Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

About Us

International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over 100 countries and implemented over 300 projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies, and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and institutional support across many areas and sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, agriculture, economic growth, food security, education, environment, and global health.

Job Title: Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

Department/Location: SEAD Practice, Vienna, VA (Hyrbid)

Reports To: Principal, SEAD

Type: Regular Full-Time

Classification: Exempt

Clearance Required: N/A

Overview:

IBTCI is seeking an experienced and motivated Director of MERL for our Social, Environmental, and Agricultural Development (SEAD) Practice to support its international development work. This position works with staff in Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Food Security, Infrastructure, Water, and Resilience related disciplines. Responsibilities include technical, program management, business development, and thought leadership, with an emphasis on MERL. This position is based in our Headquarters in Vienna, Virginia on a hybrid schedule. The Director proactively contributes to the management and ongoing success of IBTCI.

Responsibilities

Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:

Technical responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as technical lead within IBTCI on sector(s) of expertise.
• Serves as technical staff on prime and subcontract awards in either long-term or short-term capacity.
• Provides technical leadership and/or training in support of projects. May include taking lead on and/or providing guidance and training on one or more of the following:
  • Development of MERL plans and processes.
  • Design of data collection tools and systems.
  • Design of evaluations, assessments, policy studies, sector assessments or similar.
  • Collection and analysis of data.
  • Synthesis of data in compelling reports, dashboard, presentations or as required by client.
  • Carrying out data quality assessments.

Program Management responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Manages assigned projects and contracts. The position plays a crucial role in helping teams identify the best option to execute technical work. To this end, the Director is expected to offer creative and technically sound solutions early in the planning stages of projects, and subsequently work as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team to design appropriate projects, identify, and address challenges, and deliver quality products to clients. Responsibilities include:

• Project implementation, management, and project oversight activities, while ensuring highest level of client and corporate satisfaction as per quality, timeliness, cost control, compliance, and management.
  • Serve in home office-based roles such as Project Director and/or Senior Technical Advisor.
  • Assume an interim role (to fill temporary gaps) of team leadership/ key positions on overseas projects.
• Provides technical oversight and quality assurance for contract implementation. Overseas technical, logistical, budgetary, and operational aspects of contracts (may include management of IDIQs, task orders, etc.).
• Oversees the quarterly/annual project management cycle (including periodic client communications and meetings, LOE and budget tracking/adjustments, etc.).
• Supervises home office and field staff (including Chiefs of Party, Program Associates, etc.), and consultants.
• Facilitates recruitment and hire of consultants and subcontractors, and oversees purchase order agreements.
• Carries out periodic field visits.
• Ensures submission of high quality, timely reports, and deliverables (from staff and consultants) to clients and guarantees the quality of the final output.
• Manages relationships with client, field and U.S. and internationally-based consultants and sub-contractors.
• Carries out qualitative and quantitative analyses, and provides technical assistance and training as needed to support assigned projects.
• May serve as the primary U.S.-based point of contact for the project’s USG COR.

Business Development responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Accountable for maintaining prescribed individual productivity targets, inclusive of BD time and results.
• Accountable for individual and practice/sub-practice business development and growth targets.
• Initiate and follow through on new business development opportunities.
• Shape and qualify new leads from multiple sources in collaboration with the team leadership. This will involve initiating communications (including meetings and presentations) that lead to new business opportunities, gathering robust market intelligence on the opportunity, and identifying/collaborating with appropriate partners. In the longer term, this position is expected to proactively contribute to the growth of IBTCI.
• Practice, aligned with its strategic vision and planning.
• Responsible for a significant level of business development activity, primarily within the Practice but also ranging into cross-practice initiatives.
• Take both proactive, and responsive roles, e.g., bid/no-bid vetting, proposal development, proposal writing, and proposal management, to include all support activities through to timely submission of high-quality corporate offers. This contribution should produce well-coordinated and compelling proposals, which not only address stated needs but also clearly articulate fundamental challenges and innovation opportunities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Other responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Represents IBTCI in industry conferences and workshops.
• Authors white papers or other reports to promote IBTCI intellectual prowess in MEL.
• Provides in-house training to home office and field staff on MEL methodologies and/or sector related subject matters.
• Contributes to development of marketing materials and efforts.
• Attends management meetings and contributes to business plans as needed.
• Other duties/tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Fifteen (15) years of professional work experience, predominantly in international development or related work (20 years of professional work experience for candidates with Bachelor’s degree).
• Five (5) years of direct experience in monitoring, evaluation, research and/or learning (MERL)
  activities for foreign assistance work.
• Five (5) years of project management experience.
• Familiarity with or demonstrated experience in at least one of the following technical areas:
  Social, Environmental, or Agricultural development.
• Experience in all aspects of the proposal process: capture management, partnering, research,
  recruitment, writing, etc.
• Expertise in at least two aspects of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and/or Learning. This may include design of qualitative and/or quantitative tools, statistical analysis, impact analysis, performance and/or impact evaluation design, data quality assurance, facilitating learning
  events and/or capacity development of local staff and contractors.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills required.
• Demonstrated ability to be a results oriented, flexible, team player with solid problem-solving
  skills.
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working
  relationships with clients and colleagues.
• Travel is essential, and may include travel to fragile and conflict-affected areas; up to 25% to 35% travel for project implementation or management of business development initiatives.
• Oral and written fluency in English required.

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs, International Development, Policy Analysis, Economics, or another related field required; Advanced degree preferred.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Theoretical knowledge of food policy, food security, nutrition, health related aspects of resiliency
• Advanced knowledge of best practices in monitoring, evaluation, learning, research (MERL), specifically related to RFS, food security, and nutrition
• Experience in/knowledge of data collection tools and processes
• Experience applying Learning and Adaptive Management principles and models. May include USAID’s Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA)
• Experience with non-USAID donors, including DOS, MCC, and/or other international and domestic government donors preferred.

Working Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment.

Physical Requirements: This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.

Supervisory Responsibility: This position does have supervisory responsibilities.

Travel: Once feasible, an average of 25% to 35% travel for project implementation and/or project management of business development initiatives. (Percentages may vary depending on portfolio of projects and IBTCI practice needs). May include travel to fragile and/or post-conflict zones.

Work Authorization: Candidate must be authorized to work in the U.S.A.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

About the Organization:

IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education & human capacity development, energy & infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.

IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at [email protected] (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page, https://careers.ibtci.com/jobs).