Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Director

PACT Overview

A global nonprofit with experience in more than 60 countries, Pact fosters thriving, resilient communities that chart their own development paths. We deliver solutions that are rooted in evidence and driven by data.

Department

Programs - Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director provides strategic leadership, vision, and oversight for the program’s monitoring, evaluation, learning, data management, analytics, and performance measurement functions. The MEL Director leads the development and implementation of MEL systems that ensure data quality and accountability, strengthen programme performance, and generate timely evidence to inform strategic and operational decision-making.The MEL Director provides technical leadership across Pact and sub-awardee MEL functions, ensuring the strategic and functional integration of MEL activities across the program. Working closely with program teams, sub-awardees, government stakeholders, the funder, and Pact’s global MEL team, the Director leads the analysis, interpretation, and use of programme data to identify trends, performance gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities for programme improvement.The MEL Director oversees the accurate and timely reporting of programme results; promotes organisational learning, collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA), and adaptive management; and ensures compliance with applicable donor requirements, data-protection obligations, ethical standards, and Pact quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership Related to Technical Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the program’s comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan, ensuring the timely collection, management, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of high-quality data in accordance with donor requirements.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership for the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems, tools, methodologies, and processes across program implementation areas, including systems for data capture, management, analysis, visualization, reporting, and use.
• Lead annual and periodic target-setting processes, including target disaggregation, target documentation, and routine monitoring of performance against approved targets across Pact and its sub-awardees.
• Lead the development, measurement, analysis, and reporting of output, outcome, objective, and goal-level performance indicators, including applicable PEPFAR MER indicators and donor-specific indicators.
• Ensure all program MEL reporting requirements are met accurately and within required timelines, including reporting through applicable program reporting systems.
• Lead the development of high-quality MEL inputs for program reports, including performance analysis, interpretation of results, trends, data visualizations, and identification of areas requiring management attention or corrective action.
• Develop and oversee robust data-quality assurance systems and processes, including Routine Data Quality Assessments (RDQAs), and ensure that identified data-quality gaps are documented, addressed, and monitored through appropriate corrective actions.;
• Ensure that MEL systems, source documentation, indicator evidence, and data trails remain complete, organized, and ready for donor verification, programme reviews, audits, and other assurance processes.
• Provide strategic oversight of program information systems and databases, including data capture, data cleaning, validation, management, dashboard development, analytics, and extraction of data for further analysis and reporting;
• Lead advanced analysis and interpretation of program data to identify trends, performance gaps, emerging issues, and opportunities for program improvement, and translate findings into actionable recommendations for program and senior management;
• Lead adaptive management and strategic data-use processes across the program, ensuring that timely and relevant evidence informs program planning, implementation, performance improvement, resource allocation, and management decision-making;
• Develop and lead the implementation of a robust programme learning agenda that promotes CLA, captures lessons from programme implementation and transition, and ensures that programme learning informs implementation, sustainability, continuity of services, and decision-making.;
• Design and oversee outcome assessments, evaluations, and learning studies; ensure that appropriate ethical review, informed-consent, confidentiality, and approval requirements are followed; and ensure that findings and lessons are appropriately documented, disseminated, and used by relevant stakeholders.;
• Lead the development of learning products, analytical briefs, and thought leadership products using program monitoring, evaluation, and learning evidence, and represent the program at relevant technical forums and other knowledge-sharing platforms.
• Ensure adherence to Pact’s global MEL requirements and quality standards, including applicable organisational MEL assessments and reporting against Pact’s Global Indicators.

Data Governance and Protection

• Establish and oversee programme data-governance arrangements, including data ownership, stewardship, classification, access controls, user permissions, data-sharing protocols, and accountability for data quality and appropriate use.
• Ensure compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), applicable donor requirements, Pact policies, and good practice concerning the confidentiality, security, storage, transmission, and use of personally identifiable beneficiary and clinical information.
• Oversee data-retention, archiving, backup, recovery, and secure-disposal processes, ensuring that programme data and supporting documentation remain accessible, protected, and usable throughout programme implementation and transition.
• Ensure the secure, authorized, and well-documented transfer or handover of programme data, systems, tools, metadata, and technical knowledge to government or other designated stakeholders without compromising confidentiality or data integrity.

