DIRECTOR OF MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING (D/MEL), RWANDA

School-to-School International (STS) is a nonprofit organization based in Pacifica, California committed to improving the lives and learning of girls and boys worldwide through thoughtful research, practice, and partnership. Since 2002, we have worked in over 40 countries providing assistance in research and evaluation, curriculum and training, and policy and planning.

Description of the project:

 The Schools and Systems activity is a 5-year anticipated USAID/Rwanda project that seeks to strengthen the Government of Rwanda’s (GOR) education system to ensure that pre-primary and lower primary school and classroom environments are high quality, inclusive, and focused on the learning of foundational literacy skills. The activity will improve literacy skills through the achievement of results in four major intervention areas: 1) Enhance the pre-primary education system to develop, promote and improve emergent language and literacy; 2) improve lower primary literacy instruction; 3) improve school environments for increased lower primary literacy; and, 4) strengthen the education system for improved literacy outcomes. The activity will aim to improve literacy skills for all Rwandan children by the end of Primary 3 (P3). It will also foster self-reliance, country ownership and sustainability by focusing on strengthening the institutional capacity of the Rwandan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) and other local government officials.

Overview of Position:

School-to-School International (STS) seeks a full-time Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (D/MEL) for the anticipated USAID-funded project in Rwanda. The D/MEL will direct the design and implementation of a solid, quality, comprehensive, and integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system for all project activities that meet STS and USAID standards. S/he will be responsible for ensuring development and operationalization of high- quality MEL systems and leading a team to report on the project. S/he will incorporate best practices to ensure information collected is accurate, timely, and disseminated appropriately in high quality reports. The D/MEL will use these findings to improve the program and achieve objectives. S/he will also be actively involved in promoting learning through documentation of lessons learned and developing approaches for community analysis and using data for

decision-making.

Location: This position will be based in Kigali, Rwanda.

Key roles and responsibilities

The D/MEL will play two roles: Director of the MEL program and member of the project’s

senior management team.

Primary Technical Areas

The D/MEL will be responsible for the following:

• Develop, revise, and ensure USAID’s approval of and implementation of the Activity MEL Plan on an annual
• Provide leadership, training, and mentoring to develop MEL Plans, tools, and data analysis to track and continuously assess program quality, accountability and impact; these should include: standard monitoring of project management information and project indicators; quality benchmarks at the activity level; accountability mechanisms; regular program reviews; and
• Develop and implement systems for capturing and analyzing data and relevant information on project activities, beneficiaries, outputs, outcomes, and
• Lead a MEL team to effectively roll out MEL data collection and reporting systems to all staff and partners through training, site visits, manuals, and other technical support as needed.
• Capture appropriate cost and financial information to track any financial indicators, as relevant, including benchmarking
• Ensure programming is aligned to project targets and indicators and use the information from the MEL systems and tools to improve program
• Support a rigorous evaluation of project performance, impact, and cost effectiveness, including coordinating baseline, mid-term, and final evaluations and supporting donor and external
• Provide oversight, with support of finance, technical and management staff, of MEL budget and ensure effective and timely use of appropriate MEL activities. Provide on- going support to test and maintain MEL
• Identify capacity gaps of MEL staff and lead on MEL capacity building staff and partners through coaching, mentoring, and
• Troubleshoot MEL systems and program quality issues with Technical Director and others.

MEL Staff Management, Mentorship, and Training

 As a member of the project’s senior management team, the D/MEL will have the following responsibilities:

• Lead MEL staff management, mentorship, and development, internal reporting, as well as programme development and MEL
• Demonstrate exemplary behaviors corresponding to the mission, vision, and values of STS and its prime and verify their appropriate application by staff during the entire intervention.
• Create a favorable and productive work environment, including implementation of workplace diversity
• Contribute generally to the strategic goals of the country
• Access global technical policies, procedures, and resources that will support the project technically or
• Supervise and coordinate more junior MEL project
• Report to US-based supervisor on a regular basis
• Serve as a liaison between STS program manager and in-country
• Execute duties according to STS’s and its prime’s Child Safeguarding Policy
• Other duties as assigned by

Qualifications:

• A Masters degree in monitoring and evaluation, international development, education, statistics, mathematics, or related
• Advanced training in quantitative methodologies, including database management; experience in qualitative research techniques in addition
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in managing and implementing MEL systems for international development programs related to: education, literacy, or other related
• Prior experience overseeing and ensuring the success of MEL systems in USAID or other international donor education projects strongly
• Proven experience in knowledge management, design, and implementation of MEL techniques, and implementation of a robust learning agenda for continuous collaboration, learning, adaptation and evaluating international development programs.
• Experience in evaluating programs in the context of least developed country
• Analytical skills and an understanding of monitoring, evaluation, and assessment tools to promote evidence-based
• Proficiency in relevant data collection and analysis software such as SPSS, SAS, Stata, NVivo, R, or similar.
• Ability to analyze complex data and summarize it for a range of
• Sound strategic thinking and planning skills, including ability to think creatively and innovate, set priorities, create manageable workplans, and evaluate
• Strong work ethic, positive mindset, and comfort with the ambiguity and pace of a
• dynamic
• Professional proficiency in written and spoken English and Kinyarwanda is
• Sensitive to political and cultural issues, and able to demonstrate patience, tact, and diplomacy.
• Ability and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes dangerous working

Preferred Qualifications:

• Knowledge of gender equity and transformative concepts
• Prior work experience assessing student learning outcomes using EGRA or ASER
• Experience in systems thinking and application of complex adaptive systems methodologies.

 Please submit a resume/CV and cover letter describing your interest and qualifications to [email protected] by May 1, 2021, with the subject line “Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (D/MEL)”. 

School-to-School International is an equal employment opportunities (EEO) employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.