Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager – Guatemala – BEQT

  • Full-time

Company Description

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC)

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and under-served populations.  Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.   

EDC is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Job Description

Project Description 

The goal of the five-year, $30 million, USAID-funded Basic Education Quality and Transition Activity is to improve foundational reading, writing, math, and social and emotional skills acquisition for children and youth through the formal education system and to increase the transition rate of students from primary to lower secondary education in targeted rural municipalities of Guatemala. The Activity is planned to be an initial award with a follow-on transition award to a local subrecipient(s), and as such aims to strengthen the organizational and technical capacities of local subrecipient(s) to manage funds from USAID or other donors and to sustain key components of the Activity. A key objective of BEQT is to build capacity of new and underutilized local subrecipient partner(s) to eventually become qualified lead implementers in a transition award, capable of implementing and sustaining key components of BEQT. 

BEQT will implement solutions to the development challenge in three municipalities each in Baja Verapaz, Huehuetenango, El Quiché, and San Marcos and must advance the following Activity Results: 

  • Result 1: Reading, writing, math, SEL outcomes for all learners in primary school and primero básico in target areas improved 
  • Result 2: Rate of student transition from the final grade of primary school to primero básico for all learners in target areas increased 
  • Result 3: Local subrecipient(s) capacity to implement and sustain key components of the Activity strengthened 

Position Description 

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager is responsible for overall leadership, coordination, and technical supervision of monitoring, evaluation and learning for the activity, including design and management of the project's monitoring and evaluation plan and system based on agreed upon quality and standards. The MEL Manager will liaise with project partners at all levels.  This person will oversee rigorous data collection, data quality, data management, analysis, and evidence generation. The MEL Manager is expected to inform program adaptation under the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) approach and may take on additional coordination roles.  

The MEL Manager will work closely with other technical and M&E team members to ensure that data collection and data storage meets data quality standards, liaising with the EDC Home Office M&E Advisor on all data quality, analysis, and reporting issues, as needed. The MEL Manager will support coordination and collaboration among project implementing partners and project stakeholders for informed decisions. 

The MEL Manager will also work closely with the technical team and project partners to support project research and learning activities related to youth workforce development throughout the project life cycle. 

Essential functions include (but are not limited to): 

Job Responsibilities  

  • Take the lead in organizing and conducting all monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as learning activities to ensure compliance to common or core standards. Ensure that internal reflection and discussion of findings with field staff, technical specialists, and management happens on a regular basis, at a minimum quarterly; 
  • Work with US-based M&E team to continue to develop and implement the Activity’s Strategic M&E Framework, M&E Plan, and capacity development approach;  
  • Oversee the development of all monitoring forms for data collection, as well as written procedures for data collection and entry, with appropriate input from other departments;  
  • Supervise the data storage process to ensure that appropriate support documentation is on file and easily located to back up project indicator data;  
  • Manage the M&E team, including coordinating roles, responsibilities, and performance. Liaise with technical leadership staff to oversee and support M&E activities at state levels;  
  • Conceptualize operations research and other learning activities of the project in collaboration with home office staff, COP, Technical Advisors, and other project leadership;  
  • Manage technical orientation and training activities to achieve M&E objectives and plans, including in data collection, data processing, data analysis and other areas;  
  • Support outreach and communications by providing summary data and interpretation for inclusion in publications and reports, tailoring for consumption by different audiences;  
  • Coordinate and facilitate regular M&E discussions for or among USAID, stakeholders, partners, EDC teams and others to share findings and learning from monitoring and evaluation data and/or analyses;  
  • Oversee the aggregation and compilation of M&E data (quantitative and qualitative) for monthly, quarterly and annual reports. Oversee and ensure timely completion of all USAID data reporting;   
  • Understand the terms of the USAID award, specifically expected project results and products, and ensure compliance with requirements;  
  • Participate in relevant technical or senior leadership meetings and take part in the decision-making process as needed;  
  • Proactively anticipate any potential or actual problems or risks, discuss with management, and submit appropriate recommendations to eliminate or minimize the threats or risks;  
  • Provide timely data reports for inclusion in quarterly and annual reports, as well for other deliverables and deadlines as needed, such as meetings, events and presentations;  
  • Supervise staff effectively; monitor and evaluate performance, and submit performance reports for supervisees, in a timely manner; and provide timely interventions to improve performance if needed;  
  • Provide support to other special initiatives as may be needed;  
  • Demonstrate a high level of professionalism when dealing with sensitive and confidential documents and issues, and with co-workers and EDC partners; 
  • Other duties, as assigned. 

Reporting and Organizational Relationships:  

The MEL Manager will report is a full-time position reporting to the Chief of Party, and is based in Guatemala City, Guatemala and will travel up to 50% of the time to project implementation areas.  

Please Note: This position is not eligible for relocation or posting allowances and the salary will be paid in Guatemalan quetzal.

The candidate for the position of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager shall have at a minimum the following qualifications: 

Qualifications

Education: 

Master’s degree in Education, Public Administration, or a related field.  

Skills and Experience: 

  • A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience with M&E systems design and implementation, data collection, and report writing, 8+ years desired; 
  • Practical, capacity development experience in the education and youth sectors desired; 
  • Substantial experience monitoring and evaluating education development sector programs;  
  • Demonstrated experience in monitoring results and indicators;  
  • Experience with electronic data collection and analysis required; 
  • Experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods and tools, such as SPSS, QDA Miner, etc. preferred; 
  • Expertise in data visualization preferred; 
  • Good working knowledge of USAID reporting requirements preferred; 
  • Must be able to work within a cross cultural setting, negotiate diplomatically, and function well under pressure;  
  • Ability to work hands-on, independently, and within team in difficult work environment; and 
  • Willingness to travel to provinces covered by the project; 
  • Experience working on education and/or youth issues in Guatemala or Central America desired. 

Language: 

Full fluency in Spanish is required. Working proficiency with English and familiarity with Western Highlands local language is highly preferred.  

Additional Information

EDC is committed to enhancing the diversity of its workforce and ensuring an equitable and highly inclusive work environment. EDC is a smoke-free workplace, and offers a supportive work environment, competitive salary, and excellent benefits. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.