Director of Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning - Heartland Alliance International : Job Details

About Heartland Alliance International:

Heartland Alliance International (HAI) works to secure the rights and well-being of marginalized people and communities worldwide, including in the U.S. through the Marjorie Kovler Center. Now an independent organization, HAI began its journey as the global arm of the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance family of nonprofits, founded by Jane Addams over 130 years ago. Our technical areas include:

• Trauma-informed mental health and specialized torture treatment
• Gender equity
• Access to justice
• Stigma-free healthcare
• Livelihoods and economic empowerment

We advance and sustain change through a multifaceted approach including data-driven direct service delivery, capacity strengthening of local partners, policy advocacy, and research.

Summary:

The Director of Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (DMEL) will lead HAI's international teams in project development through expert technical analysis and collection of vital data. The DMEL Director will also lead and facilitate growth for business development opportunities and expand HAI's influence domestically and internationally while promoting HAI's mission and strategic objectives.

Essential Functions:

Duties & Responsibilities

• Serve as a progressive leader for design, monitoring, evaluation, and learning in all of HAI's programs, coordinating M&E implementation, capacity strengthening, sharing and learning.
• Establish and manage the overall activity monitoring system to track progress towards meeting contract results, indicators, and targets.
• Support the development and refinement of DMEL products and services that align with HAI's overall strategy.
• Contribute to program design and the development of program design tools including theories of change, results frameworks, logical frameworks, and logic models for funding proposals.
• Lead the design of MEL plans including indicator selection, target setting, and MEL methodologies for funding proposals.
• Identify and address emerging priorities in HAI's global M&E systems, practices, and training needs.
• Oversee and monitor compliance with HAI's DMEL policies, data management protocols, standard operating procedures, guidelines, practices, and standardized tools across HAI's programming portfolio.
• Design and commission project-level evaluations, ensuring that critical insights, feedback, and assessments from these evaluations are effectively utilized to drive innovation, inform program design and approaches, and support strategic scale-up efforts.
• Develop and update HAI's corporate implementation and strategic plans setting out specific quantifiable performance indicators and targets for overall objectives, activities, and establishing monitoring systems to measure project progress.
• Develop tools for both qualitative and quantitative data collection and protocols for performance monitoring assessments.
• Ensure data collected, stored, and analyzed follows HAI's project guidelines as well as relates to the specific project needs.
• Ensure regular communication of DMEL activities, achievements, and identification of barriers or potential barriers to all key stakeholders and contribute to key internal and external reports.
• Lead collection of feedback from relevant staff and present concrete solutions.
• Build lasting relationships with internal and external stakeholders based on shared HAI values, trust, and a commitment to the greater mission.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervise all HQ MEL team members as well as coordinate and regularly communicate with MEL colleagues in HAI's field offices.
• Ensure MEL team members have established annual professional milestones and development goals.

Education and Experience:

• Minimum of a master's degree in measurement, statistics, demography, public policy, public health, or other relevant field and at least ten (10) years of experience in monitoring and evaluation of projects; Advanced relevant post-graduate certificates or coursework is desirable.
• At least ten (10) years of experience working on international development programs with INGOs and/or NGOs; Experience in multiple donor projects is highly desirable, preference is for those with experience on US government grant funded projects.

Technical Experience:

• Strong demonstrated capacity and experience in advanced analytical methodology (both quantitative and qualitative), data collection, analysis, and management; M&E concepts and training, tools, project design, and budgeting; including MEL activities in low resource countries.
• High proficiency using computer-based statistical packages, databases, and management information systems (STATA, SPSS, Excel, ActivityInfo, etc.) is required.
• Preference is for candidates with experience designing, implementing, and overseeing effective MEL systems for programs/projects operating in a minimum of two (2) of the following sectors: (i) access to justice/legal services, (ii) protection services, (iii) livelihood development, (iv) shelter services, (v) gender equality/gender-based violence, (vi) mental health and psychosocial support, (vii) sexual and reproductive health, (viii) HIV/AIDS, (ix) education, and/or (x) workforce development.
• Demonstrated track record in facilitating cross-sector collaboration, preferably for international companies, NGOs, donors, or foundations operating in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and/or the Middle East.
• High levels of proficiency with MS Office Suite and Windows operating systems, experience with data visualization software, such as PowerBI or Tableau, desirable.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities (K/S/A):

• Ability to lead and manage a team of diverse individuals at all levels of the organization both in person and remotely with a mindset of building trusted DMEL leaders throughout HAI.
• Some experience in capacity strengthening methods including designing and delivering MEL training, coaching, and mentoring activities to personnel with diverse experiences, background, and competency levels.
• Experience working with international donors, as well as counterparts and beneficiaries such as international and local NGOs and government representatives.
• Experience conducting field research required including using qualitative and quantitative techniques.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and continuously identify ways to improve and promote quality through accuracy, managing change, and thorough analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changes in the work environment to include change management, competing demands, delays or unexpected events, and dedication to understand the complexities of culture within HAI and in the countries in which we operate.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and relevant computer software skills with proficiency in Excel and other data management systems.
• Fluency in English required; preference will be given to those with fluency in at least one of HAI's working languages, i.e. Spanish, French, Arabic, and/or Kurdish.

Work Arrangement:

• This role is eligible for a remote work arrangement.

Work Environment:

• HAI has a dynamic and collaborative work environment.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear.
• The employee is regularly required to sit, stand, and walk.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement:

Heartland Alliance International makes all hiring and employment decisions, and operates all programs, services, and functions without regard to race, receipt of an order of protection, creed, color, age, gender, gender identity, marital or parental status, religion, ancestry, national origin, amnesty, physical or mental disability, protected veterans status, genetic information, sexual orientation, immigrant status, political affiliation or belief, use of FMLA, VESSA, military, and family military rights, ex-offender status (depending on the offense and position to be filled), unfavorable military discharge, membership in an organization whose primary purpose is the protection of civil rights or improvement of living conditions and human relations, height, weight, or HIV infection, in accord with the organization's AIDS Policy Statement of September 1987.