Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Team Lead, Lebanon Water Sanitation and Conservation (WSC)

Project Background:

The Water Sanitation and Conservation (WSC) Project’s purpose is the enhanced conservation and protection of Lebanon’s water resources through achieving three objectives: 1) capacity of wastewater (WW) and sanitation management expanded; 2) efficiency of public water utilities to manage water resources increased; and 3) citizens’ water stewardship enhanced. The availability of usable water resources in Lebanon—a strategic priority country to the U.S. Government’s Global Water Strategy—is at risk, jeopardizing the well-being of citizens and the social compact between the Government of Lebanon (GOL) and its people. In achieving WSC’s three objectives, USAID also hopes to gain fuller municipal and community integration—women and youth included—and a more substantial private sector role in Lebanon’s water sector, as well as greater sustainability of water sector enhancements.

Position Description:

The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) and Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Team Lead has primary responsibility for the co-design and implementation of the project’s M&E plan and data collection system to measure overall project performance against established goals and objectives. S/he ensures that project leadership has timely data on program progress that will help on management decision making and performance improvement. In addition, the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Director oversees the preparation of regular project reports and deliverables for USAID and highlights best practices and approaches for all project counterparts and defines program indicators and sources of data; track delivery against program targets; use existing evidence and identify solutions to promote data-based decision making among program and technical staff; prepare project performance monitoring plans; and contribute to other project documents.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

The MEL and CLA Team Lead will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

• Co-design, develop, and institutionalize monitoring and evaluation systems and approaches that provide useful data for reporting, communications, and organizational learning.
• Contributes to the draft MEL Plan that will outline WSC’s approach for establishing the baseline. This may include using existing available data (project, host-country, other donor) in addition to conducting a baseline assessment if necessary. Baseline data collection must be completed within one-hundred and fifty (150) days of award and submitted by the Contractor to the COR in a Baseline Report.
• Oversee implementation of data quality assessment processes and procedures.
• Develop/adapt tools for data collection; designs and implements surveys and other data collection tasks, including overseeing implementation of the project’s baseline, mid and end-of-project surveys.
• Lead collaboration with USAID assigned external evaluators and provide documentation/verification of data as requested.
• Design focus group discussions and report findings to COP, DCOP, Construction Manager, and relevant stakeholders to guide future activities and evaluate project achievements.
• Work closely with DCOP to design routine technical meetings as a platform for sharing ideas among team leads.
• Institutes regular use of performance monitoring data among component leads and technical staff.
• Identifies best practices and state-of-the art approaches to the program activities and evaluates them.
• Use data to systematically and consistently document achievements, success stories, and best practices while coordinating and collaborating with the Communications and GESI Director.
• Provides technical assistance and training to the project’s teams and partner organizations as necessary.
• Inform technical teams about the project’s outcomes and impacts on a regular basis, providing necessary recommendations for meeting targets where needed.
• Tracks, measures, and records the targeted results that serve as measurable performance standards by which the project’s performance will be assessed and the indicators in the MEL plan to provide metrics to measure progress.
• Ensures that required gender, youth, and student related data are tracked, recorded and reported properly.
• Provide overall guidance and manage all the M&E related efforts, communicating and coordinating as needed with DAI home office headquarters staff.
• Designs/adapts project performance monitoring database to report national and global indicator and performance indicator data quarterly to technical team leads, COP, and DAI headquarters.
• Supervises, coaches, and mentors the M&E Specialists and MEL Officers to ensure timely and high-quality reporting of M&E data including entry into USAID systems as applicable to ensure MEL tasks are completed in a timely and quality manner
• Train WSC technical teams on the use of the project’s management system (TAMIS) and work closely with them to ensure that TAMIS is regularly and accurately updated.
• Ensure coordination between MEL & CLA and Communications and GESI, and technical teams. 
• Develops and updates the project activity factsheet on a quarterly basis and report the updates to USAID Lebanon and its designated M&E contractor.
• Collects, compiles, validates and provides input into the Annual Work Plan, MEL Plan, Baseline Report, Quarterly Performance Reports, Annual Reports and Final Report.
• Participates in and contributes to weekly senior staff meetings.
• Conduct data validation meetings with USAID’s M&E contractors.
• Help create and maintain a culture of learning and adaptive management within the MEL and CLA activity.
• Provide training and capacity building on CLA and adaptive management methods and tools and best practices to USAID, IP staff, and other stakeholders. Support them to integrate and institutionalize CLA best practices as needed.
• Identify key messages, develop, and disseminate knowledge and learning products through diverse communication channels.
• Document, and make available in useful form, evidence, and analytic results from MEL and CLA studies and evaluation reports, meeting notes, decisions made, and follow ups from learning engagements.
• See the extract from the WSC Contract, Page 34 of 129, III. Plans, Section E, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Plan (MEL Plan), for additional job description related details and specific MEL requirements, provided as an attachment.
• Other duties as assigned by the COP

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in organizational, communications, social sciences, or a related field. Master’s degree or higher in Statistics, International Development, or a related field, preferred, but not required.
• Minimum ten (10) years of experience managing performance monitoring plans, evaluation, collaboration and learning, preferably with knowledge of USAID’s CLA approach.
• Prior experience leading, designing, managing, and/or commissioning performance evaluations and other types of research.
• Prior supervisory experience of MEL and CLA professionals working on USAID projects.
• Practical experience with applying USAID CLA Framework, tools, and approaches.
• Experience training / facilitating large groups.
• Demonstrated expertise and an in-depth understanding of qualitative and quantitative research design, data collection, and data analysis.
• Demonstrated team player.
• Ability to communicate findings to a range of external and internal stakeholders and apply MEL results and learning to planning.
• Proficiency in statistical software.
• Understanding of USAID regulations and policies, including but not limited to the Automated Directives System 201, Evaluation Policy, and the Journey to Self-Reliance.
• Strong track record of working on projects of similar scope, complexity, and size.
• Fluency in English is required.  Excellent English writing skills required.

About DAI

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work.  DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.