Creative Associates International
BACKGROUND
Creative Associates International Inc. is a dynamic and fast-growing professional services company that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 30 countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State. Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
In close coordination with USAID, the program will contribute to the US government efforts to address the root causes of irregular migration from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, including increasing community and institutional resilience.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Senior Knowledge Management Manager (SKMM) will work closely with the program team, national and regional bodies, donors, and USAID to synthesize and promote knowledge sharing activities and resources through a continuous learning cycle across Guatemala and with counterparts in Honduras and El Salvador. The SKMM will develop strategies to capture, share, and apply knowledge and learning generated by each activity implemented under the program, to advise de COP and Senior Management Team (SMT) to identify the windows of opportunities and implement new activities. Also, they will support design and organization of national and regional events and conferences in coordination with the SMT.
They will oversee all aspects of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) efforts for the program and manage a team of MEL-focused staff members and the Communications Officer. In support of activity implementation, action-based research, and program learning, the SKMM will oversee the incorporation of MEL throughout the Activity Cycle, manage program-level evaluation, and refine the program’s approach to MEL and/or MEL systems as appropriate in consultation with the senior management team at local and regional level.
REPORTING & SUPERVISION
This position reports to the Chief of Party (COP) and coordinates closely with counterparts in Honduras and El Salvador.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Managing and overseeing overall monitoring, evaluation, and learning for the program.
- Leading and managing program-level evaluation of higher-level outcomes and theories of change from a Complex Adaptative System (CAS) approach.
- Supervising other MEL staff and the Communications Officer.
- Initiating and overseeing research and data collection, including by external MEL resources.
- Contributing to and supporting processes for incorporating learning into the program’s strategic design, specially but not exclusively to identify windows of opportunity at regional and local level, increase of rootedness, models, and approaches evidence-based that contribute to reduce the irregular migration.
- Supporting and advising colleagues on activity-level monitoring and evaluation efforts, ensuring quality and consistency across offices.
- Helping identify, analyze, and synthesize lessons learned from program implementation and facilitate the incorporation of those lessons into the activity development cycle.
- Contributing to the design, implementation and ongoing revision of a MEL system that adheres to USAID guidance and meets the needs of the program for learning, analysis, and reporting.
- Offering technical assistance in the development, selection, and application of MEL processes and tools.
- Overseeing and advising colleagues on information management processes by reviewing data collection efforts, overall data reliability, consistency, and quality.
- Providing input and advice on procurement of external MEL services if needed.
- Training other staff, and local partners where required, on key MEL concepts, tools, and processes.
- Undertaking, as security conditions allow, periodic visits to project locations to collect data and/or oversee data collection efforts.
- Implementing the knowledge management and learning strategy for the program which includes sharing of evidence-based practices for irregular migration reduction and advocating for policy reforms at local, national, and regional levels.
- In coordination with the SMT promote a culture of continuous knowledge sharing, developing sustainable approaches oriented to change social norms related to irregular migration.
- Map of initiatives and critical actors across the region to be included in learning agenda and advocacy agenda.
- Establish and manage a systematic approach, and tools to ensure the development of the Activity Cycle.
- Design innovative and effective tools, for knowledge capture, to ensure the learning cycle at community and regional level is captured on time and communicated in an effective way.
- Supervisor the MEL team to ensure that the program’s results are fully integrated in the learning agenda and innovative tools and resources are created to communicate impact to the client.
- Ensure that program interventions and results are documented in the program database.
- Lead the implementation of program learning events, including but not limited to conferences and workshops at the regional level.
- Prepare project reporting documents including quarterly and annual reports; workplans; results of surveys conducted, snapshots, among others.
- Other activities as may be required
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- University degree required, and Master’s degree desired
- Must have at least 8 years of general work experience and 5+ years of specific experience related to the required position. Relevant experience includes experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning; social science research; political analysis; or a related field
- Must have at least 4+ years of direct supervisory experience
- Fluency in Spoken and Written English highly desired
- Fluency in Spanish
- Demonstrated experience with quantitative and/or qualitative research methods. Demonstrated experience with interviews, surveys, and focus groups highly desired
- Strong analytical and critical thinking
- Good communication skills and writing abilities
- Previous experience developing and delivering presentations to key stakeholders, including high-level host and US Government officials, donor representatives, etc.
- Experience working in a diverse and fast-paced environment
- Able to work independently, flexibly, and responsively
- Experience developing strategies to promote social changes at institutional and community level (desirable)
- Experience developing concept maps and other tools to understand root causes related to irregular migration
- Experience working with donor-funded projects
- Willingness and ability to travel throughout Guatemala and potentially to Honduras and/or El Salvador when necessary
- Must have existing Guatemalan work authorization
PI186379442