Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) Director at FHI360 NGO

FHI 360 is currently seeking qualified candidates for the position Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) Director, based in in Nairobi, Kenya or another one of FHI 360’s East Africa offices.

Project Description:

FHI 360 is currently working on a large-scale East Africa-focused education in emergencies opportunity which will support children’s social, emotional and academic development from early childhood to early adolescence. The project will test, conduct rigorous evaluations, and scale innovative active learning methodologies for refugee and host community children. The project includes a consortium of partners seasoned in education in emergencies, education development, creative learning methodologies, and research, monitoring and evaluation across a number of East African countries.

Position Description:

The Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (RMEL) Director will be responsible for the design and implementation of a conflict-sensitive monitoring, evaluation and learning system for the project, including research activities designed to build the evidence base and advance a pre-determined learning agenda. The RMEL plan will be regional in scope, covering multiple countries across East Africa, and regional travel will be required.

Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities include:

• Oversee the initial Education and Risk Analysis and the development of rolling assessments to gather and analyze data about critical events that may significantly affect project implementation, thereby building adaptability into project implementation.
• Lead development and implementation of the RMEL Plan, including indicator selection and definition, target setting for all indicators, planning of all necessary data collection and analysis, and feedback loops for adaptive management.
• With program leadership, lead the development of a scenario-based implementation strategy and accompanying adaptive management plan.
• Oversee and directly contribute to the development and implementation of M&E tools and systems to collect, interpret and aggregate data that track tangible, measurable progress toward project results and the attainment of program objectives.
• Develop high quality quantitative and qualitative methods and participatory methodologies to monitor program quality for performance and results; design appropriate feedback mechanisms to assess whether approaches implemented by the project are effective;
• Lead team of M&E officers and provide training to staff, primary stakeholders, and implementing partners on M&E components in project design, such as the monitoring plan, assessments, reviews, surveys and evaluations.
• Ensure that findings from all monitoring, assessment and survey activities are fed back into the project and are disseminated to stakeholders and consortium partners for continuous program adjustments.
• Provide ongoing oversight and technical assistance to consortium partners in implementing the monitoring and evaluation system, ensuring data and analysis are of high quality.
• Provide high quality and timely submission of all required project reports, including documentation of success stories, analysis of data for indicator calculation, summary of qualitative findings, etc.
• Develop and support the design and implementation of end-of-project evaluations and surveys of the program’s M&E system.

Minimum Requirements:

• Master’s degree or higher in international development, social sciences or related field with strong grounding in quantitative and qualitative research methods required;
• At least 10 years of work experience in education research and evaluation implementation, analysis, and project management;
• At least three years of experience managing a team of monitoring and evaluation specialists;
• At least three years’ experience working in developing countries, including some experience in refugee environments. Experience working in East Africa is highly desired;
• Database management and knowledge management experience required;
• Demonstrated ability to use monitoring and evaluation findings for adaptive management;
• Experience with rolling assessments and/or complexity-aware monitoring is a plus;
• Strong presentation and training facilitation skills required;
• Strong computer literacy required; knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data capture, analysis and visualization software is a plus;
• Excellent knowledge of education in crisis and conflict-affected environments and specifically with conflict-sensitive education is required;
• Knowledge of current trends in monitoring, evaluation and research for education in emergencies is a plus;
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with a variety of stakeholders;
• Oral and written communication skills in English required; fluency in Kiswahili and other East African languages are desirable;
• Ability to travel within the region is required.

Offer will be contingent on award of proposal and approval of funder.