Overview
RTI International (RTI) is both a global research institute and a leading international development organization. We combine these powerful capabilities with those of our partners to co-create smart, shared solutions for a more prosperous, equitable, and resilient world. Based in North Carolina, USA, RTI is one of the top implementing partners of projects funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A commitment to making meaningful change energizes our 6,000 staff who deliver results across eight international development sectors and in more than 80 countries.
Position Description
RTI’s International Development Group (IDG) is currently seeking a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adapting (MERLA) Advisor to join the IDG MERLA team. The MERLA Advisor will primarily support MERLA activities across a portfolio of proposals and projects in the international education sector but may also contribute to work in the following sectors: water, environment, global health, food security and agriculture, governance, resilience, energy, and climate change. The MERLA Advisor will be responsible for a) leading MERLA in proposals primarily for the education sector and other sectors as applicable, b) providing a wide range of MERLA technical support to ongoing education (and other sectoral) projects, including research design and analysis, and c) furthering MERLA thought leadership.
The successful candidate must demonstrate through past experience, including work products and references, the following: an exceptional ability to plan, organize and manage work, independently lead MERLA in (primarily USAID-funded) proposals and projects, design and evaluate research activities, analyze data, prepare and summarize reports and other materials, and follow through on agreed upon actions, while maintaining a positive and productive attitude with other team members in a fast-paced and demanding environment.
This position will report to an Associate Director of MERLA and could be based in Washington, DC, the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI headquarters), or as a permanent remote employee. The position will be expected to travel internationally as needed, up to 10-15% of the time.
Responsibilities
MERLA Excellence in Business Development (35-40% LOE):
- Independently lead and work with other RTI staff on proposal development efforts, including identifying and cultivating business opportunities, facilitating proposal and program design workshops, contributing to partnering and staffing strategies, writing proposal technical narratives and MEL plans, crafting indicators and measurement approaches, developing and proposing/writing learning agendas and/or research questions, conducting desk reviews, landscape analyses and/or research on measurement and evaluation approaches in education and other sectors in international development.
- Assist with MERLA recruitment and hiring efforts as part of proposal development.
MERLA Excellence in Projects (35-40% LOE):
- Provide and manage MERLA support for successful start-up and implementation of projects, ensuring appropriate data collection, management, learning, and data use systems are set up and project staff are oriented in RTI’s MERLA approach.
- Lead the design and write-up of activity M&E/MEL/MERLA plans, including, as relevant, learning agendas, indicators, data collection methods, evaluation designs, results frameworks, logical frameworks, research agendas and collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) approaches.
- Lead and work with other RTI staff to design and implement operations research, including quantitative and qualitative studies, in support of project learning and research.
- Manage and support the planning and implementation of project baseline, midline, and endline assessments, including supporting the project team in analyzing data, sharing findings, and writing up related reports.
- Analyze project M&E data and generate results in easy-to-understand visual formats; work with communications team to ensure that results are captured in briefs, reports and other documentation.
- Use M&E data to further project learning, support project teams to apply learning and adapt implementation, and share learning across projects and sectors.
- Facilitate collaborative activities with project staff (workshops, interactive virtual sessions, etc.) for reflection and adaptive management.
- Support project teams in their preparation and response to data quality assessments (DQAs): design and implement DQA protocols, use DQA findings to improve data collection, reporting, management and analysis.
- Support capacity building of in-country (single project) and international (cross-project) MERLA staff.
Other MERLA Work (10-15% LOE):
- Contribute to advancing MERLA at RTI. This may include research and learning about sectoral measurement approaches, changes or advancements in USAID approaches, or contributing to publications, blogs, conference abstracts, etc.
- Work with Communications experts at RTI and other team members to ensure that results, learning and adaptations are effectively used to produce communications products targeted to audiences of interest (communities we serve, country governments, donors, wider international development community, etc.).
- Manage additional MERLA initiatives including cross-sectoral collaboration, developing training materials, etc.
Qualifications
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in education, international development, program evaluation, or related field and 12 years of relevant experience; or Master’s degree and 10 years of relevant experience.
- Minimum of 5 years of relevant MERLA experience, with large/complex donor funded international development programs including USAID.
- Experience independently leading and developing comprehensive MEL/MERLA plans for proposals including Theory of Change, logical frameworks, results frameworks, learning or research agendas, indicators, and targets.
- Experience supporting large international development projects with MERLA activities including data collection, analysis, and learning or research.
- Experience with data collection and analysis, as well as reporting and dissemination of findings.
- Experience specifically in education research, monitoring, evaluation and CLA preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of proposal development and project management practices in international development, preferably in international education.
- Proven excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Excellent English oral and written communication skills (native speaker or professional-level fluency).
- Proven ability to work effectively in a team-oriented setting while also taking the initiative to complete assigned tasks with high quality and within tight timelines.
- High level of integrity and proven ability to communicate respectfully in a multi-cultural environment.
- Capacity to prioritize and manage multiple tasks; strong organizational skills; and must be detail-oriented and hard-working.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
- Experience with Stata for data analysis and statistics preferred.
- Experience with additional quantitative/qualitative software for data management and analysis preferred.
- French and/or Spanish oral and written communication skills preferred.
- Familiarity with and/or willingness to learn new MERLA approaches, such as Open Standards, CLA Tools, Miradi, etc. a plus.
Expected salary range for a US-based employee is indicated below. Please note, if the position is based outside of the US, the salary range would be different.
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EEO & Pay Equity Statements
For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is available here.
The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States.
RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer.
At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance.
Equal Pay Act Minimum/Range
$115,000-$145,000