Monitoring and Evaluation Lead, Community-based Basic Education Activity – Mali

Save the Children is currently accepting applications for a Monitoring and Evaluation Lead for an anticipated USAID-funded Community-based Basic Education Activity in Mali. This 5-year cooperative agreement will improve early grade read and math skills of young learners with a focus on improving the quality of instruction boosting community demand, and broadening safe, equitable formal and non-formal education services. The goal of the project is to expand access to education pathways and improve reading and math outcomes, especially for girls and marginalized children in Mali.

The Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Lead develops, implements, and continuously improves Monitoring and Evaluation systems for all project activities. This individual is responsible for ensuring development and operationalization of high-quality monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEAL) systems and reporting on a large-scale USAID-funded education project. The M&E Lead will incorporate best practices to ensure information collected is accurate, timely and disseminated appropriately in high quality reports. The M&E Lead will also use these findings to improve the program and achieve the objectives. This individual will also be actively involved in promoting learning through documentation of lessons learned and developing approaches for community analysis and using data for making thoughtful decisions. The M&E lead will use both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data for the project.

This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

MONOTINING AND EVALUATION

Overall, the MEAL Lead will work to ensure the integration of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning into all aspects of program implementation. The incumbent will contribute to the quality of Save the Children’s programs in Mali by working, among other things, to put in place an appropriate data management system that will allow the collection, entry, storage, analysis and visualization of project data online and offline. Develop, revise, and, ensure USAID’s approval of, and implement the M&E Plan on an annual basis.

Specifically, the MEAL Lead will:

• Provide leadership, training and mentoring to develop M&E plans, M&E tools, survey design, methodology, and data analysis to assess program impact.
• Develop systems for capturing and documenting data and relevant information on project activities, beneficiaries, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
• Design methodology and coordinate research activities for project operations and assessments.
• Effectively rollout M&E collection and reporting systems to all staff and partners through training, site visits, manuals, and other technical support as needed.
• Capture appropriate cost and financial information to track money indicators, including benchmarking information to analyze program effectiveness and cost effective inputs.
• Ensure programming is aligned to targets and indicators contained in project proposal, and use the information from the M&E systems and tools to improve the program effectiveness and desired outcomes.
• Manage and support a rigorous evaluation or project performance, impact, and cost effectiveness, including coordinating mid-term and final evaluations, and supporting donor and external reviews.
• Provide oversight, with support of senior project team, of MEAL budget and ensure effective and timely use of appropriate MEAL activities. Provide on-going support to maintain M&E systems; identify skill gaps and build capacity among project team.
• Prepare high quality, accurate and timely reports for Save the Children, project partners and USAID as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Mathematics or related field
• Advanced training in quantitative methodologies, including database management
• Experience in qualitative research principles, tools and techniques
• Minimum five years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation related to education, literacy, social transformation or other related fields.
• Prior experience overseeing and ensuring the success of MEAL systems in USAID-funded education projects including ensuring approval of MEAL plan, reporting on approved education projects, and successfully completing annual data quality assessments.
• Strong analytical skills and an understanding of monitoring, evaluation and assessment tools to promote evidence-based learning that take into account gender and social inclusion dynamics
• Ability to analyze complex data and summarize it for a range of audiences.
• Ability to gain support from staff across teams and to build the capacity of others.
• Sound strategic thinking and planning skills, including ability to think creatively and innovate and to set priorities, manageable work plans and evaluate progress.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in team situations; and
• Fluent oral and strong analytical, written French and English communications skills is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience of participatory research with communities and children
• Experience in measuring any of the following: literacy gains ( tools such as EGRA or Literacy Boost; gender equality; social power dynamics, social behaviour change interventions, socio- emotional learning; school mapping
• Familiarity with Geographic Information Systems
• A personal commitment to gender equality, child rights and social inclusion

Qualified local candidates, especially women, people with disabilities and people from minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team…

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, 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

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 identify and dismantle persistent systemic and structural racism, inequality, and any other forms of discrimination in this country and beyond. As an anti-racist organization, Save the Children will not tolerate discrimination 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 to fight for equal rights, justice, inclusion, and belonging.*

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.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.