Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Director

Project Background:

The Honduras Local Governance (HLG) Activity works to enhance basic service delivery provision through increased citizen influence and improved governance. The Activity ensures that health, education, and other critical services are expanded, deepened, and made sustainable as part of a holistic effort to promote local governance.

The Activity strengthens governance actions at the national, subnational, and local level, where basic services are delivered and where most Honduran citizens interact with their government. In addition, HLG works to contribute to the increase in citizen security and access to health services for vulnerable populations in high crime urban areas. This is achieved through capacity development of local government and service providers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to strengthen the essential capacity of civil society groups, local governments, and service providers to provide citizens with improved services. In alignment with USAID’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy for 2020-2025 and its goal of “A more prosperous, democratic and secure Honduras where citizens, especially youth, are inspired to stay and invest in their future,” the Activity will also contribute to the reduction of irregular migration and reintegration of migrant returnees, while adopting Positive Youth Development (PYD) approaches within the HLG context.

Role ’s Purpose:

The Monitoring, and Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director is responsible for overall monitoring evaluation management of program activities. The primary function of this position is to provide technical leadership to capture program intervention results, ensure high-quality, timely, valid and verifiable data collection, reporting and analysis. This individual is responsible for the implementation of the MELP and ensuring that a Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) approach is fully embraced, including developing, implementing and monitoring a learning and adapting agenda to inform COP, USAID and other stakeholders of the lessons learned. He will also lead a team of 11 people consisting of 7 M&E specialists, a CLA specialist, a data manager, an application development technician and an information systems and Web specialist. Furthermore, the Director will ensure the coordination and the flow of information between the Senior M&E Specialist and the CLA Specialist. Additionally, the Director will serve as a member of the Senior Management Team and provide strategic decision-making support to the COP in areas of M&E, CLA and Knowledge Management, This individual will have direct communication with USAID in bimonthly meetings and as necessary for M&E and CLA planning and supervision.

Responsibilities and Roles:

· Provide expert-level oversight and quality control for all project data collection and research, including design and management.

· Manage the lessons learned processes to ensure knowledge and learning are effectively captured, shared and applied throughout all activities, capturing the lessons from the activities in each state and working with the technical team to transform lessons learned into replicable models and approaches that can be transferred to stakeholders in other states.

· Oversee the documentation and dissemination of key indicators, learning, and best practices.

· Provide overall vision, leadership, and guidance of the project’s monitoring and knowledge management approach for Activity staff, partner stakeholders, grantees and the client, in coordination with the Communication and Knowledge Management Director.

· Support and guide the design of interventions following CLA principles by ensuring an effective flow of information from assessments to implementation plans.

· Directly supervise, mentor and be responsible for the performance of the MEL/CLA staff as assigned by the approved organizational chart.

· With the Senior M&E Specialist, lead the development of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (MELP) and its annual revision, and all annexes (PIRS, Indicator Tracker, etc.) as needed.

· With the Senior M&E Specialist, ensure USAID’s Development Information Solutions (DIS) is kept up to date with accurate, disaggregated Activity data.

· Offer technical assistance in the development, selection, and application of M&E processes, tools, methodology, and research (note that HLG uses DAI Collect), as well asMonitor program progress toward results and oversee M&E planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting.

· Plan and implement learning events, both internal, to support adaptive management, and external, to share lessons and success of HLG with national and international stakeholders.

· Directly and regularly interact with the USAID counterparts and lead efforts to respond to client requests, questions and tasks related to MEL/CLA activities.

· Other tasks as may be assigned by the Chief of Party for successful achievement of CLA, M&E, and knowledge management objectives.

Requirements/Qualifications

· S/he must meet the following education and relevant work experience requirements: must hold a Ph.D and 8 years of relevant work experience, a JD and 10 years, a Master’s and 12 years, or a Bachelor’s and 15 years.

· S/he must have at least twelve (12) years of international development work experience (including at least 5 years in the Latin American region and/or preferably in the Northern Triangle) in a field related to monitoring and evaluation. Preferably with experience in local governance and municipal management sectors.

· S/he must have proven experience in data analytical analysis, interpretation and knowledge management implementation approaches.

· S/he must have at least eight (8) years supervisory work experience, including: (1) direct supervision of professional and support staff; (2) quality evaluation of staff performance and deliverables; and (3) project management under contract(s).

· Excellent communication and writing skills.

· Language requirements: Level IV Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. Full professional proficiency in English and Spanish are required.