Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director

Title:           Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director

Program:    Agricultural Trade Facilitation and Sanitary Phytosanitary Modernization Initiative (Agrofacilita)

Location:    Quito,Ecuador

Start Date:  On/around October 2026

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Background and Justification

Improving Economies for Stronger Communities (IESC) is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that catalyzes private sector growth and creates economic opportunity for people and communities across the economically developing world. Since our founding in 1964, we have delivered lasting solutions across 139 countries.

IESC is a valued partner to people and communities throughout the economically developing world. We share proven business skills and experience with entrepreneurs, jobseekers, businesses, farmers, cooperatives, and governments. We also offer resources—human, technological, financial—that sustainably build capacity and empower communities. Our long legacy of strengthening developing economies is matched by our vision for the next generation: a world with economic opportunity for all, where people and communities thrive.

IESC is recruiting for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director to provide MEL oversight for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress-funded Agricultural Trade Facilitation and Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) Modernization Initiative (Agrofacilita). The project will focus on expanding trade in agricultural products by strengthening the Ecuadorian agricultural trade facilitation systems and modernizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) systems. Specifically, the project will 1) improve coordination and transparency in agricultural trade; 2) support rules-based market access for food and agricultural products; and 3) improve clearance times and port operational efficiency.

General Objectives

TheMonitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director, under the direction of the Chief of Party (CoP) is accountable for maintaining data quality and management to ensure that the project achieves its goals and targets. This is a full-time position based in Quito, Ecuador, with expected travel within Ecuador. The person in this position reports to the CoP and receives guidance from IESC’s home-office MEL Director and Director, Trade and Enterprise.

Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

·      Developing, testing, and continually improving monitoring and evaluation tools and processes, including data collection instruments;

·      Supporting the development and maintaining the monitoring database;

·      Directing and supervising a Project and MEL Assistant located in Quito;

·      Providing training and technical support to staff regarding sound monitoring and evaluation procedures and practices;

·      Managing the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan, which includes collecting, analyzing, and reporting on all required indicators;

·      Nurturing and maintaining collaborative relationships with beneficiaries, stakeholders, and partners to facilitate information gathering and sharing;

·      Ensuring the CoP and all project staff understand their roles and responsibilities in analyzing and using data for decision-making, and working with staff to operationalize outcome measurement and data collection using IESC established processes and procedures and the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan;

·      Establishing and ensuring a high-level of responsiveness to the donor (USDA) related to regular and ad-hoc data reporting;

·      Contributing to the development and finalization of project deliverables, including annual work plans and semi-annual reports, this includes developing the annual work plan’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and supporting senior management on regularly tracking progress against workplan interventions, milestones, and targets.

·      Training and supervising short-term enumerators as needed;

·      Ensuring reliability and accuracy of project data by establishing a data quality assurance plan, sourcing sound data from reliable sources; and incorporating feedback from data quality assessments;

·      Maintaining regular reporting to the CoP to analyze outcomes of implementation and providing recommendations based on impact analysis to the CoP as needed;

·      Ensuring that project monitoring and evaluation adheres to policies and practices in accordance with IESC project manual and practices and consistent with USDA Monitoring and EvaluationPolicy (2019), and USDA Food Assistance IndicatorHandbook(2019);

·      Providing accurate and timely data and other support as needed to baseline establishment as well as mid-term evaluation and final evaluation teams;

·      Developing and implementing the project’s monitoring and evaluation activities and initiatives, such as focus discussion groups, case studies, key informational interviews, accurate sampling, sound economic analysis, evidence-based reflection and learning; and

·      Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

·      Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.)in statistics, economics, business administration, ICT management, social sciences or international development; Masters in Sciences (M.S.) strongly preferred, but not required;

·      Seven (7) years of progressive experience in managing MEL in economic growth, agricultural, or other related sectors on donor-funded projects including at least three years of managing at least one direct report and several short-term enumerators;

·      Must have demonstrated experience developing, assessing, and evaluating baseline studies, logical frameworks, performance monitoring plans, and performance and impact evaluations experience related to agriculture or trade facilitation sectors highly preferred;

·      Must have knowledge of a range of approaches to performance monitoring, impact evaluation, and research in areas including design, instrument development, focus groups, sampling design, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination;

·      Experience with USDA, or other United States government agencies strongly preferred; experience with other international donors will be considered as well;

·      Ability to prioritize among multiple competing requests;

·      Self-starter, detail-oriented, thorough, and well organized;

·      Demonstrated experience supervising, mentoring, and training staff;

·      Ability to participate as an active, productive member of a senior management team;

·      Well-developed interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills to manage a local team as well as international consultants and volunteers’ expertise effectively;

·      Excellent written and oral communication and presentation skills, including training development and delivery;

·      Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (Power BI), global position system (GPS) software related to monitoring and evaluation documentation, familiarity with international trade databases required, capacity in cost-benefit analysis, return on investment, STATA or SPSS, regression analysis, and other business and trade-related analytic tools preferred;

·      Fluency in English and Spanish is required; and

·      Applicants must have Ecuadorean citizenship or authorization to legally work in Ecuador.