Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Save

About Palladium:

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 4,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.   

This Opportunity:

The Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) will serve three primary functions: 1) ensure MERL support across Palladium’s business cycle for both proposal and implementation support; 2) foster learning and thought leadership in MERL across the Americas Region Business Partnership (ARBP) and collaborate with other Palladium regions on sharing state-of-the-art MERL approaches; and 3) work with the Senior Director, Center of Technical Excellence (CoTE) to grow new business development opportunities in the MERL sector.

Location and Compensation:

The position is based in Palladium’s Washington D.C. Office.

For our prospective employees in the United States, please note that the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to range from $116,000 to $174,000, and successful candidates may also be eligible for additional, variable incentive compensation dependent on the role. For part-time employees, the salary will be prorated based on the actual number of hours worked. 

Please be advised that a final salary offer will be based on various factors, including but not limited to your qualifications, education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and Palladium’s business or organizational needs. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the compensation for this position, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We value your interest in our company and appreciate the opportunity to discuss this opportunity with you. 

You and Your Career:

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in MERL, team management, and international development, we are interested in hearing from you. 

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start.  We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision:

• The role reports to the Senior Director, Center of Technical Excellence (CoTE)
  
• This role could have an anticipated 5 direct reports, with larger oversight of other staff as MERL projects are awarded
  

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Ensure Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Across Palladium’s Business Cycle

• Establish and maintain relationships with all practice area/portfolio leads to understand proposal and project needs (start-up, implementation, close-out) for MERL support. This includes theory of change, AMELP, CLA plans, support on research and evaluation, etc.
  
• Manage MERL team workflow ensuring that the right staff are resourced to the right opportunities and that MERL works in as part of a multi-disciplinary team to design appropriate proposals and projects, identify and address challenges, and deliver high quality MERL work to the client. This involves leveraging MERL expertise from across the ARBP
  
• Successfully manage a multi-sectoral MERL team – this includes setting/monitoring service standards, implementing Palladium’s Performance Excellence processes, providing oversight on certain tasks, managing staff utilization, recruiting new top talent, and orienting new staff
  
• Collaborate with other CoTE staff, leveraging their expertise where/when appropriate – e.g., capacity development, data science, inclusive development
  
• Ensure SOPs, tools, guidance, trainings, templates, and examples, are created, disseminated and easily accessible by Palladium proposal and project staff
  

Foster Learning and Thought Leadership

• Monitor donor MERL trends, priorities, and guidance and ensure MERL staff are up to date on changes and developments in the space to ensure cutting edge MERL support to proposals and projects
  
• Manage knowledge around core MERL areas by updating capabilities, documenting resources, adapting/maintaining SharePoint sites, and communicating updates proactively
  
• Producing an annual set of MERL related thought leadership pieces based on Palladium project work, ensuring Palladium is known by priority clients for our cutting-edge MERL work
  
• Collaborate with the to-be-hired Learning Manager in the CoTE on developing internal and external learning events
  
• Maintain the MERL Community of Practice, CLA and other MERL initiatives (in collaboration with other staff in the Center) and the Palladium Research Determination Committee and identify new opportunities for sharing/learning in MERL. Ensure learning is supported across projects, both within and between portfolios/practice areas
  

Grow Business Development Opportunities

• Work with the Sr. Director, CoTE and other technical teams to contribute to the development of a pipeline of opportunities
  
• Take both proactive and responsive roles depending on need, e.g., step reviews, capture management, proposal writing, proposal review, capture manager support, to include all support activities through to timely submission of high-quality corporate offers
  
• Ensure MERL team contributes to CoTE proposal development, in addition to other sector specific proposals
  

Leadership and Staff Management

• Build effective relationships with colleagues at all levels and across all practice areas through open communications and constructive feedback.
  
• Implement Palladium’s Process Excellence framework with direct reports – this includes bi-monthly meetings with staff, providing constructive feedback, monitoring performance, holding staff accountable for their KRAs, including improvement of predetermined capabilities
  
• Cultivate a positive and supportive, yet accountability-focused, team culture
  
• Empower staff in decision-making and leadership opportunities. Actively mentor and develop staff to the next career level
  
• Model Palladium’s Guiding Principles and leadership behaviors
  

Key Competencies Required:

• In-depth demonstrated experience living or working in international settings providing technical assistance in the MERL sector
  
• Candidate must have demonstrated successful field-based implementation experience, including development and implementation of theories of change, AMELPs, evidence-based target setting, CLA plans, and evaluations
  
• Strong ability to solve problems logically, plan and strategize
  
• Proven experience in adapting approaches for different clients and contexts.
  
• Expertise and proven success in implementing client-centered approaches
  
• Excellent communicator - is confident in initiating, leading and managing discussions (and potential conflicts) that explore difference. Ability to successfully work in many settings.
  
• Proven ability to lead effective teams, including building consensus and addressing discontent
  
• Experience in proposal development as capture manager, lead writer, reviewer, and strategy development
  
• Strong management skills with ability to mentor, coach, lead, develop and evaluate staff.
  
• Financial acumen and the ability to interpret and analyze financial reports for direct bill and indirect funding
  
• Exceptional verbal, interpersonal, and written communication skills in English; high comfort level writing and presenting data and information in a compelling way to different audiences. Working proficiency in at least one other language (e.g., French, Spanish, Kiswahili).
  
• Proven experience in working with MIS and project staff to set up project MEL systems
  
• Proven expertise in at least three of five sectors (health, humanitarian response, finance and investment, environment, economic growth)
  
• Ability to work effectively and thrive in a fast-paced environment
  
• Strong time management and organizational skills; demonstrated ability to work well independently and in teams
  
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally about 25% of the time
  

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion - Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [email protected] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding - We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.