Monitoring, Learning, and Evaluation Manager

Splash is an international development organization founded in 2007 and headquartered in Seattle, WA. Our mission is simple: we clean water for kids. To date, we have reached over 430,000 children in cities around the world. We are currently implementing an exciting, five-year initiative, Project WISE (WASH in Schools for Everyone), to reach every government school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Kolkata, India with improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, WASH behavior change programs, and strengthened school-based menstrual health programs. This $45M Project will benefit one million children by 2023.

Our core values guide everything we do including every hiring decision we make. They are:

• People – People first. People second. People third.
• Quality – Beautiful products that function and last.
• Honesty – No drama, no surprises, no BS.
• Joy – Kids at heart, seeing potential everywhere.
• Mistakes – Make them, don’t repeat them.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

The Job

We are seeking a dynamic leader with strong quantitative and qualitative research skills, and proven ability to develop staff and to communicate results effectively. The ML&E Manager will lead all ML&E functions in the organization and be a key member of our global program leadership team. The ML&E team has a presence in all key countries of operation and employs a full-time Splash staff of 11 in Addis Ababa, Kolkata, and Seattle.

The ML&E department ensures we are making data-driven decisions across all our programs. This is achieved through the collection of key information about Splash’s intervention to prove and improve program impact and analyze data to help Splash pivot program activities in response to new evidence.
 

Primary Duties

Set Vision & Strategy:

• Work with senior leaders to collaboratively set and execute our long-term vision for all ML&E functions, including surveys, routine monitoring, site data collection, analysis, and management.
• Build and reinforce a department culture of excellence and responsiveness.
• Build and maintain strong collaborative working relationships across key technical areas, and amongst key leaders in all countries
• Identify and execute on key areas of strategic innovation

Work with data:

• Ensure high-quality data collection and build capacity to subject that data to rigorous analysis.
• Ensure that Splash data and results inform program strategy by working with program leadership to understand and devise strategies to implement results that maximize program impact.
• Liaise with donors to ensure that Splash data and analysis are responsive to their requests and requirements.
• Continue to deepen Splash’s evidence base including periodic experimental studies of our primary program impact on students.

Build and Support Team:

• Develop and continue to professionalize ML&E staff at all levels to set the standard for excellence in data collection.
• Manage the day-to-day work of Kolkata, Addis, and Program Data leadership staff.
• Organize and conduct periodic skills-building and best practice workshops.
• Ensure that the team has a continual opportunity for upward growth in the organization and increasing scope of responsibility
• Build a collaborative, positive and inclusive team culture, bridging the geographic distance among team members.
• Routinize and standardize – ensure the highest level of quality as we move to a more localized ML&E team structure
• Partner with the external evaluation team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on the Project WISE evaluation.
• Build on the organization’s understanding of the program impact on students
• Grow efficiently – put in place a strategy to ensure that the high volume and rigorous data collection undertaken by the organization is conducted in an economically efficient manner.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual salary for this position will be established at the time of hire, then reviewed at least annually. Splash provides generous benefits including paid time off, transportation benefit (Orca pass), medical, dental, and vision, as well as a 401k plan.
 

You

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

We are seeking exceptional candidates with 5+ years of work experience in the evaluation field, preferably in a developing country context and in programs that address WASH and/or Education. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Masters degree or higher in Public Health, Social Science, Public Policy, Evaluation, or related discipline
• Knowledge of the principles and current approaches to monitoring and evaluating health and/or development programs
• Ability to prioritize, work independently and to manage various projects in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision
• Fundamental understanding of types of data, data collection and management mechanisms, and uses of data;
• Proven ability to manage teams and develop leaders; experience in remote management a plus
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research skills
• Proficiency in CommCare, Tableau, Salesforce or familiarity with data warehouse systems. Ability to build a query in SQL a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience working in a multi-cultural workplace
• Creativity and strong problem-solving skills
• Ability to travel internationally (approximately 15 – 20% travel)
• Language: Fluent English required. Amharic or Bengali a plus but not a requirement.

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES INCLUDE

1. You have outstanding attention to detail and demonstrated ability to multi-task in a fast-paced, high-performance culture. 
2. You are a “systems thinker” who demonstrates excellent organizational skills, self-motivation, flexibility, and the ability to work and thrive in an energetic, highly creative, entrepreneurial environment.
3. You have a keen intellectual curiosity and ability to create meaning out of data.
4. You are an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual with maturity and seasoned judgment.

5. You have strong communication skills, able to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences and make connections with people of various seniority levels and cultural backgrounds.
6. You are driven to help create a better world and have a deep belief in for Splash’s work and the children we serve.