Remote MEL Associate

Summary

Join the Vera Institute of Justice as an MEL Associate to support the development and implementation of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning plans, frameworks, tools, and processes that integrate strategic learning and continuous improvement into initiatives and projects at all stages. The MEL Associate will work collaboratively with colleagues across Vera to define meaningful impact goals and milestones, co-create measurement and assessment tools, and provide regular and actionable feedback to inform and refine strategies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree + 3 – 5 years of relevant experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning. In lieu of a bachelor’s degree applicable work or life experience may be considered
• Relevant work experience in measurement and evaluation, or related fields such as data-driven policy implementation or advocacy or implementation research
• Familiarity with evaluating advocacy and complex social change initiatives, theory of change, and participatory and/or community-based approaches to MEL
• Proficient in qualitative and quantitative analysis and data management
• Excellent communication skills and experience communicating MEL concepts and insights in accessible ways with diverse audiences
• Experience facilitating for evaluation-related meetings, dialogues, and capacity building sessions
• Demonstrated commitment to racial equity and its intersections and experience engaging in conversations about race, equity, and inclusion, including as part of MEL
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work on multiple projects effectively and efficiently, both independently and collaboratively with a team
• Emotional intelligence, attention to power dynamics, and interest or experience with change management/organizational culture change

Responsibilities

• Support the development of MEL tools and facilitate the strategic learning based on MEL data
• Collaborate with initiative teams to develop and refine meaningful and measurable impact goals, markers of progress, indicators, data collection tools, and frameworks, in alignment with their theories of change and work plans, with support from senior evaluators
• Draft MEL tools, templates, and processes for data collection that build on and complement existing processes and help initiatives understand their outcomes and impact
• Support and co-facilitate opportunities (e.g. workshops, data parties) for reflection and learning from MEL findings and the development of recommendations for course corrections and strategy/theory of change refinements
• Collect, analyze, and communicate MEL data and support data and knowledge management
• Conduct data collection and lead analyses of qualitative and/or quantitative MEL data
• Support the documentation of learning from the ideas and initiatives that are tested through the impact pipeline and contribute to building the Impact Pipeline knowledge pool
• Support the development and refinement of systems and processes to manage and report on MEL data
• Communicate MEL data and results, including drafting reports, presentations, dashboards, and other materials, with support from senior evaluators
• Support the development and refinement of systems and processes to manage and report on MEL data, including providing actionable and timely feedback to initiatives based on MEL data and findings, presentations, dashboards, and other approaches
• Lead background research and literature reviews and integrate into public-facing products, including reports, advocacy documents, or other publications
• Build MEL capacity and promote a culture of strategic learning within Vera
• Coordinate with Impact Pipeline, research, communications, and advocacy colleagues to ensure that MEL activities are aligned with work across the institute and support efforts to ensure that work across Vera is mutually reinforcing
• Identify patterns across different pieces of work and identify opportunities for cross-initiative learning
• Plan and facilitate MEL workshops and learning events and present at department-wide meetings, “brown-bag” discussions, and other internal Vera events, in partnership with MEL and Impact Pipeline team colleagues
• Create reference materials to support MEL activities and processes
• Model learning and evaluative thinking by reflecting on how the MEL/Impact Pipeline teams can continuously improve our ways of working

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance plan
• Generous paid time off
• Student loan repayment benefits
• Professional development training opportunities
• Up to $2,000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work
• Employer-funded retirement plan