MEL Subject Matter Expert, El Salvador MEL

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 the MEL system (including indicators, MEL Plan, tools, higher-level objectives, TOC) of an organization managing environmental funds in El Salvador and recommend changes to improve their MEL system. This analysis will include facilitating workshop(s) with their team to arrive at agreed higher-level objectives that can then be measured through indicators more effectively. The idea is also to help them include outcome-level measures and go beyond output measurement. This will also involve providing recommendations for other types of MEL techniques, such as effective success stories, most significant change and other potentially relevant options.

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

Position Summary:

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Subject Matter Expert will serve as a key support to the Team Lead (TL) by contributing subject matter expertise in the broader field of environment to the implementation of the task, ensuring the efficient and effective execution of all planned activities for the comprehensive assessment of the MEL system of an organization managing environmental funds, and will report to the TL. The task is expected to begin in October with an initial kick-off in El Salvador with the organization’s team and USAID representatives, the TL, and Task Manager, followed by remote work reviewing MEL documents, meeting with, and facilitating small group meetings with their staff to discuss and assess the organization’s MEL system. This encompasses the consolidation and reporting of indicators from the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMEL) and relevant contextual indicators. The MEL Subject Matter Expert will support the Team Lead in presenting findings, conclusions, and recommendations to improve their MEL system to begin to integrate outcome-level measures. The task is expected to last approximately two to three months, ending no later than December.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct an in-depth desk review of pertinent documents and data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context and specific challenges within the organization’s MEL system.
• Collaborate closely in the conception and design of the work plan.
• Participate in the project kickoff meeting involving USAID, the environmental fund organization, and other crucial stakeholders to align expectations, objectives, and roles.
• Support the TL in consolidating and studying indicators derived from the AMEL and other relevant contextual indicators.
• Facilitate workshops with their team to define high-level agreed-upon objectives that can be effectively measured through indicators in coordination with the TL.
• Conduct working sessions with their team and other pertinent groups in coordination with the TL.
• Propose additional MEL techniques to enhance performance measurement and evaluation such as  impactful success stories, most significant change methodologies, and other relevant strategies.
• Contribute to the report that will put forward the analysis and recommendations of the team to enhance their MEL system, including integration of outcome-level measures alongside production-level metrics.
• Participate in weekly meetings with the Task Manager and the TL, plan activities, coordinate and discuss progress and challenges.