RightWalk Foundation
Associate Director, MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment, and Learning) - Delhi/NCR
Organization Background
RightWalk Foundation’s core mission involves driving Equity, Inclusion & Social Justice by co-shaping public policies and translating them into action. We practice a Systems Thinking approach for institutional reform by partnering with system leadership, lawmakers, and communities. We have several key policy reforms related to RTE 12.1. (c) and Apprenticeship and enabled over 7 lakh EWS and disadvantaged children to access quality education and 90,000 vulnerable youth to find apprenticeship opportunities in the last 8 years.
Purpose of the Role
We seek a highly motivated and experienced Associate Director– Monitoring, Evaluation, Assessment, and Impact – India. The position reports to the Founders and will be accountable for leading the M&E and Impact function effectively and efficiently.
They will be responsible for driving our efforts in rigorous evaluations for our programmatic efforts, institutionalizing monitoring, and leading research and evidence generation. They will also develop organization-to-program level M&E strategy and framework. The incumbent responsibilities shall also include accurate and effective data management across all the States, and incorporation of relevant and new technologies in the M&E space with a special focus on the tracking and maintaining of project MIS and processes. The role will work in close collaboration with the project team, Government officials, and relevant stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Strategy:
- Develop and implement strategic plans for the M&E Function at the organization level in collaboration with project teams.
- Provide leadership and direction to the team, ensuring they align with the M&E Function goals and objectives.
- Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of all the Projects to ensure they are on track to meet the targets and deliverables.
- Provide senior leadership and external stakeholders with regular value-added reports that identify & track the status of the program, milestones, and deliverables.
- Manage the commissioning of the evaluation process through an external party (agency/researcher)
- Engage with partners to socialize findings to help identify successes/challenges and undertake decisions around the scale
Develop and Implement a Comprehensive M&E Framework:
- Conceptualize and design end-to-end monitoring frameworks (including tools and processes) that can be adopted by internal teams, state governments, and partners
- Review existing approaches and management information systems of the organization and states, and align, and support required changes
- Design and operationalize dashboards that can facilitate data use and decision-making
- Coordinate between different teams within and outside of RightWalk to ensure the generation of high-quality monitoring data
- Ensure the data informs key programmatic iterations
- Establish clear monitoring and evaluation protocols and guidelines for program implementation.
Data Collection and Analysis:
- Accountable for accurate data collection efforts across programs, ensuring quality and consistency.
- Guide the team for developing and implementing data collection tools, such as surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions.
- Ensure the collection of quantitative and qualitative data to assess the program’s effectiveness, across States.
- Plan and direct regular data validation exercises and ensure data integrity.
Monitoring and Reporting:
- Regularly monitor program activities, across States, to track progress against targets and indicators.
- Provide periodic reports on program performance, including narrative and statistical analysis, to the leadership.
- Guide the team to ensure timely and accurate information to program managers and senior management for decision-making/
- Support the development of donor reports and participate in donor meetings as needed.
Evaluation and Learning:
- Driving the planning and conduction of internal and external evaluations of programs and projects.
- Collaborate with external consultants or researchers for specialized evaluations.
- Guiding for facilitation of learning workshops and reflection sessions to capture and incorporate learnings into program design and implementation, across Programs, in all States.
- Conceptualise and manage robust research studies, analysis, and findings generation
- Contribute to intervention design and organizational strategy through evidence-driven decision-making
Required Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities
- Minimum requirement of Master’s degree in relevant fields, including economics, public policy, or any related field
- 5-10 years of relevant experience in M&E in development projects/contexts
- Knowledge of the major evaluation methodologies (experimental and non-experimental), data collection, and analysis methodologies
- Keen understanding of both quantitative and qualitative research methods
- Experience in designing, implementing, and operating project M&E systems
- Strong understanding of concepts like Logic Model/ Logical Framework, Theory of Change, Monitoring cycles, baselining, end-lining, benchmarking, etc. Ability to understand complex research/data to draw actionable inferences
- Ability to facilitate and serve as project liaison for externally-managed evaluations
- Proven experience in managing multiple team members and projects, setting priorities, planning timelines, and meeting deadlines
- Excellent writing and presentation skills
- Knowledge, skills, and experience in participatory methods experience in use of data to inform decision-making, planning, and performance monitoring.
- Proven technical skills in monitoring and evaluation, including experience with multi-sectoral and multi-donor-funded programs.
Desired Qualities:
- Entrepreneurial spirit and ‘get-it-done’ attitude.
- Operating style suited to working in a small organization setting, where teamwork and resourcefulness are highly valued.
- Excellent leadership skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects at a time.
- Fluency in English and local languages.
- Sensitive to issues of gender equality.
