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.

Project Description

The $40.5 million Integrated Youth Engagement Activity supports South Sudanese youth and communities to develop, promote and strengthen the skills and assets of youth, and to create an enabling environment for the youth to be productive and positively contribute to their communities. The purpose of this activity is to support and empower at-risk out-of-school youth ages 15-29 gain the necessary skills they need to lead productive lives, gain employment, and positively contribute to their communities with following intended results:

• Improved youth access to functional literacy, numeracy, soft and life skills
• Increase youth entrepreneurial, employment, and vocational opportunities
• Increase behavior changes among youth to make positive adolescent reproductive health choices
• Improve social cohesion among youth and their communities

USAID/South Sudan also envisions that IYEA will adapt and/or pilot a Youth Corps Service model as a modality to creatively achieve the activity's stated goal and integrated objectives. Unemployed South Sudanese youth who are graduates from high school and universities, and non-graduates of exceptional demonstrated ability, will be mobilized, trained, coached, and mentored to become Youth Corps Service members. They will deliver specific IYEA-prescribed activities to disadvantaged targeted youth beneficiaries and their communities. The activity will help leverage youth for the youth’s benefit, build a sense of belonging and solidarity, and help to promote peace.

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 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. The MEL Manager will report to the Chief of Party.

Essential functions include (but are not limited to):

• 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.

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

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

Education:

Master’s degree in a relevant discipline or a comparable number of years of professional experience.  

Skills and Experience:

• Seven years of progressively responsible experience with M&E systems design and implementation, data collection, and report writing;
• Practical, capacity development experience in the education and youth sectors desired;
• Experience monitoring and evaluating youth workforce development sector programs desired;
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods and tools, such as SPSS, QDA Miner, etc. preferred;
• Expertise in data visualization preferred;
• Working knowledge of USAID reporting requirements;
• Ability to work hands-on, independently, and within team in difficult work environment; and
• Experience working on education and/or youth issues in South Sudan desired.

Language:

Fluency in English required. Arabic language ability, a plus.

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.