MEL Director- QITABI 3

Organization Summary    

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition.  Our staff of nearly 6,000 works in more than 75 countries—tackling hundreds of projects each year to address complex social and scientific challenges on behalf of governments, businesses, foundations, universities, and other clients and partners. Through independent research and science-based programs, we are making positive impacts on people and communities around the world. Our diverse team embraces challenges in an inclusive atmosphere that values work-life balance and creates global opportunities for career development. If you’re looking for a dynamic workplace culture, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities to grow, join our team and discover the RTI Difference.   

Division Summary 

IDG’s International Education Division supports education development around the world by strengthening education policy, management and practice in order to achieve measurable improvement in teaching and learning. From our well-established reputation in education system strengthening, to innovative work in early grade assessment and learning, RTI is improving education quality, relevance and efficiency through implementation of projects funded by USAID, The LEGO Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other donors and clients.   

Project Summary 

USAID/Lebanon has recently awarded RTI a $97 million USD, five-year Cooperative Agreement to build on nearly a decade of investments in the education system under Quality Instruction Towards Access and Basic Education (QITABI) 1 and 2. The purpose of QITABI 3 is to further strengthen education service government systems to yield student learning improvements across all of Lebanon’s public schools (first and second shifts) and in select low cost private schools that are vulnerable and economically disadvantaged. The activity will target an estimated 350,000 girls and boys in over a thousand of Lebanon’s public schools and vulnerable, economically disadvantaged low-cost private schools and will support the education system’s overall capacity to plan, budget, deliver, monitor, evaluate and institutionalize quality educational services by providing in-depth technical assistance to the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE).  

Position Summary 

RTI is seeking a MEL Director in Lebanon. The MEL Director will provide overall leadership, coordination, and technical supervision for all MEL aspects of the activity. This position will lead efforts to collect and analyze data related to activity performance, conduct and/or organize performance evaluations, and organize and conduct assessments, studies and other analyses to better understand local context. 

• Place of work: Beirut, Lebanon 
• Report to: Deputy Chief of Party 

Your primary responsibilities will include but not be limited to: 

• Provides oversight of MEL efforts and ensures they are informed by and feed into program decisions. 
• Leads the development, implementation, refinement, and harmonization of project’s MEL system; develops and operationalizes indicators, set targets, and monitors progress. 
• Oversees all project activities to capture data on indicators and to identify best practices and lessons learned as required by USAID. 
• Works with technical staff to oversee tools for data collection, storage, and analysis, train staff and partners on MEL system operations, collection methods, and tools.  
• Designs needs-based operations research studies and protocols to generate evidence for which innovations work, which do not work, and why.  
• Ensures methodological rigor of research undertaken. 

Qualifications: 

• Bachelor of Arts (BA)/Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in statistics, economics, monitoring and evaluation, development studies or other relevant field and 12 years of experience, or a Master's degree and 10 years of experience, PhD and 6 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Demonstrated ability to develop, manage and implement the activity’s M&E systems, including relevant performance indicators, baselines, and annual targets and ensure compliance to USAID requirements. 
• Demonstrated ability to supervise the collection and analysis of data and reporting on performance indicators by other team members and project counterparts, with key responsibilities to work with technical staff members to manage their reporting inputs and contributions. 
• Demonstrated ability to oversee project reporting, data collection and management, and indicator documentation in alignment with the activities approved Annual Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan. 
• Experience in providing technical assistance to local partners, organizations, and grantees preferred. 
• Direct experience working on MEL in education is strongly preferred. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities 

• Knowledge of reporting procedures, best practices, guidelines, methods, and approaches for MEL.   
• Adherence to highest standards of ethics and data integrity. 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 
• Demonstrated managerial skills. 
• Professionally proficient and fluent in written and spoken English.