Developmental Evaluator Lead - Multiple Positions

Job Description

Headlight Organization Overview

Founded in 2018, Headlight Consulting Services, LLC delivers data-driven decision-making to its partners through robust strategy design support, in-depth monitoring, evaluation, and learning technical services, and facilitated organizational change processes. Headlight brings expertise in qualitative methods, systems-thinking, utilization-focused MEL, emergent methods such as developmental evaluation, evaluation policy design, organizational development, and much more. Headlight offers fit-for-purpose, agile solutions to improve the efficiency and efficacy of development programs around the globe, focusing on the structures and systems that enable sustainable solutions.

Summary of Position

Headlight seeks skilled local Developmental Evaluation (DE) Leads to design and implement evaluative efforts as part of a Developmental Evaluation (DE) of the USAID/Ethiopia's Conflict, Economic Growth, Peacebuilding, and Education/Youth work. We are looking to hire one DE Lead for each of these subject areas. The DE, expected to start in fall 2022, will providing evaluative thinking and facilitating evidence to action with that team at the Mission and their implementing partners. The DE Lead will help facilitate active learning, iterative program design, and adaptive management of an expansive, integrated portfolio to clarify and refine USAID/Ethiopia’s approaches towards the aim of sustainable, locally-owned responses across Ethiopia. The DE will help stakeholders evaluate and learn in real-time and capture that learning into use-focused, actionable deliverables and discussions about the effectiveness of their efforts and what refinements are necessary. This will guide both current and future programming priorities, and contribute useful evidence to the broader USAID/Ethiopia portfolio.

Through the DE, various stakeholders will take part in a Kickoff/Acculturation Workshop and process, which will bring all the partners together to build buy-in to the DE process, a culture of learning and adaptability from the evidence collected throughout the DE, and familiarity with the DE Team. A DE helps to ensure rigorous documentation of the learnings throughout the process, enabling them to be shared, replicated, and available for in-depth review for how decisions were made and adaptations executed. This documentation facilitates informed iterations within the program, revisiting decisions to try different approaches when desired, and supports other similar initiatives in their learning and approaches to collective impact and complex partnerships.

The DE is scheduled to begin in fall 2022 and is slated to last through fall 2027. The DE Lead will engage remotely and in person with their associated team (either Conflict, Economic Growth, Peacebuilding, or Education/Youth) at the USAID/Ethiopia Mission in Addis Ababa, as well as remotely with the DE Admin team in the U.S., throughout the life of the DE. Travel within Ethiopia to work with partners or other stakeholders and/or collect additional data may be required, but all pertinent safety considerations will be taken into account before any travel is approved. The DE Lead will have additional technical and strategic communications support from Headlight headquarters staff throughout the implementation of the DE.

The DE Lead will report directly to the COP for the Activity in Addis Ababa, with a focal support DE Admin (from the U.S.) on the portfolio as well.

This is a proposal opportunity that will be awarded in fall 2022, which means the position will only be officially available upon contract award. But Headlight intends to identify staff ahead of time to demonstrate to the Country Program the local talent that would lead the implementation.

Responsibilities

The DE Lead will have responsibility for the design and implementation of the DE, especially regarding their technical subject area’s (either Conflict, Economic Growth, Peacebuilding, or Education/Youth) efforts, and for ensuring its quality. The DE Lead will be responsible for the following:

• Lead establishment of the Collective Impact model and serve as Backbone support for their assigned office.
• Lead the convening and organizing of partners for evidence-based continuous improvement action plans
• Foster strong, collaborative relationships with key client stakeholders; serve as a convener for dialogue and learning around emerging issues; assist in identifying and responding to key learning issues; and coordinate efforts amongst stakeholders working in common objectives
• Lead facilitation of ongoing DE stakeholder acculturation, which will help to collaboratively conceptualize and develop the DE design and approach (learning framework, methodology, work plans, reporting, etc.), including onboarding new stakeholders in the Mission’s related portfolio;
• Develop, track, and communicate high-quality information, including strategies and materials to communicate program impact to systems-level decision makers, to inform timely and data-driven decision-making; regularly record decision-making, program changes, and/or changes in the environment in a report log;
• Attend and collaborate through regular meetings with program leadership, relevant stakeholders at all levels, and monitoring and evaluation staff as needed to collect data and facilitate adaptation;
• Manage and contribute to a living work plan for the evaluation, including an agreed set of deliverables (which may change over time, depending on the needs of the program);
• Manage mid-level staff, providing learning, technical guidance, quality assurance, and opportunities for collaboration and connection with other resources
• Identify and manage evaluative or data collection needs and associated teams as they arise;
• Provide quality assurance of relevant deliverables, including regular intermediate report logs (that track details of DE and document all events that occur — i.e., planned, unplanned, and associated outcomes) and the final report of the evaluation;
• Conduct analysis of the data collected and present engaging, use-focused feedback regularly to program staff and key partners and facilitate uptake of recommendations and associated adaption tracking; and,
• Develop and test CLAME tools; and, identify and manage contributing or new evaluative or data collection needs and associated teams as they arise.

Benefits

Headlight offers full-time employees a competitive salary package, vacation, holiday, and sick leave, health  and life insurance coverage, and much more. 

Job Requirement

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 12+ years of professional experience in international development and/or CLAME-related roles
• Familiar with the Collective Impact Framework and/or other collaborative development models, as well as Developmental Evaluation is strongly preferred
• DE skills familiarity may include active engagement and respect for local stakeholders and partners, ethical research (maintains confidentiality and anonymity when required), flexibility, energy, humility, willingness to learn on the go, active listening, proactive learning, and time management skills, proactive conflict management, keen attention to detail, especially related to documenting data and associated processes; and
• Extensive technical knowledge, skills, and expertise in evaluation design, concepts, and approaches, and evaluating complexity
• Evaluation experience in one of the following areas is required: Conflict, Economic Growth, Peacebuilding, or Education/Youth technical areas. You MUST make a note in your cover letter which technical area you want to be considered for
• Multifaceted facilitation skills, including with multicultural audiences, particularly related to programmatic and organizational learning
• Strong analytical skills to support both qualitative and quantitative research;
• Experience working with clients at different levels, virtually, and across different time zones. Excellent client management track record. Experience supporting organizational development/change processes will be considered a significant advantage
• Exceptional writing skills, including technical analytical writing, writing for different audiences with a track record of deliverables that have led to evidence-based decision making
• High standards of integrity, professionalism, and creative problem solving
• Leadership and strategic thinking skills;
• Desire to contribute to the international development community, share technical knowledge, and mentor junior professionals
• Familiarity with USAID’s organizational structure, program cycle, and operating context
• Active listening, proactive learning, and time management skills, with readiness to be in a learning role;
• Previous experience and comfort with working for multiple stakeholders with competing priorities/interests; and,
• Excellent oral and written communication and report-writing skills in English.