Consultant - Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center is seeking an innovative & multi skilled candidate to join its team, as a Consultant – Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL).

Jordan is facing increasing climate risks, making resilience-building a national priority. The country’s national adaptation plan and climate change policies reflect the Government of Jordan’s (GoJ) commitment to addressing these challenges. However, resilience-building is complicated by the presence of substantial refugee populations, which account for over a third of Jordan’s population. These refugees and their host communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, the GoJ recognizes the urgent need to act on disaster risk management, the protection of vulnerable populations, and the development of long-term strategies in water management, agriculture, and urban planning to ensure sustainability.

In response to these needs, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) is supporting Jordan’s “Climate-Refugee Nexus Initiative,” launched by King Abdullah II at COP27. This initiative is part of a broader package of solutions linked to the COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery, and Peace. The 3–5-year JAHEZ (READY) project, delivered by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the UK Met Office, aims to build resilience for both refugees and their host communities. It will focus on climate change adaptation and anticipatory action, piloting solutions to mitigate the effects of extreme heat, drought, flooding, groundwater depletion, and agricultural land degradation. Through a combination of nature-based solutions (NbS) and disaster risk reduction measures, the project seeks to rehabilitate watersheds, improve agricultural productivity, and protect vulnerable populations.

The JAHEZ project requires a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) strategy to guide the implementation, track progress, and generate evidence of the project's impact. As part of the start-up process of JAHEZ, a MERL Specialist is required to lead the development of the MERL strategy, processes, and tools.

The MERL Specialist will support the development of appropriate targets and indicators to measure program quality, effectiveness, and impact in interventions related to nature-based solutions, climate change adaptation, agricultural water management, gender-transformational change, and fragile, conflict-affected, and human migration settings. This will examine both household and community impacts as well as the functionality and institutional capacity of government and other service providers to deliver critical services to communities. The MERL Specialist will support the relevant teams by leading the development and implementation of MERL systems in line with donor requirements and will contribute to project impact evaluation objectives. S/he will manage relevant partner relationships and address MERL questions from the IWMI team as well as implementing agencies and partners. The MERL Specialist is expected to be a strong team player who can carry out daily M&E tasks, communicate with local partners and project stakeholders in line with relevant cultural contexts, and ensure quality delivery of various knowledge products in a timely manner.

SCOPE OF WORK

• In collaboration with the project team (IWMI and partners as relevant), develop, implement, and revise, as required, comprehensive MERL systems, including the incorporation of indicators in consultation with the project’s donor, FCDO. Steps may include:
1. Refinement and visualization of the project’s Theory of Change (ToC) and associated key performance indicators, covering both donor compliance and important project indicators to understand program quality and performance.
2. Design of baseline/midline/endline tools and methodology, as well as periodic measurement tools covering both qualitative and quantitative progress tracking systems, highlighting program quality, program outcomes, and impact measurement (where relevant).
3. Support the development of program minimum standards and monitoring systems.
• Lead FCDO-mandated quarterly, bi-annual, and annual MERL reporting requirements, including aspects related to Value for Money assessments.
• Guide, oversee, and undertake quality assurance for project partners’ implementation of the established MERL systems and provide upskilling as necessary.
• Set up an indicator tracker that is updated regularly to provide status updates to management.
• Coordinate uniform (and country-specific) monitoring activities across project activities to provide adequate reporting on outputs, outcomes, and impacts achieved, as well as identify lessons learned to support project effectiveness and contribute to project outcomes.
• Provide regular training for staff and delivery partners on the use of tools, trackers, and additional updates from donors.
• Produce project-derived impact stories, implementation guidance, and comparable knowledge outputs.
• Provide sound and pragmatic judgment and assistance to project leads and coordinators on appropriate documents, organize and capture project progress, and measure achievements against targets.
• Work closely with staff to develop case studies, blogs, lessons-learned documents, and other relevant materials, as well as facilitate 'pause and reflect' activities to support shifts in focus and attention.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Refinement and visualization of the project’s Theory of Change (ToC) and associated key performance indicators, covering both donor compliance and critical project indicators to assess program quality and performance.
• Design of baseline/midline/endline tools and methodology, along with periodic measurement tools, to track progress qualitatively and quantitatively. These tools will emphasize program quality, program outcomes, and impact measurement (where relevant).
• Development of a Logical Framework to align project objectives with measurable outcomes and outputs.
• Contributions to the second quarterly report, focusing on outcome measurement and insights.
• Submission of a comprehensive MERL strategy document, which includes the ToC, Logical Framework, and an indicator tracking sheet.

Requirements

MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Undergraduate degree (Master's degree preferred) in Agriculture, Water Resources Management, Geography, Economics, Gender Studies, Sociology, Administration, Information Management, Project Management, Finance, or a related academic field.
• Minimum of 10 years of MERL experience in activities related to climate change adaptation.
• Additional qualifications in MERL and/or over 5 years of experience in MEL assignments in the MENA region and beyond.
• Proven experience of developing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for complex projects for bilateral donors including FCDO/USAID or EU funded projects.
  

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Professional familiarity with Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in:

1. Water resource and agricultural water resource management in the MENA region, with a specific focus on Jordan.
2. Formal frameworks (preferably FCDO’s) for gender, equity, and social inclusion, particularly those addressing gender transformational objectives.
3. Fragile, vulnerable, conflict-affected, and human migration contexts, including host communities in Jordan.

• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary environment, demonstrating sensitivity and respect for diversity.
• Teamwork and organizational skills, with proven ability to manage multiple competing priorities under strict deadlines and minimal supervision.
• Ability to establish priorities effectively, as well as plan, organize, implement, and monitor work activities with limited supervision.
• Working knowledge of applied research in development project implementation (especially related to climate change adaptation) and associated M&E techniques and practices.
• Independent and critical scientific thinking, including a sound understanding of M&E systems, indicator development, and their relationship to Theories of Change, Logical Frameworks (Logframes), and impact evaluation.
• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods, including survey design, data collection, and analysis.
• Experience in facilitating joint analysis and sense-making of program performance and impact data to inform project design, adaptations, and recommendations on project effectiveness, efficiency, and impact.
• Strong analytical and numerical skills for data analysis.
• Willingness to travel nationally or regionally at semi-regular intervals or for extended durations (up to 10% of the time).

LANGUAGE PROFICINECY:

• Excellent oral and written language skills in English and Arabic.

Benefits

This is a nationally hired consultancy; therefore, only Jordanian nationals will be considered. IWMI offers a competitive monthly rate for this assignment. The duration of the contract will be for a period of five and a half months (5.5) months.

HOW TO APPLY: Apply for the position by following the application instructions at www.iwmi.org/jobs. We will be accepting applications through 24:00 (IST) on 07 December 2024 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis). Your application must include a CV, cover letter, and three (3) references, which may be contacted if you are shortlisted. Receipt of all applications will be acknowledged, but only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

IWMI believes that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to our excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-color, multi-generational and multi-disciplinary working environment. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.