USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Knowledge Management (KM) Specialist

Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Knowledge Management (KM) Specialist
Project Title: USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER)
Institution: Indiana University (IU)
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

1. Organization

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is an initiative to help strengthen Vietnam's leading public universities. The project activities are funded by USAID to support targeted reforms to improve institutional leadership and administrative capacity, improve teaching practices to enhance student learning outcomes, elevate university research capacity to international standards, network Vietnamese researchers to maximize access to global knowledge, enable university graduates to better engage with the labor market, and help university faculty to leverage their research for innovation.

2. Position Description

Indiana University (IU) seeks applicants for the position of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and Knowledge Management (KM) Specialist ((MEL/KM Specialist) to support Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) and KM to ensure responsive, adaptive management of the project. The Specialist will support all data collection and reporting requirements, including the annual USAID Performance Plan and Report (PPR), quarterly progress reports, and other reporting requirements. The Specialist will serve as a technical advisor and capacity-builder on MEL issues to the PHER team. In addition, the Specialist is involved in building upon, reinforcing and enhancing a KM system that includes but is not limited to, organizing and curating tools and resources related to MEL, establishing processes to share lessons learned and best practices, communicating strategic performance information and success stories to stakeholders, and building the team’s capacity to make data-driven management decisions.

This is a salaried, full-time, fixed-term position (until end of February 2025) based in Hanoi, Vietnam.

3. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The Specialist will lead the development and management of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL), Knowledge Management (KM) and Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) activities of the PHER project. The Specialist supports the leadership of PHER (PIs), the Chief of Party (COP), and the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP). The MEL Specialist also works closely with the Program Managers and Program Officers to develop and monitor indicators and collect relevant data. The responsibilities of the Specialist include:

• Lead the development and periodic revision/refinement of the PHER monitoring, evaluating, and learning plan (MELP), including developing data collection tools and templates, and conducting data collection and documentation.
• Coordinate MEL, KM and CLA efforts of PHER; compile and communicate project outputs and results.
• Lead monitoring of project implementation progress and provide guidance and solutions for emerging issues on project progress.
• Lead and conduct data collection and analysis including on project progress on targets and deliverables, working closely with the COP/DCOP and beneficiary universities of the project in Vietnam and the PHER core team.
• Assist in compilation of success stories, lessons learned and best practices.
• Develop the project database system including trainee and beneficiary databases, and coordinate with project staff to ensure the flow of reporting data from the 3 beneficiary universities of the project in Vietnam.
• Design and conduct baseline and end-line surveys with the stakeholders and beneficiaries, as required by certain performance indicators.
• Conduct periodic internal data quality assessment; collect and review evidence for indicator reporting data.
• Coordinate learning events and manage the knowledge sharing resources in the project system.
• Update MELP, data collection forms, and guidelines; provide training for project staff and partners.
• Support to regular and ad hoc reporting, including the annual Performance Plan and Report (PPR), portfolio reviews, quarterly progress reports, and others as may be required.
• Other appropriate tasks assigned by PHER leadership – PIs and COP/DCOP.

4. Applicant Requirements:

The Specialist should be a Vietnamese national who has at least 5 years of relevant working experience in MEL, KM and CLA in donor-funded project management (particularly with USAID). The Specialist should also have at least 3 years of demonstrated significant, relevant, progressively increasing responsibility in managing MEL, KM and CLA activities of similar scope as this project. In addition to technical experience, the Specialist should have excellent organizational and management skills, proven leadership abilities within a multi-partner initiative, and experience representing projects at high levels of policy engagement.

5. Desired skills and expertise:

• Bachelor’s degree (minimum) in Education, Management, or any other related field.
• Expertise in MEL, KM and CLA for donor-funded projects, specifically US Government projects, with a focus on adaptive management and using project and activity MEL data to adapt programming.
• Working knowledge of USAID policies and guidelines, particularly related to designing and implementing MEL, CLA and KM activities.
• Experience in higher education institutional capacity development, including in governance and/or implementing education technology and digitalization.
• Knowledge of and experience with the public university management system in Vietnam.
• Strong network with higher education institutions and experts in the field in Vietnam
• Experience with planning for and resourcing learning activities and processes appropriately.
• Experience and expertise in facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration.
• Strong interpersonal, team building and management skills.
• Fluency in English; excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Vietnamese.
• Gender integration and/or social inclusion expertise.

6. To Apply:

Submit cover letter and CV to [email protected] no later than February 01, 2024

Please use email subject: “[Your Name]_MEL-KM Specialist USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform”

Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, marital status, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.

Organization: PHER
Location: Hanoi
Application deadline: 2024-02-01
Send application to: [email protected]