Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Director, USAID Ocean and Coastal Activity Senegal

Counterpart International is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Director for the anticipated 5-year USAID Senegal Ocean and Coastal Activity opportunity. The long-term objective of the Activity is to sustainably manage the small pelagic fisheries to support healthy ecosystems, equitable economic opportunities, improved food security, and increased resilience for the people of Senegal, especially women and youth. This is a full-time position based in Dakar, Senegal and will serve the life of the project. Qualified Senegalese nationals are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

In collaboration with the Chief of Party (COP) and Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), the Director will have overall responsibility for the Activity’s collaboration, learning and adaptation strategy. The MERL Director will ensure that MERL systems are robust and support goals and objectives of the Activity. He/she will be responsible for the Activity’s MEL plan and related reporting as well as the research and learning agenda. In addition, the MERL Director will lead all MEL reporting, knowledge dissemination, and communications. The successful candidate will bring experience in providing project staff and sub-grantee partners with the evidence, capacity, tools, technical assistance, and/or services required to design, implement, monitor, adapt and/or evaluate program interventions as well as implement learning activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Prepare the project CLA or MEL plan, and ensure regular updates as required.
• Develop, implement, and oversee the Activity’s strategy for collaboration, learning and adaptation.
• Establish and oversee the Activity’s performance management and reporting system, including preparing and reporting against the project’s MEL Plan.
• Implement flexible mechanisms for adaptive management and learning throughout the project cycle.
• Lead the design and implementation of the Activity’s research agenda, which may include operations research, performance evaluations, and rapid or thematic studies.
• Lead on periodic project pause and reflect sessions. Design, conduct, and manage other internal assessments and evaluations to assess program impact.
• Prepare terms of reference and support external evaluators in the implementation of evaluations of the project, as required.
• Ensure the collection and analysis of high-quality quantitative and qualitative data through robust data collection methodologies.
• Ensure data integrity throughout the process of data collection, storage, entry, verification, cleaning, analysis and reporting. Conduct periodic data quality assessments.
• Provide training on data collection and management systems to project and partner staff.
• Conduct regular visits to project sites to monitor and ensure the quality of project activities.
• Collect, analyze, and synthesize data for reports to USAID and Counterpart’s Washington DC based staff.
• Work closely with the COP, DCOP and Washington DC-based staff to review program performance and propose adjustments to reflect best practices and learning.
• Serve as the technical lead and key MERL technical point of contact for implementing partners, including participation in technical meetings and coordination platforms.
• Contribute to the design, delivery and monitoring of technical assistance to strengthen partners’ abilities in M&E, data collection and management, and research and learning methods.
• Produce high-quality, accessible written analysis to inform priorities, stakeholders, and donors.
• Design and implement a learning dissemination strategy and hold regular learning activities to identify and address knowledge gaps by prioritizing learning questions and planning and resourcing learning activities.
• Report on monthly, quarterly, and annual progress providing information to all relevant stakeholders, including project participants.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, data analytics, international development, social sciences, statistics, or another relevant field; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, preferably in economic growth, job creation, market systems, women’s empowerment and/or community resiliency programs strongly preferred.
• Experience working on USAID-funded programs is preferred. Prior work experience in Senegal required.
• Experience managing MEL functions, including designing and implementing MEL results frameworks; developing performance management plans, work plans, and indicators; developing and implementing learning agendas and activities; and monitoring on-going programs for USAID or other large donor organizations.
• Ability to produce displays, summaries, reports, research briefs and other data-based products to facilitate user-friendly consumption of information.
• Experience with data analysis and presentation using Excel and data analysis and visualization packages. Additional software and technical skills (databases, mobile technology, GIS, and statistical packages) preferred.
• Experience linking research and program findings into program design and implementation.
• Experience in producing program-level reports that assess the progress of broad programmatic interventions toward strategic objectives.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Demonstrated ability to develop gender-sensitive indicators and targets for women and other historically marginalized groups.
• Experience working effectively with government officials, non-governmental partners, and USAID and/or other donors.
• Knowledge of and experience applying CLA methodologies.
• Fluency in English and French required.