Who We Are

ZemiTek, LLC is a Woman-Owned, SBA-certified 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) based in the Washington, DC metro area. We have a strong record delivering innovative and high-quality solutions. Since 2007, ZemiTek has provided technical assistance, project management, information technology (IT), knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation, training and learning development, and institutional support services.

Position Description

ZemiTek LLC is recruiting for a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist who will be embedded within USAID's Center for Education, Bureau for Development, Democracy and Innovation (DDI). Through the Education Support Initiative 2 (ESI 2) institutional support contract, the Specialist will manage monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities; provide technical assistance to USAID field colleagues around the world; and communicate MEL practices to colleagues within and beyond the Agency.

USAID’s Bureau for Development, Democracy and Innovation integrates technical expertise with values-driven, cross-cutting priorities, and modern approaches to the way USAID performs its work. It provides client-centered technical services to USAID’s Missions worldwide, supports programming to innovate, learn, and address emerging issues, and provides technical leadership within the Agency and externally to enhance development impact.The Bureau’s Center for Education (EDU) leverages its expertise, partnerships, and global perspective to guide and influence the education sector, advancing U.S. Government development priorities.

Location: Washington, DC

Work Schedule: Full-time with three (3) days in office required

Salary Range: Starting at $104,000

Clearance Required: Ability to obtain a secret-level clearance

Responsibilities

Given both the depth and breadth of support that the Center provides field-based education officers and other colleagues, ZemiTek is seeking a strong MEL expert for this Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist position. Responsibilities will include the following:

Technical leadership

• Provide technical support and oversight in the development of results frameworks, monitoring and evaluation plans, and other MEL products to ensure they are rigorous, positioned to be useful, and align with good practice. This may include impact evaluations, mid-term and final evaluations including, design methodology, sampling requirements, sampling frames, data collection, data cleaning, analysis, drawing conclusions, and articulating recommendations.
• Serve as an Activity or Task Manager and/or Subject Matter Expert for one or more Center mechanisms, including those focused on research and MEL.
• Actively collaborate with implementing partners to ensure that MEL products are designed with USAID’s evidence and learning priorities, with a focus on advancing the evidence priorities of local partners in countries where Activities are implemented.
• Develop innovative and effective approaches to assessment, monitoring, and research in a variety of operational settings.
• Provide high-quality MEL technical support to Missions. This includes support form a distance and in-person, across contexts, cultures and levels of expertise in MEL.

Supporting learning

• Develop approaches to increase the use of research and evidence to strengthen the programmatic impact of USAID activities.
• Support the Center to advance its uptake and use of systematic MEL practices and best-fit evidence by key USAID stakeholders.
• Support the Center to advance its learning agendas through internal coordination and tracking progress and engagement with the Center’s mechanisms, regional bureaus, and partners.
• Work with a variety of data types and sources and organize in user-friendly formats with the goal to facilitate learning.
• Coordinate internally and externally to advance strategic research and learning partnerships with a range of relevant humanitarian and development institutions, academic institutions, the USG Interagency, bilateral, and multilateral development agencies, foundations, the private sector, researchers and implementing partners. This may include engaging with a variety of networks to share evidence and collaborate on cross-sectoral programming and peer learning.
• Represent USAID at internal and international conferences and deliver public presentations on MEL matters.
• Oversee the design and facilitation of MEL capacity-building workshops, coaching, and other professional development opportunities using experiential and adult learning techniques for USAID staff and partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and six (6) or more years of relevant MEL professional experience or Master’s degree and four (4) or more years of relevant MEL professional experience.
• Ability to obtain an interim AND receive a full secret clearance is required.
• Ability to understand and explain quantitative, qualitative, and/or applied research methods to a technically-diverse and external audiences.
• Skills and experience in complex program monitoring and evaluation, including implementation research, impact evaluations, and indicator development.
• Experience working with a variety of data types and sources and organizing in user-friendly formats such as dashboards.
• Experience in improving evidence uptake and use for improved program design and implementation.
• Commitment to producing outstanding work as a member of a fast-paced center.
• Ability to work independently, resourcefully, and to take initiative, with flexibility to changing priorities and an eagerness to learn.
• Robust organizational, analytical, and troubleshooting skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to engage with people successfully and effectively within and across units in a diverse and inclusive environment.
• Excellent negotiation, writing, and editing skills.
• Interest with international education development.
• Experience with supporting operating Units on MEL and evidence uptake and use is highly preferred.

The position will work closely with a range of experts in the following sub-sectors. Candidates with specialization in one or more of these areas will be given preference in the hiring process. Please highlight your specialization(s), if any, in your cover letter.

• Evidence Uptake and Use by stakeholders
• Education Finance, i.e., blended finance, private sector engagement
• Cost Measurement
• Foundational Skills Assessment and Policy Linking
• Pre-primary, early childhood care
• Implementation Research
• Monitoring and Measurement of Equity and Inclusion Initiatives in Education Programming
• Education System Diagnostic Approaches and Evaluation
• Other Areas of MEL and International Education Development

What We Believe

ZemiTek is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant’s qualifications are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by law.

ZemiTek is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, ZemiTek will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to accommodations@zemitek.com.

ZemiTek embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion and strives to build and maintain a safe environment where we celebrate diverse backgrounds, treat everyone with respect, and value the unique lived experiences each person brings based on their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, military or veteran status, national origin, age, marital status or family status and related conditions.

All members of DDI are measured on how they foster a climate of respect in interactions with others, value differing perspectives, and treat others in a fair, equitable, and culturally sensitive manner. All members of the Bureau are expected to value diversity, equity, and inclusion in performing everyday duties and responsibilities.