Political Accountability MEL Specialist - International Republican Institute

Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day-to-day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:

Excellence– We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. 

Freedom– We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. 

Respect- We believe in trust, empathy and empowering people. 

Teamwork- We believe in diversity, inclusion and the power of global collaboration. 

Transparency– We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. 

Accountability- We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.

This position will provide strategic support for the Ghana office and is responsible for assisting the Resident Director (RPD) in the daily management of the team and MEL responsibilities.

The Political Accountability/MEL Specialist will also serve to expand the network for thought leadership on democracy and governance issues, engage and expand networks within the democracy and governance community, and fulfill requests related to MEL activities, data collection and similar issues related to the programming in Ghana.

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

•  Assist RPD in maintaining close relationships with all relevant stakeholders, including donor agencies, government representatives, program partners (political parties, civic leaders etc
•  Support RPD to oversee various project objectives and ensure overall adherence to monitoring and evaluation plans, including the monitoring of programs and evaluation/analysis of program results and the staff, consultants and partners are kept on track to achieve results.
•  Works with the RPD with input from program staff to develop and manage short and long term strategy.
•  Contribute to business development efforts, including seeking and identifying new or additional sources of funding and participates in the substantive design of new programs and contribute to the development of programs ideas by incorporating data and lessons learned into the design and proposal development process.
• Travel as needed to support key programming and business development initiatives, including political and program assessments, high-level program activities, donor and USG/host government meetings, election observations, etc.
• Proactively advise and support IRI staff and partners on all M&E related matters, including proactively communicating M&E requirements, tasks, and expectations to staff
•  Coordinate and engage with Africa program staff in DC as it relates to MEL requests and liaise with members of the DC-based Office of Evidence and Learning Practice (ELP).
• Provide technical support and training for IRI’s monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts, primarily to field-based program staff throughout the project lifecycle, especially during project implementation and close-out
• Work with field and headquarters team to ensure that M&E data and initiatives accurately capture results toward project objectives
• Maintain a detailed understanding of and lead the IRI-Ghana office in executing all M&E requirements, tasks, and activities in Ghana. This includes developing and maintaining a master M&E work plan for all active projects in Ghana.
• Assist IRI staff to carry out all requirements and tasks in MEL plans and indicator matrices (PMPs, etc). This may include but is not limited to: planning for data collection, preparing and piloting data collection tools, collecting data, storing and maintaining data, cleaning and analyzing data and providing MEL capacity building/training support to colleagues as requested.
• Assist in reporting on activities, and associated output, outcome, and impact level results; this may include drafting sections of activity, weekly, quarterly or final reports and providing data analysis support to program staff drafting quarterly reports.
• Help ensure that IRI-Ghana’s data storage and data ethics meet IRI and funder standards.
• Liaise with headquarters staff to support Data Quality Assessments, as needed including those led by IRI and/or the funder
• Assist IRI-Ghana in implementing their learning strategies, including collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) initiatives, after action reviews and reflection sessions, to ensure that data is both reported and used to improve IRI’s program.
•  Provides information and contributes to sections of quarterly, semi-annual, final, and other relevant reports for donors.
• Maintains an understanding of donor and IRI policies and procedures related to grant compliance and oversight.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in political/social science, international relations or related field.
• Minimum three years of professional experience in the international development sector, including at least one year of experience with monitoring and evaluation.
• Demonstrated understanding of the program theory-based approach to program design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Familiarity with common MEL elements of projects including but not limited to: logical frameworks, performance monitoring plans and indicator matrices.
• Strong organizational skills, execution of tasks, and attention to detail required.
• Ability to manage diverse activities and to meet deadlines required.
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a team, coordinate and effectively meet program goals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• Familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis software, such as SPSS, STATA, R, NVivo, or AtlasTI, preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience with USG-funded projects strongly preferred.
• Experience working on democracy and governance grants preferred.
• Familiarity with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis preferred.

Qualifications

Education

Required

• Bachelor or better in Political Science or related field.

Experience

Required

3 years: 

• Demonstrated understanding of the program theory-based approach to program design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Familiarity with common MEL elements of projects including but not limited to logical frameworks, performance monitoring plans and indicator matrices.
• Strong organizational skills, execution of tasks, and attention to detail required.
• Ability to manage diverse activities and to meet deadlines required. Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English