The ELMA Philanthropies Services (U.S.) Inc.
Director of Monitoring & Evaluation
Organization
The ELMA Philanthropies Services (U.S.) Inc. was established in 2005 as the services arm of The ELMA Foundations to develop program strategies, identify and explore grantmaking possibilities, monitor grant performance, and establish philanthropic relationships for the ELMA group of foundations. The main foundation is The ELMA Foundation, whose mission is to improve the life prospects of African children and youth, and the families and communities that care for them, through its support of sustainable efforts that build African capacity to relieve poverty, advance education, and promote health. The ELMA Foundation focuses on education, health, and economic opportunities for youth. It is currently active in ten countries in Africa and is already among the leading grantmakers active on the continent. The ELMA Relief Foundation responds to disasters around the world, especially those that affect children disproportionately. The ELMA Philanthropies is based in New York, NY, USA, and in Cape Town, South Africa.
Programming
The ELMA Philanthropies focuses programming in these areas:
The ELMA Philanthropies' work across all program areas builds on three fundamental ideas: 1) African capacity-building - preferentially supporting African or Africa-based organizations and individuals whenever feasible, contributing to the establishment of lasting institutions, and strengthening Africa's ability to find local solutions to resolve its problems, 2) Synergy - providing support that embraces the child or youth in a holistic fashion, and 3) Inclusiveness - promoting opportunity for disadvantaged children and adolescents, with close attention to valuing girls and young women.
The ELMA Philanthropies targets ten countries in Africa (Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and further expansion to eastern Africa is foreseen. The
ELMA Relief Foundation supports timely humanitarian assistance in the form of emergency food and shelter, medical assistance, and help towards emotional recovery. This is primarily in response to natural disasters such as cyclones, earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes around the world, including recent disasters in Haiti, Myanmar, and Peru.
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Position
The ELMA Philanthropies seeks a Director of Monitoring & Evaluation, a newly created position, to manage all activities related to evaluation and performance tracking in support of programming across the ELMA countries of interest. Based in New York, NY, and reporting to the President, the Director of Monitoring & Evaluation will be a member of the senior management team. S/he will have the capacity to run an evaluation function of an evolving organization and help shape The ELMA Philanthropies' thinking at a strategic level, working with both senior staff and the Board. Additionally, s/he will provide hands-on, practical support to The ELMA Philanthropies' program staff, as well as guidance for selected grantees in the field. This is a compelling opportunity for an experienced evaluation professional to create the monitoring and evaluation function of a major foundation from the ground up, helping to measure its impact, learn from programming, and inform strategies to continually increase program impact.
The ideal candidate will be equally confident reporting on The ELMA Philanthropies' impact to a corporate Board of Directors and partnering with leading international NGOs on evaluation challenges. Thus, the ideal candidate will bring both: a) nonprofit programming expertise, and b) analytical for-profit sector experience. The Director will be a mature evaluation professional with a broad-based understanding of evaluation methodologies and program operations. S/he will have significant international experience, preferably in Africa.
A chief goal of The ELMA Philanthropies is to increase impact continually by selecting grantees with the greatest potential to achieve success on a large scale. The Director of Monitoring & Evaluation will play a critical role in achieving this goal and, to that end, will have responsibility for spearheading several initiatives that will help inform, refine and support The ELMA Philanthropies' programming. These are in four areas: 1) at the individual grant level - as grants are initially considered, work closely with Program Officers to determine how each would be evaluated and identify important outputs and outcomes; 2) at the program focus or "cluster" levels (e.g., early childhood development), evaluate programming achievements on an ongoing basis and measure achievements against key information and achievements in the field; 3) strategic advice to The ELMA Philanthropies' top leadership on the overall achievements of programming; and 4) learning from evaluations over time to build internal knowledge and capacity, and thereby improve programming.
This position will include the following tasks, among others: creating and refining measurement and tracking tools to assist Program Officers in monitoring grantees; reviewing and interpreting benchmark data by which to measure potential and existing grantees; leading the effort to use learning from past grants to inform strategy; assessing The ELMA Philanthropies' impact on the fields in which it focuses; keeping staff apprised of developments in each of its fields of work; and being an essential voice during the grantee selection process. Finally, s/he will work with the programming and grants management teams to ensure programming knowledge is captured, shared and understood.
S/he and designated staff will periodically travel to the Cape Town office and to selected program sites for first hand assessment of progress.
Responsibilities
Individual grant selection & performance tracking
Performance tracking across related grants
Overall programming achievements and strategy
Learning & strategy
Qualifications
Required
Preferred
Application Process
The ELMA Philanthropies Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages candidates of all backgrounds to apply for this position. The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit organization attracting, connecting, and supporting leadership for the nonprofit sector, serves diverse organizations and is committed to building high-performing teams that mirror the communities we serve. Please register (free of charge) at and apply online through this listing on the Bridgespan job board.