Senior Program Officer – Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

We have a unique and vibrant culture at R4D. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our work environment and help advance our mission. Diversity—of ideas, identities, perspectives and backgrounds—is vital to who we are and what we do. We seek people who embrace these values and will help reinforce them. Our work culture is collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial. We operate based on trust and respect. Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other in continuously building a better R4D.

Practices

Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other to continuously build a better R4D. This position will work across two different practices at R4D – Health and Evaluation & Adaptive Learning (EAL).

The Health practice works with change agents to strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries by conducting analysis and research, identifying problems, supporting planning, policy development and capacity building, and facilitating collaborative learning. We help them design and implement reforms that draw on global experience adapted to local contexts, using monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems to identify issues and adjust policies and implementation.

The EAL practice conducts targeted research using methods such as formative research and rapid experimentation to answer questions relevant to donor and practitioner strategies. By using proven evaluation methods for adaptive management purposes, we work with partners to design, experiment with, and evaluate solutions to accelerate their impact.

Opportunity

R4D is seeking a Senior Program Officer- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) to lead work developing and implementing innovative MEL approaches for the Health and EAL practices at R4D.

The Senior Program Officer (SPO) will provide technical direction to activity teams on Health and EAL projects, supporting their application of adaptive learning practices and innovative evaluation methods. This includes rapid experimentation and timely feedback loops to test, adapt, and improve on solutions. This individual must have experience in designing and implementing M&E systems; in leading processes to review and analyze evidence to inform priorities for action; and in facilitating collaboration among multiple partners including consortium partners, USAID representatives, government stakeholders, and local implementing partners.

The Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator (Accelerator) is a global initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with co-funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (the foundation). Its goal is to support countries’ efforts to create high-performing, sustainable health systems on their journeys to self-reliance. The Accelerator partners with countries to address specific health system issues while institutionalizing country-driven processes for the selection, rapid testing, and purposeful scale-up of health system strengthening interventions. The Accelerator is led by R4D with support from Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF, headquartered in Nigeria), ICF, and a growing number of global, regional, and local partner organizations.

On the Health team, the SPO will act as the overall MEL lead for the Accelerator and will provide technical direction to activity teams around innovative MEL approaches to track and learn about health systems change.

The role is currently remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will report to the Technical Director of the Accelerator.

Responsibilities

• Lead the adaptation and implementation of a MEL plan and detailed learning agenda for the overall Accelerator to facilitate adaptive management and continuous improvement, building on and connecting across existing adaptive learning activities.
• Support activity teams in the formulation of theories of change (ToC) and implementation of learning agendas, and manage associated learning partnerships and processes, ensuring timely accomplishment of activities.
• Facilitate relationship building, collaboration, and learning with consortium partners (especially those directly contributing to MEL actions), USAID representatives, government stakeholders, and local implementing partners, ensuring appropriate, coordinated, and joint planning.
• Manage learning events and processes, working with technical team members to ensure ongoing adaptations to programmatic activities and ToCs as new evidence is generated.
• Promote peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing and application, activity-based capacity strengthening, and evidence and data utilization in support of adaptive learning
• Provide technical guidance to activity teams in the design and implementation of research activities to support iterative learning and adaptive processes, and capacity building.
• Lead the preparation of internal and external MEL reports and collaborate with the Accelerator communications team on MEL work
• Liaise with other R4D teams working on MEL for systems change, connecting best practices across R4D practice areas.
• Other responsibilities as agreed upon with the Health and EAL teams.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in relevant subject areas including health, economics, international development, or a related field +7 years of experience. Relevant experience includes health systems strengthening; organizational learning and development; capacity strengthening; indicator development/reporting and evidence to policy action.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of M&E and adaptive learning practices—both “traditional” project monitoring methods (logic frames, key performance indicator tracking, etc.) and newer methods emerging for MEL of complex systems change (outcome harvesting, contribution analysis, process tracing, etc.).
• Familiarity with USAID M&E/monitoring plans and learning agenda desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to work across teams, with government stakeholders, USAID and partner organizations. Building teams and fostering collaboration in order to achieve goals, meet milestones, and produce high quality donor deliverables.
• Experience facilitating learning and knowledge sharing processes, establishing and managing dynamic feedback systems to capture experiential learning and unintended consequences, and fostering collaboration across different areas and stakeholders.
• Experience effectively communicating research and evaluation findings to stakeholders and facilitating the use of learning products for improved policy and practice.
• Excellent oral and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to present complicated and detailed data to activity and project leads. Knowledge of French an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in thought leadership on how to build the capacity of staff and country stakeholders to understand how data can be used for decision making.
• High level of organization, attention to detail, professionalism, and reliability.
• Ability to prioritize and manage work in a fast-paced environment across multiple projects and work streams with competing time/resource demands.
• Strong knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, and results synthesis, evaluation and presentation of data analysis for various audiences (e.g., policymakers, program managers, field staff, community stakeholders.)
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally as needed.