Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Specialist

TITLE: Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) Specialist

Contract Type: National

TEAM/PROGRAMME: PEQI

LOCATION: Bangkok

CONTRACT LENGTH: 1 year

Role Purpose:

Save the Children (SC) must clearly demonstrate how we are positively influencing and changing children’s lives. Our Research, Evaluations, and Assessment, therefore, must help us achieve this objective by including the mechanisms, processes and data that help us to:

• Document our strategic impact.
• Increase clarity of MEAL responsibilities and access to information.
• Use evidence and learning to ensure the quality of our work.

In line with SC’s key priority towards increasing quality, our integrated REALM approach aims to emphasise the use of data to support decision-making, accountability, and continuous improvement of our programming for and with children. It seeks to ensure programmes are not only Monitored and Evaluated, but stakeholder opinions are actively sought, quality of activities assessed against Quality Benchmarks, and findings shared with relevant stakeholders and explicitly fed back into programme decision-making, incorporating Accountability to Children & Communities and Learning.

Research and evidence will play a key role in tripling impact by helping us with:

• Understanding and Innovating: understanding how emerging issues affect children and testing and innovating fresh solutions.
• Improving and scaling: getting the evidence that we can use to promote replication by others of what works, e.g., cost effectiveness of Common Approaches
• Informing our Influencing: using data and policy research to mobilize and influence governments and other actors in action.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

The Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REL) Specialist will take the overall responsibility of implementing the research, evaluations, and assessment procedure by providing guidance and technical advice/support that ensure studies are appropriate to thematic and contextual needs of projects and activities. S/He will also help staff and relevant stakeholders understand what and when study evidence and learning is available to feed into strategic planning and decision making as well promote and share global/regional tools, systems and processes and analyses etc., to strengthen study quality from the start, and to maximize the impact of evidence and learning that is generated.

S/He will be working side by side with MEAL TE for developing and updating NO’s REALM standard operating procedures in with line SCI REALM standards.

All five MEAL procedures interlink, so S/he will be sure to also consult the ones for “Monitoring”, “Accountability to Children & Communities”, “Learning”, and “MEAL in Emergencies”, all of which are housed within the Quality Framework. As examples, Research, Evaluations and Assessments often a) rely on the type and quality of data generated through programme monitoring; b) are a vital instrument for accountability by assessing needs and determining whether those needs are met; c) generate findings that lead to learning; and d) are applied differently in emergency settings compared to development.

S/He will lead in determining and undertaking research to deliver the country office’s evidence and learning agenda to inform SCT project design and implementation as well long lasting changes for children’s lives, positioning the Thailand National Office as a thought leader and influencer on wider policy and practice around our breakthroughs in child survival, development, and protection.

Reports to: MEAL TE

Staff reporting to this post: 1-2 intern per year

Budget Responsibilities: approximately 15,000 USD per year

Role Dimensions: REL Specialist will work closely with other MEAL TE, MEAL officers, project/program coordinators, and any relevant technical expertise in the region to ensure that the research and learning agenda are identified and undertaken with great quality. S/He will also work with ACCM team to use these evidences to inform SCT advocacy and campaigns, as well with the NBD team to design project and potential opportunities to deepen the impact of our work on children’s lives.

KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Lead on the application of SC Theory of Change with particular focus on driving innovation through development and provision of evidence and learning for replicable breakthrough solutions to the problems facing children.
• Maintain regular and proactive dialogue with technical/thematic leads and field teams to identify critical programmatic knowledge gaps, as well as to initiate, adapt or test new practices, approaches, or methodologies, that will inform our National Office Evidence & Learning agenda with a view of improving the impact of our work in Thailand.
• Support the in-house and external research team in the design, delivery and regular review of the Country Research, Evidence & Learning agenda.
• Participate in designing and implementation of studies, assessments and learning in coordination and cooperation with technical experts, MEAL TE and programme staff.
• Apply leading-edge thinking and best practice at all stages of the research process to ensure that SCT research and evaluation outputs are delivered to the highest standards, on time and on budget.
• Foster a culture of learning in the National Office, including the systematic collection, storage and dissemination of evidence and learning that is used throughout the project cycle by all staff.
• Undertake meta-analysis and systemic reviews of SCT evaluations and research to generate sectoral learning on trends, opportunities, risks etc. and lead in-house research team to strengthen analysis and communicate programmatic learning to the wider Country Office team through document sharing, presentations, etc.
• Scope, seek out, engage, and maintain new partnerships with INGOs, UN and academic institutions to support the deliver our Evidence & Learning Agenda, including opportunities for information sharing and learning exchanges with external stakeholders.
• Support the Learning and Knowledge Management Manager in developing and implementing evidence and learning dissemination and uptake strategies.
• Ensure that quantitative and qualitative monitoring and evaluation tools are systematically implemented and used by the teams.
• Coordinate a baseline, mid-line and end line evaluation for the project.
• Ensure that all assessment/evaluation reports meet donor quality criteria and promote the integration of recommendations and lessons learnt in project planning and future programming.
• Promote learning throughout the organization and partners, particularly on issues of programme quality, and impact to children and communities.
• Ensure new analysis and information is constantly available, including for the forthcoming communications strategy.
• Bring together data and findings from across the project and operational regions to form a coherent basis for analysis of impact which promotes learning and strategy development for the whole organization.

BEHAVIOURS (Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities – giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved.
  • sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves and their team, takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages their team to do the same

Ambition:

• widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• future orientated, thinks strategically and on a global scale.

Collaboration:

• builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, Members and external partners and supporters
• values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.

Creativity:

• develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• honest, encourages openness and transparency; demonstrates highest levels of integrity

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of advance degree (MSc) in an area of social development, economics, statistics, or other relevant discipline.
• Minimum five years of practical experience in MEAL and research coordination/implementation in an international non-governmental organization

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

Essentials

• Demonstrable track-record in data tracking and evaluation, with the ability to support staff and partners on M&E and/or research methodology and analyze and disseminate complex information to a range of audiences.
• Conversant with impact evaluation methods as well as other established evaluation criteria
• Excellent planning, coordination, and reporting skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities.
• Familiarity with Research and Assessment of SCI and experience in leading team on implementation of such system is preferred.

Desirable

• Practical knowledge or experience of working in humanitarian response and recovery at a technical senior level position.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills in English, with experience working in multicultural, multi-location, values driven teams.
• Excellent writing skills to present assessment and project reports in English
• Computer literacy, particularly in Microsoft Office, any statistical package like STATA and digital data management systems
• Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies.
• Ability to speak Thai language and experience of working in Thailand will be considered as strong advantage.

Additional Job Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities as set out above are not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to carry out additional duties within reasonableness of their level of skills and experience.

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the Save the Children Equal Opportunities and Diversity policies and procedures.

Child Safeguarding

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.

Safeguarding Our Staff

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the Save the Children anti-harassment policy.

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with Save the Children Health and Safety policies and procedures.

Interested candidates should apply and submit a motivational letter, comprehensive CV, expected salary and details of at least 3 referees via the following link;

Apply

Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

“We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse”