Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist II

Washington, DC

Competitive Innovations, LLC (CI) is seeking a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist II to support the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s Office of Global Programs (DRL/GP). The Monitory and Evaluation Specialist shall be responsible for carrying out the office’s applied research and evaluation strategy in collaboration with members of the Applied Learning and Evaluation (ALE) team, for programs supported by the HRDF and other resources. They also provide direction and guidance to office staff, GORs, Technical Officers, and DRL grantees on applied research, performance monitoring, and program evaluation of HRDF and other DRL-funded grants, including developing and synthesizing portfolio-wide results frameworks, learning agendas, and assessing the progress of current grants. They assist DRL/GP with incorporating reporting, monitoring, and evaluation requirements into DRL grant agreements and facilitates learning from past DRL programs to help the office design more effective projects. The specialist shall work closely with external evaluators to manage DRL-commissioned evaluations, help develop policies and frameworks for use by DRL program officers, and may conduct internal desk reviews and evaluations as time permits. This position supports the Deputy Director who reports to the Office Director. This is a full-time position located in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities:

Assist in the development of goals and objectives for DRL funds.
Propose, oversee and direct the use of short and long-term performance measures.
Support the drafting of the bureau’s performance planning activities, including developing and updating the planning and performance documents as required for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance (F), and the Department’s Bureau of Resource Management, including the annual Bureau Strategic Resource Plan, Congressional Budget Justification, the Operational Plan and the Performance Plan and Report (PPR).
Liaise with offices involved in administration, financial planning and acquisition of funding.
Assist DRL program staff in analyzing data and developing content for briefings, data calls, and status reviews for DRL Front Office, Congress, and external stakeholders.
Assist the ALE team in training and advising DRL grantees in the use and implementation of appropriate M&E tools and processes.
Manage DRL’s project management database to improve data quality and reporting. Assist database developers in understanding office data needs to improve database design
Develop strategies to promote and share findings from applied research and evaluation activities.
Coordinate with the ALE team and DRL implementing partners to contribute to the revision of the office’s learning agenda.
Help to pilot innovative, ethical monitoring and evaluation processes within the office.
Coordinate with the grants officer representative in the administration and coordination of programs
Assist in the coordination of foreign assistance funding throughout the federal assistance life-cycle that include pre-award, award and post-award phases in grants and cooperative agreements.
Track the foreign assistance lifecycle progress throughout the fiscal year.
Coordinate and assist the DRL/GP Leadership in the administration and coordination of international human rights and democracy foreign assistance programs.

Additional responsibilities may include:

Liaising with U.S. embassies and consulates regarding the award, management, and monitoring of grants.
Attend stakeholder workshops and conferences on topics related to their duties and responsibilities, provide program monitoring and technical assistance to grantees, while supporting the FTE.
Collaborating with M&E staff, professionals and the M&E community to enhance M&E methods.
Drafting reports and other documents for the team and program staff.
Drafting and clearing internal papers and memoranda regarding evaluations.
Working with external evaluators and trainers.
Organize and participate in meetings, trainings, and/or conference events.
Undertake additional training to ensure they obtain relevant skills needed to advance U.S. policy and programming priorities and meet requirements of this position. Attend trainings or conferences to further knowledge in relations to duties and responsibilities listed above and/or hone expertise in one or more following areas regional or thematic area: Western Hemisphere Affairs, South Central Asia, East-Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe. Near- Eastern Affairs, Democracy, Human Rights, Labor, Internet Freedom, International Religious Freedom, Transitional Justice, Monitoring and Evaluations, Gender, Marginalized Populations, Security and Human Rights.
As needed and as resources permit, the individual may be asked to directly support the travel of senior DRL Bureau and U.S. Department of State officials and/or at the direction of and in coordination with the Grants Officer Representative and/or Grants Officer, conduct program monitoring visits at the project implementation site to monitor grantee activities.
Report on program activities monitored and analyze to support both the Grants Officer Representative and/or the Grants Officer in their evaluation of programs.

Minimum Qualifications:

Secret level security clearance
Minimum of five (5) years of experience in designing, overseeing and implementing program monitoring and evaluation; experience evaluating democracy, governance, and human rights programming a plus
PhD with three (3) years of experience or master’s degree with five (5) years of experience preferred; Bachelor’s degree with eight (8) years of experience will be considered. Candidates will also be considered if enrolled in a graduate program at time of application.
Knowledge of U.S. government and international funding agencies’ evaluation policies
Experience with applied research, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, and indicator development and tracking
Strong analytical skills, including advanced skills in Excel data management, as well as other quantitative and qualitative software packages
Ability to prepare data collection and data quality instruments, summarize data, interpret results, and effectively present information to program staff, partners and donors
Experience with database management, online survey platforms, and data visualization techniques
Familiarity and experience with participatory research methods, advocacy evaluation, network analysis, or advanced quantitative techniques (experience in any of these areas is a plus)
Ability to work under pressure and meet challenging deadlines
International experience conducting monitoring and evaluation
Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
Excellent inter-personal, inter-cultural and teamwork skills.
Qualified candidates that are HUBZone residents, preferred (check your status here: https://maps.certify.sba.gov/hubzone/map#center=39.828200,-98.579500&zoom=5)

Competitive Innovations (CI) is a technology partner and trusted advisor to government and industry customers with critical demand for information technology, program management, cyber security, mission support, and secure high integrity web-based solutions. Founded in July 1999, CI’s dedicated professional team is committed to excellence, persistence, and agility in solving complex challenges and delivering innovative solutions. CI is a SBA HUBZone certified small business concern, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner/CSP, Kentico Gold Partner, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) prime and Navy SeaPort-NxG prime contractor.

Competitive Innovations, LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. It is the policy of the company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other classification proscribed under federal, state, or local law. If you are a qualified disabled veteran or individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to use or access our online system, please contact our Human Resources Department at accommodations@cillc.com.

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist II

Share This Job