Team Leader, MCC M&E BPA/Solomon Islands Threshold Access Land for Tourism Investment Facilitation Project (ALTIF) and Forest Value Enhancement Project (FoVEP) Evaluation Contract, Solomon Islands

Team Leader, MCC M&E BPA/Solomon Islands Threshold Access Land for Tourism Investment Facilitation Project (ALTIF) and Forest Value Enhancement Project (FoVEP) Evaluation Contract, Solomon Islands 

Social Impact is a global development management consulting firm. We provide monitoring, evaluation, strategic planning, and capacity building services to advance development effectiveness. We work across all development sectors including democracy and governance, health and education, the environment, and economic growth. Since 1997 we have worked in over 100 countries for clients such as US government agencies, bilateral donors, multilateral development banks, foundations, and nonprofits. 

Proposal Objective: 

SI is bidding on a proposal funded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the Solomon Islands for an evaluation of their Threshold Program (2022 - 2026) . The program aims to reduce poverty by assisting the government in addressing two barriers to economic growth: first, the ineffective natural resource management of the forestry sector and second, the lack of secure access to land (thus limiting tourism and investment). The evaluation will include both the Forest Value Enhancement Project (FoVEP) and the Access Land for Tourism Investment Facilitation (ALTIF) Project. The ALTIF Project will build government capacity to identify investable land and facilitate investment in the sector with the aim of increasing tourism investment in Solomon Islands, which is expected to deliver jobs and productivity gains, increased local purchases, and foreign exchange benefits. FoVEP aims to generate more reliable, sustainable benefits from the country’s natural forest resources by reducing negative environmental impacts, increasing revenues from forestry production in a manner that promotes more equitable revenue disbursement to local communities, and attaining a regulatory and enforcement framework that strikes a greater balance between utilizing the forests for both logging and non-logging purposes. Both projects include Facilitated Governance Reform (FGR) sub-activities to build local ownership and identify and solve problems. 

Position Description: 

SI is seeking a Team Leader consultant for an upcoming evaluation of the Solomon Islands Threshold Program. The Team Leader will provide overall technical and managerial leadership of the evaluation, and oversight of the evaluation team members. 

We anticipate work to begin in quarter one of 2025 and continue through the end of 2030. The position is contingent upon the award of the contract to Social Impact.  

Responsibilities: 

• Liaise regularly with MCC, the host government partner (MCA), and other organizations involved in the evaluation. 

• Lead and manage the study team. 

• Lead development and ensure quality control of all deliverables being submitted to MCC, including an evaluation design report, data collection materials, final evaluation report, and dissemination materials. 

• Ensure deliverables are submitted on time, and any delays are clearly communicated to the COR/PM as soon as they are known. 

• Provide technical oversight of instrument and evaluation tool development. 

Qualifications: 

• A master’s-level degree in statistics, economics, land management, or related field. 

• Experience designing, managing, or overseeing evaluations in governance and reform, land, carbon finance/forestry, tourism, or other relevant fields.  

• Experience establishing evaluation tools and protocols. This includes experience managing both quantitative surveys (household survey) and qualitative data collection (focus groups and open-ended interviews). 

• Experience leading a multidisciplinary team for a project of similar size and duration (5 years). 

• Experience designing and conducting performance evaluations, including assessing the results of the program and assessing the dynamic context/country-specific context of the program, and utilizing qualitative research methods, including configurational or generative causation methodologies. 

• Demonstrated publication record, minimum of five publications on evaluation of policy and institutional reform projects.  

• Excellent communication, facilitation, organization and management skills and experience working with diverse teams and a wide range of stakeholders. 

• Demonstrated experience writing detailed and concise implementation and analysis reports. 

• Professional proficiency in English. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Experience with MCC.  

• Evaluation experience in the Oceania region.  

• Strong understanding of Facilitated Governance Reform (FGR) projects (i.e., working with governments to improve processes and efficiency). 

• Strong economic, statistics and econometrics skills, including experience with detailed, high-level data analysis and sampling. 

• Familiarity with the state of socioeconomic and geopolitical affairs in the Solomon Islands.  

• Local language knowledge, including Solomon Islands Pijin, Cheke Holo, and Are’are.