Unit: MERL 

Reports To:  MERL Director

Job Overview: 

The MEL Specialist will be responsible for the development and operationalization of flexible and adaptive MEL plans and related systems for TAF programs related to data generation and use, evidence for decision-making, and governance. S/he will provide guidance and technical support to the management teams and help establish practices and processes that ensure coherence and impact of program activities under TAF’s portfolio of programs.

Summary of Responsibilities: 

Under the supervision of the Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist will be responsible for the development and operationalization of flexible and adaptive MEL plans and related systems for TAF programs related to data generation and use, evidence for decision-making, and governance. The MEL Specialist will provide guidance and technical support to the management teams and help establish practices and processes that ensure coherence and impact of program activities under TAF’s portfolio of programs. S/he will work closely with the Program Managers, other team members, and will be part of the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) team. 

Relationships : 

• Internal: Daily contact with all staff within the Foundation’s Kathmandu office 
• External: Senior and mid-level government officials; heads and deputy-heads of civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, business associations and companies; TAF/SF, field offices, and other development partners

Job Duties and Responsibilities : 

1. Development and Operationalization of MEL Systems 

• Develop MEL frameworks in coordination with all relevant staff to strengthen planning, implementation, oversight, and monitoring of program activities
• Provide technical support on MEL and institutionalize use of MEL tools and plans to enable TAF staff and implementing partners for an effective delivery of program activities and ensure efficient use of funds
• Provide quality assurance to the results framework including the selection of indicators, baseline and targets, means of verification, and evaluability of the program
• Promote evidence-based programming through identifying data and knowledge gaps and provide relevant information and recommendations to the team
• Contribute to data collection and storage mechanisms and ensure availability of data for decision making as well as the external reporting requirements
• Organize regular MEL review meetings with concerned TAF staff and implementing partners to review progress, identify bottlenecks and gaps, and provide feedback to the team
• Undertake regular field visit to review and observe the program activities
• Support the teams and partners in documenting case studies, extracting lessons learned, and good practices which demonstrate qualitative and quantitative changes from program intervention
• Assist in supporting the design and implementation of formative and summative evaluations as well as tracking the implementation and follow up of evaluation recommendations

2. Capacity Building 

• Support the capacity building of the program team and partners through coaching and training on monitoring and evaluation 
• Contribute in updating the monitoring and reporting tools and formats for proper management of information systems

Reporting :

• Ensure all reporting requirements are met in a timely manner, both internal and external, by the concerned program staff through tracking completion of quarterly, mid-year, and annual reports, as required
• Provide technical support to ensure that the reports are high quality and evidence-based. 

Others 

• Support TAF management in planning, management, and oversight functions of the program
• Perform other tasks as required consistent with these responsibilities and as assigned by the Country Representative or designate