Job Description:
Position Summary
The Global Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (G-DMEL) Officer works as part of a DC- based technical unit to support the Fundamental Freedoms Fund (FFF), a consortium of eight leading INGOs that promotes fundamental freedoms of association, assembly, expression and religion in countries that routinely and systematically infringe on those freedoms. The purpose of this position is to support design, monitoring, evaluation and learning for the FFF Consortium, managed by NDI for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). This position works closely with NDI staff, and a network of leading academics and practitioners in the democracy and governance sector.
Essential Accountabilities/Responsibilities
Rapid Response Program Design
- Track trends in democratic erosion and autocratization using secondary datasets (e.g., V-DEM, DEED) and reports
- Promote evidence-based program design for the FFF Consortium’s rapid response programming
- Coordinate with NDI’s grants management team to provide guidance and training as needed
Measurement Strategies for Rapid Response Programs
- Coordinate FFF Consortium working groups to (a) review and revise routine indicators for rapid response programming; and (b) develop a menu of outcome level indicators for consortium partners to draw upon as needed.
- Support the Consortium’s use of a centralized database as a secure repository for quarterly indicator tracking, analysis and reporting
- Support the development of a database taxonomy for tagging, management, retrieval and reporting on rapid response programs
- Ensure data confidentiality and security of all data and information and implement periodic data quality assurance checks
Evaluative Evidence Building for Rapid Response Programming
- Coordinate the administration of an FFF Survey to track autocratic erosion events, to be completed quarterly by consortium staff working overseas.
- Work with an academic partner network to manage and analyze the FFF Survey data and create an annual report that tracks democratic erosion and autocratization.
- Work with consortium members to establish an After Action Analysis process for rapid response programs to capture results, emerging trends and lessons learned in different program areas.
- Coordinate the commission of ex post and/or ex ante evaluations of a selected number of FFF programs under the consortium’s Research, Evaluation and Learning (REL) agenda.
- Support the FFF Annual REL Report, drawing upon routine monitoring data, quarterly FFF Survey data, After Action analyses and secondary data on democratic erosion and autocratization.
FFF Consortium Coordination
- Coordinate all meetings and communications for the FFF Consortium members
- Support donor reports on the FFF Consortium’s progress
- Track budgets for multiple donor grants
- Develop and internal and external communications plan
Coordinate Academic Partnerships
- Coordinate inputs from NDI and FFF partners for a Democratic Erosion short course for practitioners
- Coordinate with the Democratic Erosions Consortium’s (DEC) Summer Fellow to manage and analyze data from the FFF survey on democratic erosion and autocratic consolidation across the globe.
- Convene FFF and other practitioner networks on thematic research priorities, workshops and evaluation briefs
- Coordinate with DEC on practitioner participation in an Annual DEC Conference to define common research, evaluation and learning themes.
Peripheral Accountabilities/Responsibilities (Non-essential)
- Participate in team building, strategic planning and portfolio tracking as needed.
Parameters
- This position is responsible for supporting NDI’s portfolio of DRL programs.
- This position will be required to liaise with regional, functional and administrative teams.
Required Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in social science (sociology, political science, anthropology) or field related to NDI’s portfolio of work, or equivalent work experience. Master’s degree is strongly preferred.
Experience
- Minimum of 4 years of direct experience in Monitoring & Evaluation.
- Experience in supporting projects related to democracy, human rights, and governance. Experience in rapid response programs is highly desirable.
- Experience coordinating networks, coalitions and/or associations; leading ad hoc working groups
- Experience with online survey administration, survey data management and analysis a plus
- Experience using data management and retrieval systems to promote monitoring, evaluation and learning at an institutional and/or mechanism level; experience in data analysis and visualization
- Experience in designing and delivering technical training and capacity building workshops in M&E
- Experience with creating user-friendly M&E materials and guidelines
- Experience in budget tracking, grant writing and reporting.
- Experience in coordinating diverse institutional groups and constituencies.
- Experience engaging in research, and/or rigorous evaluations and linking to other initiatives.
- Experience with programs and/or initiatives relevant to NDI’s work in citizen participation, women’s political participation, youth, political parties, elections and/or legislative affairs a plus.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)
- Familiarity with the democracy and governance (DG) donors and their DMEL requirements. Familiarity with DRL a plus
- Demonstrated understanding of program monitoring systems.
- Demonstrated ability to manage large portfolios of data and information for analysis and visualization that promotes evidence-based reporting/storytelling.
- Technical report writing
- Ability to create user-friendly M&E materials and guidelines for non-technical users.
- Ability to create compelling publications and materials for a broader public audience.
- Demonstrated ability to utilize databases (Access, Salesforce, DevResults etc.).
- Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills and ability to draw evidence-based conclusions.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, communication skills, and cultural sensitivity to effectively interact with all levels of staff, US and foreign government personnel, members of donor organizations, funders, and policy makers.
- Ability to provide hands-on guidance and technical assistance.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills to effectively present information and respond to questions.
- Capacity to work both independently and as a member of a team.
- Action-oriented with a high level of initiative and an advanced level of proficiency in the ability to multitask and prioritize; manage time, perform project management, problem-solving, and organizational skills; and flexibility to adapt and respond to shifting priorities.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office to include Word, Excel and PowerPoint; knowledge of/proficiency in Google Suite tools preferred.
- Foreign language ability applicable to one of the regions where NDI works is a plus.
- Living and working experience outside the U.S. preferred.
- Ability and willingness to occasionally travel to regional locations if needed.
Certifications/Licenses (desired)
None Required.
Work Environment
- This position generally is performed in an office environment and may be suitable for partial telework.
- Occasional evening and weekend work may be required, as well as attendance at external events.
- International travel is typically not required for this role, but there may be occasions when the opportunity may be presented for such travel to support a given program or field activity. This is generally no greater than 5% of an incumbent’s work time in this role.
Physical Requirements
- Sitting/mobility—to work at a desk and move around work areas.
- Speaking/hearing—to engage orally in conversation with others.
- Seeing—to effectively use a computer screen and for reading and interpreting printed materials, memos and other paperwork.
- Reaching/handling—to input information into computer systems and retrieve and work with appropriate paperwork, equipment and supplies and complete filing.
ADA Notation:
The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Comment
To comply with tax and legal obligations, all candidates for DC-based positions must reside in Maryland, DC or Virginia. While there may be flexibility for remote/hybrid work environments, candidates must be residents of MD, DC or VA or relocate prior to the start of employment at NDI.
Candidates must be legally eligible to work in the U.S. NDI does not provide sponsorship.
NDI is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). As such, NDI makes employment decisions and provides equal employment opportunity without regard to an applicant’s or employee’s race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state and local laws. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process, please notify NDI’s Human Resources department.