, survey design and implementation, and statistical data analysis is required.
• Experience working in Ethiopia is strongly preferred.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Ethiopian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.