Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning USAID/Georgia Agricultural Trade Program

About Palladium: 

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity: 
Palladium is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director for the anticipated USAID/Georgia Agricultural Trade Program, a 5-Year USAID-funded program which aims to strengthen Georgia’s capacity to sustainability export to high-value markets. The Program will support export diversification, strengthen local agricultural market systems in Georgia, and attract new private investment into the sector. 

The overarching objectives of the Program are as follows: 
Increased market linkages with non-malign markets, with a specific focus on reducing dependence on the Russian market; 
Improved capacity of agricultural enterprises to access export markets, including compliance with international standards and improving or establishing export-oriented infrastructure for agricultural goods; and 
Strengthened climate-responsive food and agricultural systems.
Position Summary
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director is a full-time position and will be responsible for leading the design and implementation of the program monitoring and evaluation framework and information system to track delivery against targets/projections, indicators, outcomes, and impact. They will be responsible for ensuring valid and verifiable data collection, reporting and analysis, and communicating program results to USAID and external stakeholders. They will link M&E data to a process of learning and iterative adaptation. This position is contingent upon contract award to Palladium.  

Location: Tbilisi, Georgia

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Lead the development and monitoring of MEL workplans, and review and update the project’s MEL plan on an on-going basis.
Provide technical leadership to capture and communicate program results, as well as ensure high-quality, timely, valid, and verifiable data collection, reporting and analysis.
Develop and implement a framework for project results measurement, accountability, learning and development effectiveness to measure and report project success, including articulation of Theories of Change (ToC).
Using a CLA framework, ensure that lessons learned and best practices are captured, synthesized, reported, and disseminated.
Coordinate and manage all monitoring, evaluation, and research and deliverables for the project and ensure that all required reports and documentation for the project’s internal management systems and for external reporting are produced according to USAID guidelines.
Provide strategic guidance on MEL activities and oversees MEL activities across the project, including indicator selection, baseline assessments, and setting targets.
Work closely with the technical leads of project components to ensure compatibility and coordination within the M&E framework and ensure that the MEL system adheres to USAID guidelines and meets the needs of the program for learning, analysis, and reporting.
Focus on strengthening the M&E system, building capacity of partners and staff, and improving alignment and support to host-country M&E systems.
Leads efforts to develop and implement an effective knowledge management system to ensure lessons and best practices are incorporated into ongoing interventions and innovative approaches.
Leads development, selection, and application of M&E processes and tools.
Provide technical staff training where necessary (i.e. On- the- job -training, through coaching or formal short courses facilitated by managers themselves to develop to skills and knowledge).
Guide team efforts to use data and research to inform evidence-based program design and adaptive management.
Oversees and advise on information management processes by reviewing data collection efforts, overall data reliability, consistency, quality, and reporting.
Institute routine data reviews as part of an adaptive management process including analysing, interpreting, and presenting data to project management and technical leads
Responsible for developing and designing project systems to track program progress against indicators, collecting and verifying information and maintaining performance monitoring plans, reports, work plans and monthly reports.

Key Competencies Required:

Master’s degree or higher in M&E, Statistics, Economics, or related field.
Minimum 5 years’ experience in developing and implementing MEL and CLA workplans, preferably for a USAID or donor-funded trade and or agriculture projects, preferably in Georgia.
Demonstrated experience in establishing and managing MEL systems that track project performance and results 
Demonstrated experience in managing a team of professionals and collaborating with private sector actors, key partners, and government officials; preferably with the Georgian government.
Proficiency in data analysis software and demonstrated experience in monitoring tools related to export diversification, climate-smart/resilient agriculture, agribusiness development, market systems strengthening, and/or private sector engagement.
Demonstrated analytical skills to measure the outcomes of the project’s activities and support project supervision
Demonstrated experience in gathering, organizing, and analysing large amounts of data as well as the ability to design manageable, transparent M&E systems that report progress against indicators throughout the life
Prior experience developing, implementing, and managing performance monitoring plans (PMPs).
Demonstrated experience with complex donor-funded development projects
Experience with USAID rules and regulations, as well as best practices in M&E
Experience in leading and oversight of qualitative and quantitative research and demonstrated experience managing data collection teams
Excellent organizational and management skills to manage MEL teams and activities
Prior experience in a mid and/or senior management role on a donor funded program.
Strong understanding of USAID regulations and M&E reporting requirements, preferably in the agricultural, trade, or private sector engagement sector.
Strong written and verbal communication skills in English and Georgian 
Georgian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply. Prior work experience in Georgia or the region preferred.