MEL/CLA Director

Overview:

Chemonics International seeks a MEL/CLA Director for the anticipated USAID-funded Benin Northern Economic Livelihood for Youth (NELY) Activity. The NELY activity specifically targets young people living in northern Benin, particularly young men who are vulnerable for recruitment to violent extremist groups. This proposed activity will listen to young men and women and work with them to design locally specific interventions that target improving purchasing powers, developing self-sufficiency, and improving inclusion in the modern economic marketplace. This will be done through introducing relevant technologies, partnering with the private sector and seeking out solutions that engage young vulnerable men and women. As a result of co-creation, young men and women will work together, develop interconnectedness, mutual interdependence, and stronger community resilience as well as have meaningful life experiences that invest them in the development of their communities.

The MEL/CLA director will develop and implement the Activity’s CLA and MEL plans, and will integrate the CLA principles throughout implementation, sub-awards, action plans, and capacity building efforts to promote learning and build the MEL and CLA capacity of our consortium and stakeholders through training and knowledge transfer.

Responsibilities

• Oversees development and implementation of Activity’s CLA and MEL plans
• Builds capacities of government counterparts across interventions as part of their monitoring/tracking mechanisms delivering targeted training and utilizing tools to ensure capacity is developed
• Builds CLA into sub-awards, ensuring selected recipients can track, review, and assess the impact of their work to sustainably scale up what is working and redirect efforts that are not working
• Supports quarterly pause-and-reflect sessions and ensures adaptive management is practiced across the team to achieve expected results
• Builds capacity of staff and consortium partners in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in statistics, quantitative/qualitative data analysis or management, program management, or another related field
• Minimum of eight years of experience in environmental management, collecting data, conducting analysis, and fostering learning to inform programming
• Demonstrated knowledge of integrating CLA into project interventions to inform decision-making and incorporating CLA into capacity building for program monitoring requirements
• Demonstrated experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods, including developing surveys and holding focus groups and capacity building for CLA
• Demonstrated ability to work productively within a team;
• Possess excellent organizational and multi-tasking skills;
• Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, with demonstrated diplomacy and the ability to communicate effectively in a cross-cultural environment;
• Computer skills including strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word and Office applications;
• Fluency in French and English
• Experience working in or supporting programs in the West Africa region, preferred.
• Position likely based in Cotonou, with significant regular travel to Northern Benin expected