Transition and Sustainability

• Provide MEL leadership for programme transition and sustainability, including monitoring transition milestones and indicators, analyzing progress and risks, and generating evidence to inform management decision-making and support continuity of services during the transition period;
• Support the transition and institutionalization of relevant MEL systems, tools, data processes, reporting mechanisms, and technical knowledge to government and other designated stakeholders, including capacity strengthening, knowledge transfer, and continuity planning.
• Work with government counterparts, sub-awardees, and programme leadership to define practical transition measures, document readiness and outstanding risks, and monitor the sustainability of transferred MEL functions.

Leadership Related to Pact South Africa, MEL Team, and Stakeholder Management

• Provide strategic leadership and technical oversight to MEL teams across Pact and its sub-awardees, promoting consistent application of MEL standards, systems, tools, data-quality requirements, analytical approaches, and reporting processes.;
• Manage, coach, and develop Pact MEL staff, including setting objectives and workplans, clarifying roles and accountabilities, supporting professional development, reviewing performance, and addressing capacity gaps;
• Promote effective coordination and collaboration between Pact and sub-awardee MEL teams and across program, technical, finance, operations, and other relevant functions to ensure that data and evidence inform program planning, implementation, performance management, and decision-making;
• Strengthen the MEL capacity of sub-awardees through technical assistance, mentoring, supportive supervision, performance reviews, and targeted capacity strengthening, ensuring that identified gaps are addressed and improvements sustained;
• Provide technical leadership and represent ACHIEVE in MEL-related engagements with the funder, Government of South Africa, sub-awardees, implementing partners, and other relevant stakeholders;
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with government counterparts and sub-awardees to strengthen MEL capacity, promote data use, and support the transition and institutionalization of relevant monitoring, reporting, and data systems; and
• Collaborate closely with Pact’s global MEL team to ensure alignment with organizational MEL standards, priorities, and learning initiatives, and lead the development of MEL and performance-related content for high-quality program, donor, and strategic reports.

MEL Budget and Resource Management

• Develop and manage realistic MEL budgets and resource plans aligned with programme priorities, donor requirements, approved workplans, and transition needs.
• Monitor MEL expenditure and resource utilization, identify emerging requirements or opportunities for efficiency, and provide timely recommendations to programme leadership.
• Support the procurement and deployment of MEL-related systems, software, equipment, technical assistance, and other resources in coordination with finance and operations teams.

Basic Requirements

• Master’s degree and 10+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience, including at least five years of management and leadership experience.

Other local education and experience:

• Master’s degree or higher in Public Health, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Sciences, Statistics, Epidemiology, or another relevant discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning, preferably within health, HIV/AIDS, social welfare, or other large-scale development programs, including experience with PEPFAR-funded programs.
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic leadership and technical oversight of complex MEL functions, including managing and strengthening multidisciplinary MEL teams.
• Demonstrated experience designing and managing MEL frameworks, methodologies, indicators, tools, information systems, and data quality assurance processes for large, data-intensive programs.
• Strong knowledge of PEPFAR MER indicators and reporting requirements, donor reporting systems, and relevant program monitoring and reporting requirements; experience with DATIM or comparable reporting platforms.
• Demonstrated expertise in data management, analysis, interpretation, visualization, and dashboard development, with a strong track record of translating program data into actionable insights for program improvement and decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical oversight and capacity strengthening to sub-awardees or implementing partners in relation to MEL systems, data quality, reporting, analysis, and data use.
• Experience supporting program transition, sustainability, and institutionalization of MEL systems, including knowledge transfer and capacity strengthening with government and/or local partners, would be an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing evaluations, outcome assessments, and learning studies, and communicating findings to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including strong analytical, report-writing, presentation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and relevant statistical, data management, analytics, and data visualization software.
• Ability and willingness to travel within South Africa up to 40% of the time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using CBIMS Desktop and providing technical input into its design, enhancement, optimization, and use for program monitoring, data analysis, and reporting
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated ability to analyse complex issues, identify underlying drivers and critical nuances, and develop practical solutions.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and with diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical management practices, integrity, and accountability.
• South African nationals or permanent residents preferred.