Senior Director

Summary
The Senior Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) is the Team Lead for MERL for the Department of Global Health (DGH), and sits on the MERL leadership team across the International Programs Division and the Department of Humanitarian Response. The position leads DGH’s learning agenda, engages in departmental strategic planning and business development, and contributes to technical forums related to program research and evaluation, both internal and external to Save the Children. In this role, you will supervise MERL staff, ensuring consistent guidance for MERL-related activities, and providing targeted technical assistance to select projects within the DGH portfolio. In collaboration with thematic counterparts, you will provide guidance and support for research at global and country levels, including but not limited to monitoring and evaluation guidance, research partnerships, and capacity building.

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)
Technical Leadership and Quality Programming (50% Level of Effort)
• Act as the department Team Leader for MERL, including recruiting, supervising, mentoring, providing technical guidance to, and holding regular meetings with MERL staff, participating in strategic planning, and ensuring procedures are in place for high quality, innovative MERL approaches that comply with donor and organizational mandates.
• Sit on the MERL leadership team for International Programs and the Department of Humanitarian Response, coordinating strategic initiatives such as the global learning agenda, capacity building initiatives, and strategic research partnerships.
• Provide targeted technical assistance on MERL to selected projects in the DGH portfolio.
• Support development of evidence-based program standards and guidance that reflect Save the Children best practices and state of the art approaches, and promote widespread application.
• Set technical standards and priorities for MERL.
• Promote the application of MERL best practices as a key element of program implementation within Save the Children and work to keep it visible as an important cross-cutting area globally.

Program Learning and Innovation (20% Level of Effort)
• Lead the department’s learning agenda.
• Contribute to finalizing learning products, including developing and reviewing journal manuscripts, technical briefs, conference presentations, and other dissemination events.

Resource Mobilization (10% Level of Effort)
• In collaboration with technical teams, Resource Development (RD), New Business Development (NBD), and regional and country offices, support efforts to secure and diversify funding for global health.
• Participate in regular resource mobilization meetings on upcoming opportunities and priority bids, and coordinate with MERL team to assign MERL staff to support specific bids. Ensure updating of MERL capability statement for use in business development efforts.

Internal and External Representation (10% Level of Effort)
• Participate in external working groups, including but not limited to, the Countdown to 2030 Coverage Technical Working Group and WHO’s MoNITOR. Contribute to technical and advisory forums and meetings as requested and participate in select technical working groups to ensure completion and achievement of objective Cultivate relationships and collaborate with UNICEF, WHO, DHS and other stakeholders to promote metrics and data use.
• Cultivate relationships and seek collaboration with research partners.
• Represent DGH and contribute to task forces and meetings related to monitoring, evaluation and learning internally at Save the Children and externally in global for

Staff Management and Development (10% Level of Effort)
• Lead, develop, and supervise MERL staff, working with DGH and HR staff, to effectively and efficiently recruit, develop, engage, and retain talent for the agency.
• Promote and demonstrate an inclusive and collaborative workplace culture, upholding Save the Children’s values of Accountability, Ambition, Collaboration, Creativity, and Integrity.

Why you should join the Save the Children Team

Save the Children US offers outstanding benefits that include health, dental, vision and life insurances, pet insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program, 403(b), generous vacation, personal sick leave, family leave, parental/adoption leave, commuter benefits, dress for your day, and much more.

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in YOU!

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.

Required Qualifications

• A minimum of 10-15 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation, research and learning within global health programs
• Bachelor’s degree or relevant equivalent experience
• Proven qualitative and quantitative research skills required, including but not limited to study design, survey instrument design and use, sampling, data analysis plans, data cleaning, statistical analysis, and presentation and reporting and communication of results.
• Demonstrated proficiency in team leadership and management of MERL, i.e., providing technical advice, guidance and direction related to various sized programs and grants.
• Experience contributing and /or leading proposal development.
• Demonstrated professional proficiency in collaborative communication within and across teams, as well as with internal and external audiences.
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 20-25% time.

• Preferred Qualifications
• Advanced degree in public health, or equivalent degree, with emphasis on epidemiology, demography, research methods, or measurement.
• Experience developing and implementing implementation research highly preferred.
• Knowledge and experience establishing and measuring health indicators, as well as associated capacity building with country nationals.

https://recruiting.ultipro.com/SAV1002STCF/JobBoard/7d92e82b-af74-464d-859b-c5b8cba6e92e/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=74b7d03e-c9c7-4feb-8406-cec4965e5eaa