Project Coordinator, M&E Initiative (New Haven, CT or Washington DC)

• Reports to: Deputy Executive Director
• Location:  New Haven, CT or Washington, DC
• Deadline to apply: Applicants will be reviewed on a rolling basis
• Desired start date: May 1, 2014
• Length of commitment: 1 year

Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), is an international non-profit research organization based in New Haven, CT, with offices in Washington, D.C. and worldwide. IPA works with development partners and academic researchers to create and evaluate approaches to solving development problems, communicate “what works” in development, and scale up successful projects in a variety of fields, including health, education, microfinance, governance and agriculture.

IPA is starting a new program called The Goldilocks Project: Helping Organizations Build Right-Fit M&E Systems. The project entails partnering with organizations and funders to address common challenges in decision driven monitoring and evaluation. The project will have a particular focus on the challenges faced by technology-focused nonprofits, whose impacts are often widely diffused and difficult to measure.

Position Summary:

IPA seeks qualified applicants for the position of M&E Coordinator to work directly with donors and non-profit organizations to review their data collection systems and ensure that they are appropriately sized to their learning and decision-making needs. In addition, the Coordinator will help recommend new technologies that can make data collection and analysis cheaper and faster.  IPA is partnering with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC Berkeley on this project. CEGA may help select organizations develop low cost systems of data collection and new data visualization platforms for decision-making. The Coordinator will work with Goldilocks Project staff as well as researchers Dean Karlan and Mary Kay Gugerty to complete a toolkit of recommendations and guidance for right-fit M&E systems that donors and grantees can apply to their work.

The position offers an opportunity to work with a variety of organizations doing exciting work in the field of development and to help improve internal systems for measuring their performance and impact.  This position will be most attractive for motivated self-starters with a strong interest in data systems and a background in working with M&E systems in developing countries.

Responsibilities:

The M&E Coordinator (PC) will play a key role in carrying out all aspects of the project. Specific activities for this position are likely to include:

• Outreach to potential participant NGOs and donors, especially those delivering programs via technology platforms
• Defining scopes of work with project managers or senior leadership teams of participating organizations
• Reviewing M&E systems of all types
• Reviewing the full chain of operational and impact reporting:  field-level data collection, data entry, data verification, reporting, visual presentations of data, and internal decision-making
• Delivering recommendations for improvement of data collection and reporting systems in oral and written formats
• Participating in the formulation and dissemination of general tools for donors and NGOs
• General project management responsibilities and donor reporting

Qualifications:

• Experience with tech-based data collection and reporting technologies.  Examples include electronic data collection, data management, GIS development, etc.
• Independent self-starter. Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently
• Flexible, self-motivating, and able to manage multiple tasks efficiently
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level relationships with partner / client organizations and strong communications skills
• Minimum 2 years work experience post BA, with some experience in implementation of poverty-alleviation programs in developing countries, ideally within an M&E team
• Master’s degree in Economics, Finance, International Development, Statistics, Public Policy, or other data management fields strongly preferred
• Familiarity with rigorous methods for impact evaluation, randomized controlled trials in particular
• Experience living and working in a developing country

Application Instructions:

1. To apply, please click here

2. Complete the J-PAL/IPA common application. Please select the position(s) you are interested in applying for on the 'Submit Application' page. Include two letters of recommendation, statement of purpose (cover letter), CV, and transcripts. We will consider your application even if you are unable to obtain reference letters before the deadline, but please be advised that we will be requiring them should you be invited for an interview.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work to be performed by the Project Coordinator.  The statements are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Management reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities to meet organizational needs as necessary. Please note that IPA will never request any form of payment from an applicant. Applicants are encouraged to confirm the information listed above with IPA prior to releasing any extensive personal information to the organization. Please direct questions to jobs@poverty-action.org.