Senior Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Manager for Food Systems

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better future. This simple idea has been at the heart of TechnoServe’s work around the world for over 50 years. TechnoServe is a pioneer in leveraging the power of business and markets to create sustainable pathways out of poverty.

The low-income communities in which we work are full of enterprising people. Their small-scale farms and businesses are the keys to economic development. But they face many challenges: low literacy, lack of access to jobs and markets, unpredictable political dynamics and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. For many women and young people, the challenges are even more daunting. Working with TechnoServe staff, people around the world are lifting themselves out of poverty. The results are amazing...when incomes increase and living conditions for families get better, they are able to access health care and education previously out of reach. Communities and even whole countries are better off.

Job Summary:

The Senior Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager is tasked with providing leadership across the MEL function, ensuring the foundational building blocks for effective MEL are in place across a portfolio of 15+ projects. Primary responsibilities include: developing and rolling out our standards; backstopping staff; directly managing evaluations, audits, and research projects; supporting recruitments and onboarding new staff; supporting the drafting of new project proposals; and developing project-level MEL management systems. Additionally, the Senior MEL Manager will manage a Data Specialist as a direct report and facilitate their work in developing and maintaining technology systems for data collection and utilization. The Senior MEL Manager position requires strong technical MEL expertise, but is also fundamentally a leadership position. Success in the role requires effective communication with senior staff, an ability to build and manage relationships remotely, strong project management skill, and strategic thinking.

TechnoServe’s food systems portfolio includes 20+ projects, ranging from small pilots with lightweight MEL approaches, to large scale (>$20M) projects with multiple MEL staff across several countries. Several of the largest project explicitly focus on large-scale food fortification. In addition to direct support to projects, this position will collaborate closely with Food Systems Practice leaders to develop and advance best practices and standard approaches.

This position sits within TechnoServe’s Global Impact team and reports to the Global Impact Director, based in Washington DC. At TechnoServe, in order to promote project learning and smooth adaptive management, most MEL staff report to project or Country Directors. Having the Global Impact team sit outside of these reporting lines allows it to remain objective while providing high-level leadership, coordination, and backstopping.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities:

Provide direct technical assistance to projects (70% LOE):

• Lead internal evaluations or special studies; Manage external evaluators.
• Provide support and technical oversight to junior MEL staff (e.g. regular check-ins and sign-off on deliverables for projects that only have junior MEL Associates).
• Provide advisory and direct technical assistance on specific MEL deliverables.
• Support the effective utilization of data and technology systems through managing and facilitating the work of a Data Specialist.
• Hire and onboard project-level MEL staff

Execute the core functions of the Global Impact team, including (20% LOE):

• Promote TechnoServe’s Global MEL Standards through staff training, conducting diagnostics, and developing MEL improvement plans.
• Support or lead annual global initiatives in the region, including Corporate Measurement and the Program Quality Survey.
• Provide inputs to the Program Development team, including reviewing the MEL section of proposals and advising on logical frameworks.

Provide leadership to the Food Processing Practice (10% LOE):

• Work closely with practice area leadership to develop standards, best practices, and tools to improve the quality of MEL across the practice. This includes standard indicator guidance, analysis guidelines, database standards, monitoring dashboards, and data collection tools.
• Play a leading role in developing practice area learning agenda.
• Promote knowledge sharing across the project staff in the food systems portfolio.

Basic Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as economics, public health, business administration, statistics, evaluation, data science, or other; and a minimum of 10 years of experience designing, managing and implementing multidisciplinary and results-based MEL systems in an international context.
• Or a master's degree and 7 years of similar experience.
• Expertise in evaluating projects that are focused on food system improvements, including interventions focused on food processors, nutrition and backward linkages etc.
• Experience with project management systems that allow for effectively planning, tracking, and ensuring quality for complex projects.
• Background in a range of monitoring and evaluation methodologies, including both quantitative and qualitative research approaches
• Proven ability to translate research, methodologies, and data into accessible formats for colleagues with non-technical backgrounds
• Experience integrating gender into project approach
• Experience delegating responsibility and thinking creatively about how to use the available resources to achieve the best results
• Hands-on capacity-building experience, including development of training materials, as well as delivering actual training sessions.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• A commitment to developing and promoting MEL staff skills.
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills and a demonstrated track record of producing high quality, well-written deliverables
• A demonstrated ability to effectively multi-task and manage projects, including staffing, work plans, deliverables, timelines and budgets
• A demonstrated ability to coordinate and communicate effectively and diplomatically with a range of external and internal colleagues including donors, partners and senior and junior team members across diverse cultures
• An ability to value and respect voices of staff at all levels, external stakeholders, and the men and women we work with.

Required Languages: Verbal and written fluency in English is required. Spanish, Portuguese, or French are desirable.

Supervisory Responsibilities: The Senior MEL Manager will supervise a Data Specialist. The Data Specialists is tasked with technology selection, system design and set up, backstopping data management processes, data visualization, and advancing data management best practices.

This is a remote position with a preference for candidates in the United States, particularly within a commutable distance to our Arlington, VA Headquarters (HQ), or within an African country where TechnoServe has operations. If the selected candidate is within a 50 mile radius from HQ, you will be expected to work from HQ approximately once a week, or as determined by your supervisor. Candidates must have work authorization from the country from which they are applying. TechnoServe will not sponsor work authorization for this position. All materials must be submitted in English for further consideration.

We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability and all other protected classes.

We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation and thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.

If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe please contact the Human Resources at [email protected] or call +1 202 785 4515.