MEL Specialist, El Salvador MEL, Remote

Management Systems International (MSI), a Tetra Tech Company, is a Washington, D.C. metro area management consultancy with a 40-year history of delivering results for our clients. Our expertise is in the fields of monitoring and evaluation; democracy and governance; peace and stability; rule of law and accountability; education; gender and inclusion; strategic communications; and leadership and organizational development. MSI has implemented projects in 90 countries around the world such as Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Ukraine, and works domestically. We support clients ranging from the U.S. Government (e.g., the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Departments of State and Labor, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation) to large bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g., the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program). We also work with national and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, foundations and universities. For more information, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

Project Summary:

The USAID El Salvador Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) project provides monitoring, evaluation, learning, and knowledge management support services to USAID operating units (OUs) in the Central America region, including USAID/El Salvador, Central America, and Mexico (ES-CAM) regional Mission; regional bilateral Missions in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico; and USAID/Washington-based bureaus and offices operating in Central America. These services will enhance USAID’s regional MEL capacity and evidence base to guide activity design; facilitate learning and adaptive management for USAID and its partners. This project will play a pivotal role in measuring and understanding the effectiveness and impact of USAID’s programming on the drivers and overall reduction of irregular migration to the United States. For this task under the project, this work will consist of a consultancy to conduct an analysis of USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system (including indicators, MEL Plan, tools, higher-level objectives, TOC) and recommend changes to improve their MEL system. This analysis will include facilitating workshop(s) with the Regional Program Office (RPO) and Mission technical office teams to arrive at outcome-level measures and go beyond output measurement. This will also involve providing recommendations and proposed steps to enhance USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system, focusing on integrating outcome-level measures alongside production-level metrics.

**Please note: All citizenships are eligible for this position**

Position Summary:

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist will serve as a key support to the Team Lead (TL) in performing this task, ensuring the efficient and effective execution of all planned activities for the comprehensive assessment of the Mission’s MEL system. The task is expected to begin in late June or July with an initial kick-off in El Salvador with RPO Representatives, front office, and other USAID stakeholders, followed by remote work reviewing MEL documents, meeting with, and facilitating small group meetings with USAID staff to discuss and assess the organization’s MEL system. The MEL Specialist will support the TL in presenting the results of the analysis and recommendations to improve USAID El Salvador’s MEL system to begin to integrate outcome-level measures. The task is expected to last approximately three months, ending October of 2024.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct an in-depth desk review of pertinent documents and data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context and specific challenges within USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system.
• Support the TL in preparing for the project kickoff meeting involving RPO, front office, and other crucial stakeholders to align expectations, objectives, and roles, ensuring effective communication from the task's outset.
• Conduct a detailed analysis of pertinent MEL information systems to understand the specific challenges for USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system in coordination with the TL and in consultation with the RPO point of contact and Mission Information Systems Specialists.
• Conduct an exhaustive analysis of USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system within the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and framework of USAID's Development Policy (ADS 201) to encompass indicators, the Performance Management Plan (PMP), tools employed, strategic goals, and the Theory of Change (TOC).
• Conduct working sessions with RPO, technical office teams, and other pertinent groups, utilizing participatory methodologies to foster collaboration, innovation, and attainment of results.
• Contribute to the task report sharing the results of the MEL system analysis and detailing the team’s recommendations and proposed steps to enhance USAID/El Salvador’s MEL system, focusing on integrating outcome-level measures alongside production-level metrics including the new or modified metrics/indicators proposed, its related PIRS and guidance, as applicable.
• Participate in weekly meetings with TL and Task Manager to coordinate and discuss progress and challenges.
• Provide input for the weekly one-pager, bullet-point progress reports that the TL will prepare to communicate progress on activity implementation to the MEL Activity team and USAID.