Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

Job Description

We are looking for a Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Lead who will manage a small team of MEL officers, lead monitoring and evaluation for all of our projects, and drive cross project learning in our practice areas.

Zinc’s projects are focused on delivering measurable attitudinal and behavioural change, often in challenging contexts. As such they are agile, fast paced, and involve multiple types of intervention. We’re looking for a leader with the curiosity, clarity and pragmatism needed to discover what is, and isn’t working, and why; the ability to interpret and analyse that data from multiple sources; who can craft findings into a clear narrative and compelling insights for our teams, clients and beneficiaries; and has the vision to help drive learning across projects to build our expertise in key areas such as media development, information integrity and good governance.

We are looking for someone who can cut through the lingo and hone in on the really important questions, understands behaviour change and systems thinking, and has experience evaluating communications activities. We are in the process of standardising our approach to MREL so we want someone who wants to lead, grow and train a team, help refine and standardise our approach, and implement it across the company.

This role will report in to our Director of US Business and Innovation. You will work alongside other Heads of Department including Strategy and Design, Digital and Research to ensure that our projects generate meaningful change and are delivered on time and on budget.

The MEL Lead will be based in the UK and be expected to be in our London office at least 2 days per week.

What you’ll be doing

MEL

- Designing and implementing program MEL frameworks (which includes robust quantitative and qualitative methods and participatory approaches) to measure and assess program performance

- Supporting the development of theories of change, results frameworks, logic frameworks, logic models, and collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) narratives for program design

- Provide project teams and the wider SMT with up-to-date industry trends and emerging methodologies to continuously improve processes.

- Work with practice leads to develop practice-specific MEL approaches – including theories of changes, methodologies, and indicators.

- Develop comprehensive outcome-level indicators that will serve as foundational reference points for the diverse practices the organisation aims to support.

- Collaborate with MEL Managers and the Strategy Team to create quarterly learning approaches and facilitate learning reviews for all programmes and projects.

- Facilitate the use of provide actionable feedback to project teams to guide decision-making.

- Presenting findings to our clients

- Conduct internal evaluations of large-scale programmes.

Leadership and team management

- Lead a team of 5 MEL Managers, providing guidance, mentoring, and support to ensure their work aligns with the organisation’s goals and objectives.

- Provide input into, and final approval for theories of change, results frameworks, strategies, and methodologies.

- Provide input into, and final approach for client reporting.

- Work with project teams and company management to develop buy-in to MEL approaches, processes, and purpose.

- Standardise and refine our approach to MEL, including designing simple tools, and ensure they are rolled out across the company.

- Identify and allocate MEL resources to projects and proposals.

- Develop a strategic vision for MEL at Zinc.

Business development

- Work with business development and strategy ad research teams to develop proposals. Streamline the MEL section of the business development process.

- Analyse project requirements and design MEL frameworks that align to the project’s goals and objectives.

Client and partner engagement

- Represent Zinc at high-level meetings with clients and project partners

Requirements

What we need from you

- A minimum of 7 years of experience developing and running MEL frameworks as well as designing and implementing data collection and analysis methods

- University degree (bachelor’s or higher level) in monitoring and evaluation, international development, economics, social science or other related fields

- Experience evaluating communications projects to provide insight as to how media and campaigns are shaping the way audiences think, feel, and act

- Strong quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills

- Experience writing reports for donors and clients, with an eye for detail and compelling storytelling.

- Outstanding written and verbal communications skills in English, including creative presentation of information and use of data visualizations

- Strong interpersonal skills and cross-cultural awareness, ability to work effectively with a range of stakeholders

- Able to travel internationally and willingness to work flexible hours to accommodate colleagues working in multiple time zones

- Experience with, and knowledge of, USAID and FCDO requirements, processes, and preferences.

Area of Selection

We’re committed to hiring a diverse workforce from different professional and cultural backgrounds, and to that end we encourage a variety of people to apply to join our company to represent the diverse range of subjects associated with our projects.

Conditions of Employment

Candidates who receive a job offer will be required to:

- Disclose any previous disciplinary action against them resulting from a substantiated safeguarding (including any breaches involving trafficking- related activities) or workplace investigation.

- Undergo background checks including employment verification, sexual offender registry (as available), identity confirmation, and anti-terrorism vetting.

How to apply

Please include a cover letter stating how you meet each of the requirements.

If you require an accommodation to be made at any point throughout the recruitment process, please advise us when contacted.

Company Description

Zinc Network is an international development and communications agency dedicated to achieving meaningful, measurable change around some of the world’s most complex problems including disinformation, conflict prevention, media development and online harms.

Our team of over 100 people, draws from a range of disciplines from behavioural science, market research, and service design, to creative and production, campaigning and advocacy, and policy and diplomacy.

We are a values-driven business, that places ethics at the heart of our approach, with an independent ethics board that regularly reviews our work. Zinc is headquartered in London with offices in Washington, D.C., Tbilisi, and Warsaw. We work with a broad range of governmental, NGO, and private sector clients