Position Location: Washington DC
Background:
Creative Associates International is a dynamic, fast-growing
global development firm that specializes in education,
economic growth, democratic institutions and stabilization. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 15 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.
Position Summary:
Creative seeks a MEL Program Associate to join the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team. This position works under regular supervision and performs a variety of responsibilities, specialized duties, both assigned and self-led, with a technical focus. The Program Associate serves as a member of the OPO HQ-based team, leading to knowledge capture, evaluation, learning, synthesis, sharing, and application across a portfolio of Creative's donor-funded projects. The Program Associate is key to implementing online platforms for performance monitoring and
analysis across projects by researching, collecting, cleaning, entering data, and reporting (visualization).
Reporting & Supervision:
The MEL Program Associate will report to the
director" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">Senior Director of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
Expected Outcomes:
Monitoring and Evaluation (MEDAL) Database
The
Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team is supported in managing and entering data for its Monitoring Evaluation Database for Adaptive Learning (MEDAL). MEDAL is a tool for the timely and efficient use of performance data at both field and headquarters levels, and for facilitating management for results and decision-making. MEDAL is essential for learning functions and to track relevant performance data and analysis over the life of Creative's projects.
The Program Associate will support the continued roll-out and adoption of the MEDAL system at both the field and headquarters level. The Program Associate will support projects in populating their project databases and training staff in use of the system. The Program Associate will also conduct analysis with project level data, report on global (or organization-wide) indicators, and create dashboards to visualize Creative global results.
Responsibilities
Primary Responsibilities
- Track and support teams in completion of corporate, MEDAL-related deliverables' Coordinate with program field staff to receive raw MEL datasets, populate MEDAL database table, suggest changes and improvements to data structuring and collection
- Analyze data and create user-friendly dashboards in PowerBi for program level, divisional and organizational level outputs and outcomes
- Develop understanding of barriers to Creative's use of MEDAL, develop and deploy plan for deeper integration through trainings, interviews, and knowledge sharing, assess effectiveness of the trainings
- Deploy to field to train and support staff during program start up on MEDAL system and Creative MEL staff
- Troubleshoot ongoing MEL issues and deploy to support field MEL staff and liaise with MEDAL developers to ensure smooth processes
- Support Internal Data Quality Assessments (IDQA)
- Clean, format, and prepare program datasets for submission to USAID Data Development Library Qualifications
Minimum Skills & Qualifications:
NOTE: Your job title is based on the role you perform and you must meet the minimum qualifications for that job title. Greater (higher) education and experience than minimum qualifications do not automatically classify you into a higher-level job title/position.
- Bachelor's Degree in a relevant field and four years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree and two year of relevant experience
- Prior experience in international development in a donor-funded setting;
- Prior experience in monitoring and evaluation work international development;
- Strong research and analytical skills;
- Experience with data management, collection, cleaning, entry, and reporting;
- Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; experience working with Microsoft Power BI or similar plaform a plus;
- Experience with intranet systems (SharePoint preferred), CRM Systems, or other large web-based information and data management systems and platforms (i.e., ESQL); knowledge or experience with relational databases a plus;
- Strong attention to detail and accuracy, excellent problem-solving skills, flexibility, and ability to work independently;
- Demonstrated organizational, administrative, and time management skills;
- Strong English writing and editing skills;
- Solid organizational and administrative skills;
- Ability to work well in a team environment and to multi-task under tight deadlines;
- Ability to work independently;
- Ability to work on multiple projects with multiple supervisors; and
- Excellent communications and coordination skills and cultural sensibility, with ability to work with international project teams at headquarters and the field.
Desired Skills and Qualifications
- Prior experience working and/or living outside of the U.S;
- Familiarity with USAID project implementation
- Experience involving contracts or project backstopping for donor-funded projects
- Fluency in another language (Spanish, Arabic or French)
Only finalists will be contacted. No phone calls, please.
Creative Associates International Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer (gender/race/disability/veteran) and provides equal opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local
law.
