The MEL Specialist will lead the design and implementation of the program’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system, ensuring rigorous tracking of results, delivery of the learning agenda, and timely donor and internal reporting. This role requires strong technical skills in MEL design and analysis, program coordination, and stakeholder engagement, as well as experience with private-sector-oriented development programs.

Key Responsibilities

MEL System Design & Implementation

Lead the development, rollout, and continuous refinement of the MEL framework, tools, and processes.

Define and track progress against key outcome indicators such as: Product quality improvements among MSMEs,Number of buyer agreements and letters of intent.

MSMEs achieving financial readiness and investment plans.

Ensure data collection is timely, accurate, and aligned with program and organizational standards.

Learning Agenda & Knowledge Management

Drive the program’s learning agenda, focusing on: Effectiveness of training-of-trainers (TOT) delivery models,Impact of aggregation models on MSME competitiveness. Influence of buyer incentives on MSME quality improvements.

Facilitate regular reflection sessions with program teams and partners to translate findings into program adaptation

Produce knowledge products (case studies, briefs, dashboards) for internal and external dissemination.

Reporting & Compliance

Coordinate and compile program reports for donors and internal stakeholders, ensuring compliance with requirements and deadlines.

Maintain accurate, up-to-date data in internal systems, ensuring consistency between field records, databases, and reporting outputs.

Liaise with program and operations teams to validate reported results and ensure alignment with contractual targets.

Program Coordination & Support

Work closely with technical leads to integrate MEL findings into program delivery and strategy adjustments.

Support partner capacity building on data collection, analysis, and utilization.

Contribute to work planning, activity tracking, and cross-team communication.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Statistics, Monitoring & Evaluation, International Development, or related field (Master’s degree preferred).

Minimum 5 years’ experience in MEL roles, preferably in private sector development, agribusiness, or value chain programs.

Proven skills in MEL system design, data management, and use of quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Strong track record in donor reporting, preferably with multi-stakeholder or multi-sector programs.

Excellent communication skills with the ability to synthesize complex findings for diverse audiences.

Proficiency in data analysis software (e.g., Excel, Power BI, STATA, SPSS) and mobile data collection tools.