Спеціаліст/ка з моніторингу, оцінювання та навчання / Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist

Program: USAID-funded GROW Project in Ukraine
Application Deadline: Until filled
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine

World Council of Credit Unions seeks a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist for the GROW Project in Ukraine (hereinafter – GROW) responsible for leading the development and implementation of the project’s monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems and overseeing monitoring of all project activities and results.

About the Project:

The GROW Project in Ukraine is a four – year project implemented by World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and funded by USAID.

The goals of GROW are to:

• Support MSME growth through increased lending
• Improve the enabling environment for credit unions
• Improve the operational capacity of Ukrainian credit unions to better serve MSMEs

The GROW Project will expand access to finance through credit unions for legal entities and private entrepreneurs, including farms, MSMEs, and cooperatives, as well as individuals in rural areas who are seeking to start or expand existing businesses. To facilitate this, GROW will address the supply of business financing, improve the enabling environment, and deepen the technical capacity of credit unions to provide and promote their financial services.

Duties:

The MEL Specialist will lead monitoring activities, manage data collection, data flow, and data management systems, and prepare for project evaluations. The MEL Specialist is expected to provide technical expertise on performance and context monitoring, assessments, and the integration of Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) across project activities.  They will also participate in CAP’s regular reporting activities, submit regular and ad-hoc data sets to USAID in accordance with WOCCU policies and manuals, and USAID rules and regulations. This position will report directly to the Chief of Party (COP) and work closely as a member of a team to achieve program objectives.

Technical responsibilities;

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of the GROW MEL system in compliance with donor regulations and procedures;
• Lead the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation plans and activities, including performance and context monitoring, analysis, feedback loops, and learning events. Utilize MEL tools to monitor and assess program progress, informing project management decision making;
• Ensure compliance with WOCCU policies, donor regulations, and international standards for data security and management;
• Develop and supervise maintenance of a database for managing internal data and data obtained from partners. Identify, refine, and coordinate with partners on data sourcing methods and reporting processes.
• Lead data collection and documentation for agreed indicators as per approved MEL plan, including for the baseline;
• Collect and analyze data for other needs of the GROW project regarding credit union market and agricultural sector data as needed; collect and analyze other data on request of COP and Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP);
• Collect and analyze all data related to events hosted by the project, including tracking the number, positions and gender of participants, as well as documenting and sharing learnings;
• Work closely with technical staff members to ensure that data is collected on time, facilitate CLA activities, and ensure that data and feedback received is appropriately integrated into programmatic decision-making;
• In collaboration with technical staff members, create assessments and diagnostic surveys to study credit unions’ practices, plans and needs; create surveys for assessment of needs and health of apex organizations; use the data to capture learnings and make actionable recommendations to improve the GROW project;
• Develop credit union sectoral data analysis on regular basis and report to COP and DCOP as well as technical staff members;
• Support the design and implementation of systems to identify, document, apply, and disseminate lessons learned.
• Work with the COP and DCOP in reaching programmatic deliverables and support team members in achieving the overall program objectives;
• Hold capacity building trainings and presentations of MEL activities, results, and CLA for the GROW team and partners;
• Contribute to the development of work plans, quarterly reports, reports to USAID, GROW and partner annual reports, as well as any ad-hoc communication and reporting required for project partners, recipients, and government, as assigned by COP / DCOP;
• Work closely with other GROW team members to ensure synergies, efficacy, and proper flow of work between various tasks and objectives;
• Travel outside of Kyiv, as needed, to reach rural credit unions and their members as needed and identify where adaptations may be needed; and
• Fulfill all tasks required to meet project goals under GROW’s activities and any other duties as assigned by the COP and DCOP.

Required Qualifications:

• Academic Background: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as international development, economics, statistics, social sciences, or related field, with technical training in MEL.
• At minimum 4 years of experience of relevant professional experience in MEL roles, delivering and managing data collection and management systems for international development projects.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative data skills, including in the design of data collection tools, data collection, analysis, and management, and visualization software.
• Experience in development projects and international cooperation, providing technical assistance to both public and private sector stakeholders. 
• Experience working at similar and relevant positions in international organizations, activities and/or projects is essential.
• Good understanding of the work of international donor activities; experience and knowledge of USAID MEL and CLA requirements is highly preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal communication, and facilitation skills; culturally and socially sensitive; demonstrated ability to work effectively in team; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, local NGOs, and authorities at different levels.
• Excellent writing, research, and communication skills.
• Native Ukrainian fluency, both written and spoken.
• High proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Computer proficiency (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Experience with statistical analysis programs (ex. Stata, SPSS), qualitative analysis software (ex. Dedoose, NVIVO), data visualization software (ex. PowerBI, Tableau) or others.
• Culturally sensitive and able to work with multiple stakeholders in Ukraine and understand their various positions/viewpoints.
• Ability to travel to rural areas as required by project needs.

Apply: Please send a cover letter, resume, and three reference contacts to [email protected] with the subject line: “MEL Specialist.” Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please. Thank you.