Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager

Job Description

Democracy International (DI) is seeking to hire a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager to provide programmatic support to the anticipated five-year Nafoore countering violent extremism (VE) activity in Mauritania funded by USAID. This will be a full-time position based in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and will be contingent on award and funding.

The anticipated program will work with youth to prevent violent extremism through a positive youth development (PYD) approach, building on results and lessons learned from previous USAID-funded activities. Nafoore will promote PYD by empowering youth to build their social, personal, and technical skills and assets, foster healthy relationships, and, with enhanced agency, become engaged and productive participants in the development of their communities. Nafoore will support the creation of enabling environments in which beneficiary youth will feel empowered to achieve self-established goals and will work to strengthen youth-centric protective environments in the larger community, so that youth can more actively contribute to community affairs, engage in safe public spaces, and access public services. These objectives will positively contribute to resilience against radicalization to violent extremism in Mauritania.

The MEL Manager leads project MEL, including specifically for Nouakchott and Trarza, and ensures regional programming collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA), as well as supporting partners’ MEL efforts where needed. They will report to the Programs Director.  

The position would be contingent upon project award to DI.

Essential Job Duties:

• Responsible for designing and managing the project’s MEL systems, including maintaining the project’s indicator tracking table, establishing data collection protocols, and ensuring data quality, taking an adaptive and iterative approach to MEL;
• Responsible for the design, quality, development, and completion of all assessments, analytical reports, and evaluations;
• Provide methodological guidance to the team in all aspects of MEL methodologies;
• Spearhead MEL trainings and activities for internal team as well as supporting partners’ MEL capacity and systems;
• May manage 1-2 staff; and
• Liaise with Home Office technical team and contribute to reporting as needed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a sector relevant to MEL (e.g. citizen security, economics, public policy, statistics, political science, education, etc.); Master’s degree strongly preferred;
• Minimum of six years of relevant experience required;
• Substantial knowledge and experience in evaluation methodologies, preferably in the context of youth engagement and resilience, strongly preferred;
• Experience in adaptive management of MEL strongly preferred;
• Significant expertise in indicator development, data collection and quantitative/statistical analysis, data quality assessments, and/or performance monitoring and reporting strongly preferred;
• Experience creating and managing performance monitoring plans and building adaptable knowledge management systems strongly preferred;
• Strong organizational skills and ability to handle multiple demands, prioritize, and produce high-quality work under pressure;
• Commitment to accuracy in all tasks and attention to detail and follow-up is essential;
• Demonstrated experience of successful teamwork and good communication and interpersonal skills;
• Mauritanian citizenship required;
• Advanced English required;
• Proficiency in French and/or Arabic is required (both preferred); and
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office tools required.

Reporting:

• This position reports to Programs Director (Mauritania)
• Direct reports may include MEL Officer

Application Process: Please submit your resume and cover letter. We will only contact those candidates who best meet our needs. No phone calls or additional emails please. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. This position is open to local nationals.  

About the Organization

DI provides technical assistance, analytical services and project implementation for democracy, human rights, governance and conflict mitigation programs worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department and other development partners. Since its founding in 2003, Democracy International has worked with civil society organizations, political parties, election-management bodies, government agencies, legislatures, justice-sector institutions, and others in 70+ countries.

DI welcomes and supports a diverse and inclusive work environment. We are committed to equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment and for DI employees. DI makes employment decisions based on organizational needs, job requirements and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, personal appearance, military status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, political affiliation, educational status, unemployment status, place of residence or business, source of income, or reproductive health decision making. Additionally, harassment or discrimination based on these characteristics will not be tolerated at DI. To perform the essential functions of this position, reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities.