Managing Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (M3)

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Summary

The Managing Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) is the Team Lead for MERL in the Department of Global Health (DGH) and sits on the MERL leadership team across the International Programs Division. The position leads DGH’s learning agenda, engages in departmental strategic planning and business development, and contributes to technical forums related to program research and evaluation, both internal and external to Save the Children. In this role, you will supervise MERL staff, ensure consistent guidance for MERL-related activities, and provide targeted technical assistance to select projects within the DGH portfolio. In collaboration with thematic counterparts, you will provide guidance and support for research at global and country levels, including, but not limited to, monitoring and evaluation guidance, research partnerships, and capacity building.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

Technical Leadership and Quality Programming (40% Level of Effort)

• Serve as the department Team Leader for MERL, participating in strategic planning, and ensuring procedures are in place for high quality, innovative MERL approaches that comply with donor and organizational mandates.
• Support development of evidence-based program standards and guidance that reflect Save the Children best practices and state of the art approaches and promote widespread application.
• Set technical standards and priorities for MERL.
• Promote the application of MERL best practices as a key element of program implementation within Save the Children and work to keep it visible as an important cross-cutting area globally.
• Sit on the MERL leadership team for International Programs, coordinating strategic initiatives such as the global learning agenda, capacity building initiatives, and strategic research partnerships.
• Represent DGH and contribute to task forces and meetings related to MERL within Save the Children.
• Lead the department’s learning agenda.
• Oversee and contribute to finalizing learning products, including developing and reviewing journal manuscripts, technical briefs, conference presentations, and other dissemination events.
• Liaise with the Knowledge Management team to identify, create, disseminate, and apply learning.

Quality Technical Assistance (30% Level of Effort)

• Provide targeted technical assistance on MERL to selected projects in the DGH portfolio, including:
  • Working with project teams to develop and/or finalize monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans.
  • Supporting the design and implementation of adaptive management and learning strategies.
  • Helping to develop and implement project learning agendas, including refinement of learning questions, methods for capturing learning, and documentation plans.
  • Contributing to formative and implementation research studies and program evaluations, including development of tools and protocols, analytic plans, training materials, and IRB submissions.
  • Supporting data quality audits and data review meetings.
  • Supporting analyses, write-up, publication, and dissemination of findings.
  • Providing mentorship/capacity building in MERL to project staff.

Resource Mobilization (10% Level of Effort)

• In collaboration with technical teams, Partnerships & Philanthropy (P&P), New Business Development (NBD), and regional and country offices, support efforts to secure and diversify funding for global health.
• Participate in regular resource mobilization meetings on upcoming opportunities and priority bids, and coordinate with MERL team to assign MERL staff to serve as MERL Leads on specific bids. Ensure updating of MERL capability statement for use in business development efforts.
• Serve as MERL Lead on specific bids.

External Representation (10% Level of Effort)

• Participate in external working groups. Contribute to technical and advisory forums and meetings as requested and participate in select technical working groups to ensure completion and achievement of objective Cultivate relationships and collaborate with UNICEF, WHO, DHS, and other stakeholders to promote metrics and data use.
• Cultivate relationships and seek collaboration with research partners.
• Represent DGH and contribute to task forces and meetings related to monitoring, evaluation, and learning in global for

Staff Management and Development (10% Level of Effort)

• Lead MERL team and work with DGH and HR staff to effectively and efficiently recruit, hire, onboard, and retain talent for the agency; hold regular meetings with staff individually and as a team.
• Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division, and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission, ensuring that the working environment continually fosters diversity, inclusion, and belonging – supporting Save the Children values.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience plus at least 10 years of relevant experience.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning within global health programs.
• Proven qualitative and quantitative research skills required, including but not limited to study design, survey instrument design and use, sampling, data analysis plans, data cleaning, statistical analysis, and presentation and reporting and communication of results.
• Demonstrated proficiency in team leadership and management of MERL, i.e., providing technical advice, guidance, and direction related to various sized programs and grants.
• Experience leading and contributing to proposal development.
• Prior experience with USAID-funded programs; demonstrated knowledge and application of USAID’s Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning frameworks and requirements including Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting.
• Demonstrated professional proficiency in collaborative communication within and across teams, as well as with internal and external audiences.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 20% time.
• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite.
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with individuals and teams at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and maintaining and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

Preferred Qualifications

• An advanced degree in public health, or equivalent degree, with emphasis on epidemiology, demography, research methods, or measurement.
• Experience developing and implementing implementation research highly preferred.
• Knowledge and experience establishing and measuring health indicators, as well as associated capacity building with country nationals.

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $131,750 – $147,250 base salary
• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $119,850 – $133,950 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $107,950 – $120,650 base salary

Actual base salary may vary based upon, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here). Employee may be eligible for an incentive program. Save the Children also offers paid vacation, accrued at least 12 days a year, depending on paygrade and length of service, paid safety and wellness leave of at least 1 day per month worked for a full time employee which is pro rata reduced for employees working less than a full time schedule, and at least 10 paid holidays a year. Employees may be eligible for additional bonus compensation. Save the Children US also offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, a retirement savings plan with employer contribution, family leave, paid parental/adoption leave of 60 days, commuter benefits, paid caregiver leave days, 1 paid volunteer day a year, paid critical child illness leave days, dress for your day, and much more.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

No matter your role when you join Save the Children, each and every day you will challenge yourself to devote your skills, talent and expertise to changing the world for kids. It’s an ambitious goal, and a meaningful one no matter how you see yourself professionally: an accountant, a writer, a data analyst, a teacher, a driver, a designer, or any one of the hundreds of dozens of roles we’re looking to fill every day.

You see, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

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