MEL Advisor/Senior MEL Advisor

Who we want:

MSA seeks a driven professional with strong economic development, private sector development, or market systems experience to join the team in the position of Advisor/Senior Advisor, with a preference for candidates located in Denver, Colorado; Toronto, Canada; or Kampala, Uganda. Candidates not in one of these locations will also be considered.

MSA is growing – this opportunity offers significant potential for the successful candidate to grow with us, including possible transition to full-time HQ team member, assuming progressively greater responsibility with MSA.

The nature of the role:

The Advisor/Senior Advisor will join our growing global team. This role is integral in providing technical leadership on complex, multi-country MEL projects, particularly those focused on systems change. The Advisor will bring 7+ years of relevant experience; and the Senior Advisor will bring 10+ years, with a strong preference for candidates who have led MEL efforts for large-scale, complex USAID-funded projects. The position requires a blend of strategic thinking, technical expertise, and experience managing MEL for systemic change. The successful candidate will collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality MEL solutions for MSA’s diverse global clients.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, international development, decision sciences, business, or a related field.
• At least seven years (Advisor) and ten years (Senior Advisor) of significant experience designing and conducting qualitative and quantitative evaluation and learning studies, including multi-country, in an international development or consulting context.
• Expertise in MEL for systems change, with demonstrated experience in market systems development, private sector engagement, or economic empowerment.
• Experience working in global roles and supporting global technical teams and projects remotely.
• Experience developing and implementing measurement and learning plans, particularly to measure challenging concepts in practical ways and applying systems approaches.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience in writing reports, and presenting actionable recommendations in a concise way that maximizes uptake.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work and build relationships with team members and clients from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to prioritize, implement, and deliver high-quality work within tight timelines and with minimal supervision.

Other desired characteristics:

• Masters’s degree in economics, international development, decision sciences, business, or a related field.
• Experience with leading private foundations, or USAID specifically in learning initiatives and/or evaluations for market systems development, economic development, and/or private sector engagement projects.
• Experience with USAID MERL activities, such as designing and implementing Monitoring and Evaluation Plans and Collaboration Learning and Adaptation plans is preferred.
• Experience working for a consulting firm and managing consulting projects.
• Proficiency in another language, preferably written and oral French.
• Experience working and living in developing countries.

Other information:

This is a full-time HQ position that will report to the Research Team Lead. It may require up to 35% travel. For reference, the salary band for this position is USD $70,000-$95,000 for Advisor and USD $75,000-$100,000 for Senior Advisor if the selected candidate is based in Denver, US. For candidates based in other states or outside the United States, MSA will consider rates aligned with local market rates and/or our salary bands by Hub Zones (Kampala, Uganda and Toronto, Canada). Where a candidate falls within this range is based on previous years of experience and versatility (i.e., number of required and desired characteristics as well as expected capability).