Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) Lead- Ethiopia, Development Food Security Activity

Job Description

Save the Children is seeking a Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) Lead for an anticipated five-year USAID-funded Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) in Ethiopia. The goal of the Activity is to improve food and nutrition security and resilience among poor and chronically vulnerable households and communities in a sustainable manner. The program will coordinate closely with, and represent a contrition to, the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PNSP).

Hiring is contingent upon successful award of the program and USAID approval of the candidate.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

The proposed program will be an integrated, multi-sectoral food and nutrition security intervention. The CLA Lead will work closely with the Food Security Technical Coordinator/Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) ,the Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Lead, and the thematic leads to ensure collaboration and linkages with external stakeholders across the program’s intervention areas, as well as to integrate active and intentional adaptive management exercises. The Advisor is responsible for: identifying and promoting linkages between Activity interventions and those conducted through other programs, institutions and stakeholders in the implementation area; maximizing program impact and sustainability; establishing and implementing a program learning agenda; and ensuring strong CLA processes and activities within the program.

Key Functions:

• Create a stakeholder map and stakeholder analysis to guide collaboration with other programs, initiatives and institutions to link beneficiaries to sustainable outcomes and enable continual refinement of the program’s theory of change.
• Create and manage a linkage plan to ensure collaboration between local actors, USAID-funded activity stakeholders, host country government stakeholders, donor agencies, the private sector, and other implementing agencies managing programs and creating policy in the target geographic areas.
• Contribute significantly to host country government relationship building, collaboration, and learning.
• Lead the formulation and implementation of a detailed program learning plan/ learning agenda, and manage associated learning partnerships and processes.
• Manage a program “change log”, documenting changes to program design (including theory of change) required as a result of formative research findings and operational planning discussions.
• Manage learning events and processes. Work with M&E team members to ensure adaptations to the program theory of change (ToC) as new information comes to light.
• Lead the creation and management of a detailed program knowledge management platform, ensuring full integration with other relevant knowledge management platforms.
• Create guidelines for CLA in the context of the program. Manage CLA ‘pause and reflect’ events and resulting adaptive management analysis, decision-making, program/ approach adjustments, training and follow-through.
• Contribute to the creation of a culture of openness, trust, and continuous improvement within the program team and with partners and key stakeholders. Train team members on CLA in addition to ensuring peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing and application, activity-based capacity strengthening, evidence and data utilization within the team.
• Lead the production and dissemination of documentation pertaining to the above
• Produce high quality synthesis reports from assessments, studies and evaluations and disseminate them appropriately to inform program improvement measures  
• Lead Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) and innovations of the program to improve utilization of evidence and learning for decision making.
• Support strategic communications, including producing publications and organize public events with partners and other key stakeholders with the support from communications team.
• Support overall effective external communication for the program.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a relevant field and at least three years of relevant experience; or, a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years of relevant experience. Relevant experience includes food and nutrition security-related learning processes, knowledge management, organizational learning and development, community of practice facilitation, and capacity strengthening.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly.
• Excellent written communication and presentation skills in English. Knowledge of local languages is an asset.
• Strong tool/ curriculum development and training skills.
• Demonstrated skills in the use of technology to find out different methods of presenting data and information dissemination.
• Demonstrated, structured approach to coordination, sustainability planning, and linkage formulation. Working knowledge of theory of change processes is an asset.
• Strong management and interpersonal skills, mentoring and facilitation skills and the ability to network and communicate with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of CLA.
• Demonstrated experience in thought leadership on how to build the capacity of staff and stakeholders to understand how data can be used for decision making.
• Ability to lead by example

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.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism embedded in this country. Save the Children will not tolerate racism in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people of color to fight for equal rights and justice.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.

About the Organization

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.

Our work for children and their families requires that we commit—at every opportunity—to work together to dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism embedded in this country. Save the Children will not tolerate racism in any form—in our employment practices, amongst our staff, in our leadership or toward the people we serve. We stand in solidarity with all people of color to fight for equal rights and justice.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.