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

Organization: Aflatoun

Location : Amsterdam, Netherlands

Job type: Full time – (36-40 hours per week)

Salary: Between € 4599 and € 5814

Comment : Inclusive of pension, health insurance, holiday allowance and national insurance contributions

Deadline: 08/05/2023

The Organization

Aflatoun International is a non-profit organization, which offers social, financial & entrepreneurship education to children and young people worldwide, empowering them to make a positive change for a more equitable world. Aflatoun creates high-quality curricula for different age groups, which are contextualized to local needs and circumstances, and are implemented by over 300 partner organizations in 101 countries. Aflatoun programmes inspire children to discover their talents and put them to use, to stand up for their rights and those of their communities through active learning and problem solving. They learn how to save, how to budget, and how to set up social and financial enterprises that benefit themselves, their families and their communities. Aflatoun has been recognized globally (Brookings, Harvard, HundrEd, Million Lives Club) for its high-impact, low-cost model, which has shown to be effective in changing behaviors of participants across the globe.

By using a social franchise model, Aflatoun transfers curricular content, monitoring and evaluation tools, and training capacity to partner organisations, helping them enhance their existing expertise and create an efficient learning ecosystem. Aflatoun’s programmes follow an active-learning, participant- centered methodology, which combines social and financial education (SFE) through engaging participants, educators, government institutions and civil society organisations.

We are currently looking for a dedicated and enthusiastic Director of MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning) to join us in our mission.

Position

The Director of MERL is accountable for the accomplishment of the following priority areas through undertaking programme monitoring and evaluation, research, providing guidance, coordination and leadership in the oversight of the implementation of M&E activities, as well as in the collaboration with strategic partners:

• M&E of Aflatoun’s Strategy and Annual Work Plan; Consolidate and systematise the departmental objectives to ensure alignment and achievement of the organisation’s strategy.
• Primary Research – Design and implement studies and Evaluations – Conduct research studies for organizational learning and international advocacy.
• Develop M&E Frameworks; – Develop tools & build and strengthen technical capacity in the use and implementation of M&E methodologies for the Aflatoun Secretariat and the partner network.
• Compilation of Strategic Information – Consolidate a pool of SFE key evidence to promote the use of knowledge-based evidence across the different areas of the organization.
• Dissemination – Position Aflatoun as thought leader through dissemination of evidence-based knowledge (internal and external).
• Internal support and capacity building and project management – Support development of fundraising proposals

Key Areas of Responsibility

Technical Leadership (35%)

• Organize and facilitate the “Futures of the 21st century citizenship education” Aflatoun Think Tank.
  Ensure recommendations are incorporated into Aflatoun’s Teaching & Learning Agenda.
• Technical lead of the annual “State of the Field” flagship publication.
• Disseminate research findings to partners to enable improved programming and to external stakeholders to build the reputation and brand of Aflatoun as a thought leader and provider of gold-standard SFE programmes.
• Ensure that Aflatoun’s M&E tools, studies, including review and improvement of existing M&E
  products and development of new / adapted M&E tools are tailored for specific purposes, including distance learning;

Partnerships (25%)

• Actively seek partnerships with knowledge institutions for the identification of joint learning and
  research opportunities.
• Develop new global partnerships to support the work of Aflatoun International.
• Ensure alignment and engagement with key partners, organizations, and development actors.
• Participate / present at global, regional and national events to advocate for Social and Financial
  Education, including with national bodies for the integration of the programme into the national
  education curricula.

Project Leadership (15%)

• Identify potential funding prospects for Aflatoun, including major restricted grants, research projects and consultancies.
• Lead the development of a selection of funding proposals to donors and ensure proposals submitted are targeted to the priorities in the strategy, the needs of the organization and partners, are fully costed and are of a high quality.

Management of the department (25%)

• Develop the department’s strategy based on Aflatoun’s strategic plan
• Develop the yearly workplan and budget of the department and track progress
• Supervise and manage contract of staff, consultants, interns and volunteers, assigning work to
  each individual, ensuring work is completed within agreed timeframes and of the necessary
  quality, and hold weekly curriculum team meetings to ensure on track delivery;
• Manage the workflow of internal and external research development work including planning and
  overseeing of deliverables, delegation of work to other specialists, interns and consultants, and
  liaising with project and program managers on all tool’s development work surrounding a project;
• Ensure Research department work is suitably represented in annual plans and budgets in order
  to contribute to meeting the objectives set out in the Aflatoun strategy

Non-technical responsibilities as Aflatoun staff

• Positively contribute to team discussions and the effective running of the organisation;
• Cross-departmental collaboration, compliance with organisational policies and procedures including submitting monthly timesheets;
• Promote Aflatoun’s work on social media;
• Perform other duties and tasks, consistent with the skills and expertise, as required in non-routine circumstances;
• Be willing to adapt to different tasks and different cross-organisational tasks, this includes but is not limited to helping deliver Aflatoun events such as the International Conferences and staff retreats.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in social or educational sciences or other relevant disciplines.
• Minimal 8-year work experience in M&E, research and/or applied social sciences.
• Experience conducting RCTs and qualitative research in complex contexts.
• Demonstrated skills in strategic and project planning, people management, and strong organizational skills with proven track record in delivering results
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in English. Additional language(s) (Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish) is an advantage.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and to work under pressure; flexibility.
• Understanding and willingness to conduct work and demonstrate behaviors in line with Aflatoun
• International’s values and policies.
• Proven ability in collaborating closely with multilevel stakeholders; experience in managing

projects implemented in consortia will be considered an advantage.

• Familiarity with international donors’ regulations and policies, as well as significant experience interacting with donor agencies is important.
• Previous employment with or knowledge of International Organizations (IOs), NGOs; experience working with IOs/NGOs in a similar position is a plus.

Employment details

The position is for 36-40 hours per week. We offer a dynamic and pleasant multicultural working environment, with an indicative gross monthly salary range of € 4599 and € 5814 per month (inclusive of pension, health insurance, holiday allowance, and national insurance contributions) – the salary level awarded will depend on relevant work experience and educational background.

Due to the nature of Aflatoun’s work with children around the world, specific attention is drawn towards Aflatoun’s Child Protection Policy and its Policy on the Protection of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). These two policies are required to be signed by new employees and forms part of the employment documents related to the employment contract. The applicant commits to zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse. An additional written test may be required.

A valid work permit and/or European passport is required in order to be considered for the position