What are the responsibilities and job description for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Analysis and Learning Lead position at ECHO INC.?
Summary:
The Monitoring, Evaluation, Analysis and Learning (MEAL) Lead role is responsible for providing technical leadership and expertise in managing monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems within ECHO globally and leading with ECHO partners. This involves mapping the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) needs, integrating, and overseeing a unified monitoring system, ensuring data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualization processes, and creating reports aligned with the organization’s goals. The position plays a crucial role in supporting global M&E initiatives, facilitating decision-making, contributing to professional development, training in best practices, and ensuring the effective tracking of the organization’s impact.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
This MEAL Lead position is integral to ECHO’s global monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, ensuring high data quality, strategic decision-making, and capacity building across teams. The role demands advanced technical skills in M&E, training capabilities, strong analytical expertise, and the ability to manage complex activities and collaborations effectively.
Key Responsibilities:
Experience: A minimum of five years in M&E interconnectedness, particularly in supervising and administrating M&E activities. Experience in agriculture, adult learning, or training is preferred.
Core Skills & Competencies:
This position has no direct reports
Those directly supported:
Regional Impact Center Directors, all M&E staff and contributors
Other departments to work closely with:
Advancement, Communications, Global Support Services, Department Managers
Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must regularly walk, stand, bend, stoop, kneel, and work with computers/technology.
Work Environment:
Office work environment with outdoor activity. There are times when work is conducted in an outdoor or field office (international and domestic) setting. Ability to work in hot and humid conditions.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
This is a full-time remote/telecommute position. Days and hours of work may vary. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.
Travel:
Travel domestically and internationally may involve up to 20% of time annually.
Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
AAP/EEO Statement:
ECHO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe it is our moral and legal obligation to meet the responsibility of ensuring that all management practices regarding employees are conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner.
In compliance with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and other applicable federal and state statutes, all recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting for all job classifications will be administered without regard to race, color, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability, military veteran status, genetic information, or other applicable status protected by law, including state of employment protected classes. It is, therefore, our policy and intention to evaluate all employees and prospective employees strictly according to the requirements of the job.
ECHO is a Christian religious-affiliated organization; and as such, is not subject to religious discrimination requirements. ECHO’s hiring practices and EEO discrimination practices are in full compliance with both federal and state law. Federal law creates an exception to the “religion” component of the employment discrimination laws for religious organizations and permits them to give employment practice preference to members of their own religious beliefs.
The Monitoring, Evaluation, Analysis and Learning (MEAL) Lead role is responsible for providing technical leadership and expertise in managing monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems within ECHO globally and leading with ECHO partners. This involves mapping the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) needs, integrating, and overseeing a unified monitoring system, ensuring data collection, cleaning, analysis, and visualization processes, and creating reports aligned with the organization’s goals. The position plays a crucial role in supporting global M&E initiatives, facilitating decision-making, contributing to professional development, training in best practices, and ensuring the effective tracking of the organization’s impact.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
This MEAL Lead position is integral to ECHO’s global monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, ensuring high data quality, strategic decision-making, and capacity building across teams. The role demands advanced technical skills in M&E, training capabilities, strong analytical expertise, and the ability to manage complex activities and collaborations effectively.
Key Responsibilities:
System Development & Integration:
- Lead the selection, adoption, and integration of an M&E system, ensuring its ongoing use and capacity-building across teams.
- Lead the design and implementation of monitoring practices, ensuring alignment with the strategic framework and the organization’s goals.
- Develop and oversee comprehensive M&E components such as Theory of Change, Logical Frameworks, and Indicator Tracking Tables.
- Review and provide feedback on M&E plans within Regional Impact Centers.
- Oversee data quality assurance mechanisms, ensuring that data collected is accurate, relevant, and of high quality.
- Conduct baseline, end-line, and annual monitoring data analysis to evaluate impact and training priorities.
- Analyze data and share insights to inform decision-making and strategic planning.
- Lead M&E training for global field staff, ensuring understanding of M&E methodologies, data collection protocols, and strategic integration.
- Provide mentorship to team members and external stakeholders, ensuring effective use of M&E systems and approaches.
- Conduct periodic reviews of reports, identifying challenges and lessons learned to highlight across teams.
- Serve as the primary M&E contact for internal and external stakeholders, fostering effective communication and collaboration.
- Collaborate with teams, partners, and stakeholders to collect and maintain relevant M&E indicators.
- Contribute to learning opportunities through training, written resources, and knowledge-sharing.
- Prepare reports and data visualizations for internal use and donor requirements, ensuring compliance with policies, independently and in coordination with the communications team.
- Engaging in continuous professional development and promoting a culture of knowledge management.
- Develop M&E strategies that aid in the organization’s decision-making processes, leveraging data to drive strategic insights and impact.
- Undertake additional tasks as assigned, demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness to the organizational needs.
Education & Experience Requirements:
Education: A Master's degree (preferred) or a Bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g., social sciences or information systems) is required. A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in M&E is necessary, with at least 2 years in cross-cultural settings and relevant expertise in the development and management of M&E systems.Experience: A minimum of five years in M&E interconnectedness, particularly in supervising and administrating M&E activities. Experience in agriculture, adult learning, or training is preferred.
Core Skills & Competencies:
- M&E Expertise: Proficient in designing and implementing M&E systems, with strong knowledge of evaluation methodologies and US donor requirements.
- Analytical Skills: Excellent quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis, and evaluation abilities.
- Training & Mentorship: Experience in training, mentoring, and coaching staff in M&E systems.
- Project Management: Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage complex tasks and multiple deadlines.
- Communication Skills: Ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders and collaborate in a team-oriented environment, making complex ideas simple and attainable.
- Technical Skills: Proficiency in data visualization tools such as Tableau, Qlik Sense, or Power BI. Experience evaluating and selecting M&E system.
- Contextual Knowledge: Familiarity with M&E in challenging contexts, ideally with lived experience in majority-world countries.
- Communication Proficiency: Strong verbal and written communication skills, particularly in developing resources and conducting trainings.
- Must subscribe to the ECHO Statement of Faith.
This position has no direct reports
Those directly supported:
Regional Impact Center Directors, all M&E staff and contributors
Other departments to work closely with:
Advancement, Communications, Global Support Services, Department Managers
Physical Requirements:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must regularly walk, stand, bend, stoop, kneel, and work with computers/technology.
Work Environment:
Office work environment with outdoor activity. There are times when work is conducted in an outdoor or field office (international and domestic) setting. Ability to work in hot and humid conditions.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
This is a full-time remote/telecommute position. Days and hours of work may vary. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand.
Travel:
Travel domestically and internationally may involve up to 20% of time annually.
Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
AAP/EEO Statement:
ECHO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe it is our moral and legal obligation to meet the responsibility of ensuring that all management practices regarding employees are conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner.
In compliance with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and other applicable federal and state statutes, all recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting for all job classifications will be administered without regard to race, color, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability, military veteran status, genetic information, or other applicable status protected by law, including state of employment protected classes. It is, therefore, our policy and intention to evaluate all employees and prospective employees strictly according to the requirements of the job.
ECHO is a Christian religious-affiliated organization; and as such, is not subject to religious discrimination requirements. ECHO’s hiring practices and EEO discrimination practices are in full compliance with both federal and state law. Federal law creates an exception to the “religion” component of the employment discrimination laws for religious organizations and permits them to give employment practice preference to members of their own religious beliefs.
