Overview

Since 1963 and in 148 countries, ACDI/VOCA has empowered people in developing and transitional nations to succeed in the global economy. Based in Washington, D.C., ACDI/VOCA is a nonprofit international development organization that designs and delivers technical and management solutions in agriculture, economic growth, and resilience to promote economic prosperity and social inclusion.

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA)/Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director, Ghana

ACDI/VOCA is seeking a Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA)/Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director for an upcoming youth activity in Ghana funded by USAID. The program will improve the socioeconomic status of youth in northern Ghana through youth-led and youth-serving organizations, among others, to generate cross-sectoral, positive youth development outcomes, allowing them to make better life decisions and influence policy. The program will give special attention to the needs of girls, the disabled, and other disadvantaged groups.

The CLA/MEL Director will develop and facilitate learning workshops with technical leads and partners, including engaging local teams in developing learning priorities and questions and identifying evidence-based ways to adapt and scale interventions. They will design and manage the CLA and MEL plan and Activity learning agenda to systematically generate, synthesize, share, and apply learning and employ adaptive management processes. The program is anticipated to start in 2024 and this position is based in Tamale, Ghana.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for learning and knowledge exchange
• Ensure that programmatic learning and results are fully documented, shared, and used to drive adaptive management processes
• Lead the collection, analysis, documentation, dissemination, and use of best practices and lessons learned
• Design and implement internal and external knowledge exchange and learning events to improve peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing and application
• Develop and/or maintain strategic relationships with relevant stakeholders to promote effective coordination, collaboration, and dissemination of program learning
• Support the design of and manage the MEL framework and plan that incorporates CLA principles and components
• Lead/oversee the baseline data collection process and ensure effective reporting and monitoring systems are in place
• Provide capacity building and technical assistance to ACDI/VOCA and partner organization staff in the utilization and management of monitoring and impact assessment tools
• Conduct/oversee qualitative and quantitative program impact surveys to ensure that project goals are met and that all information required for submission to donor is collected in a valid, reliable, and timely manner
• Complete/oversee impact assessment, midline, and end line surveys to assess positive and negative, intended and unintended impacts of Activity interventions
• Design learning approaches that enable analysis of data, context, and emerging experience, as well as iterative adaptive management for the Activity’s technical approaches
• Employ best practices in gender, youth, and social inclusion (GYSI) in research, including youth engagement in research design, data collection, and analysis
• Ensure the project sets informed GYSI targets, establishes appropriate GYSI-focused indicators, and adequately monitors for, measures, and reports on GYSI results

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in monitoring and evaluation, development studies, research methods, quantitative or qualitative analysis, economics, statistics, or relevant field is required; master’s degree is desired.
• Minimum 8 years of experience managing the MEL and/or CLA component of a donor-funded project, USAID preferred.
• Proven experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods, survey design and implementation, and statistical data analysis is required.
• Familiarity with applying the CLA approach to management is desired.
• Experience with best practices in gender-responsive youth-led research methods preferred.
• Demonstrated experience building the capacities of staff and partners in research methods and design preferred.
• Experience working in northern Ghana preferred.
• Fluency in English required.

Ghanaian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.