Requisition ID: req58037 Job Title: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead, Ahlan Simsim Sector: Monitoring & Evaluation Employment Category: Regular Employment Type: Full-Time Open to Expatriates: No Location: Amman - Al Rabeh, Jordan Work Arrangement:Hybrid Job Description The Ahlan Simsim early childhood development (ECD) initiative was launched in 2018 as a partnership between the IRC and Sesame Workshop with inaugural funding from the MacArthur Foundation and later the LEGO Foundation. It reached more than 4 million children and caregivers with ECD services and programs, and generated a library of high quality ECD content, and resource bank of impactful program models. Partnerships with Ministries of Education, Health and Social Development have resulted in co-designed ECD programs that are now embedded within government services. Ahlan Simsim seeks to reach children and families where they are with effective, scalable, and sustainable interventions to support child development, including NGO and government-delivered early education for children and support and training for caregivers using engaging multimedia content. Ahlan Simsim has developed and will continue to co-design and support partner-led interventions with key public and private stakeholders working across the many sectors that serve children and families, including health, protection, and livelihoods. For more information, please visit:https://www.rescue.org/ahlansimsim. In its next phase, the Ahlan Simsim initiative will expand and deepen its interventions to bring vital early learning and nurturing care to more children and families affected by crisis and conflict in the MENA region. The Ahlan Simsim initiative is supported by multiple funders and comprised of multiple grants and projects, with an overarching aim of supporting the youngest children and their caregivers with high quality impactful programs and resources. The IRC’s Ahlan Simsim team manages and implements core regional ECD grants, and provides ECD technical support and guidance to country programs on additional country-specifics grants. Job Summary: TheMonitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead (MEL Lead) for Ahlan Simsim will lead the development and execution of the initiative’s MEL’s strategy across multiple grants in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and other country programs as relevant. Reporting to the Ahlan Simsim Project Lead and supported by the IRC’s Regional Measurement Advisor, the MEL Lead will oversee the Ahlan Simsim learning agenda, support country-level and partner MEL staff, and ensure the use of data for adaptive management and advocacy. As a senior team member, they will strengthen MEL systems to enhance program effectiveness, scalability, and impact across ECD interventions in the region delivered through direct services, partnerships, and mass media. The MEL Lead will also maintain key external relationships and ensure alignment with donor requirements and best practices in ECD and humanitarian MEL. Key Responsibilities: 1. MEL Strategy and Learning Agenda + Lead the implementation and refinement of Ahlan Simsim’s learning agenda, incorporating insights from the initiative’s first phase. + Design and manage real-time monitoring systems to inform program design, scale-up, and adaptation across diverse contexts. 2. MEL Operations and Oversight + Develop indicators, tools, and systems in alignment with project goals and donor requirements. + Ensure high-quality data collection, management, analysis, and reporting, with attention to ethical and security standards. + Maintain and enhance information management systems in collaboration with country and regional MEL teams. 3. Capacity Strengthening and Internal Collaboration + Provide technical guidance and capacity building to IRC and partner MEL staff. + Ensure timely sharing and use of data to inform decision-making and program improvement. + Collaborate with country programs, technical advisors, and project leads to maintain coordination and learning across teams. 4. Client Responsiveness and Feedback Loops + Support the establishment and use of client feedback mechanisms across interventions. + Promote a culture of responsiveness, ensuring beneficiary perspectives shape programming. 5. External Engagement + Ensure MEL outputs contribute to policy advocacy and thought leadership in ECD. + Coordinate with partners, including Sesame Workshop, academic institutions, and government stakeholders, to support shared learning and capacity development. + Co-develop learning products and disseminate findings to influence practice and policy. Key Working Relationships: · Position Reports to:Ahlan SimsimProject Lead · Indirect Reporting:Regional Measurement Advisor · Provides technical support to:partners and IRC country-level program and MEL staff, in partnership with country-level MEAL coordinators Other Internal and/or external contacts: + Internal: IRC country program staff; Regional staff such as MEAL, Communications and Advocacy; Technical units within IRC; MEL leads for other large-scale ECD and education projects within IRC + External: Sesame Workshop; partner organizations; community representatives. Qualifications · At least 7 years of relevant work experience demonstrating technical and management skills, operations experience, and an understanding of humanitarian contexts. · Strong technical understanding of MEL, and their use for program learning and adaptation. · Training or experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods, including implementation research; measure development, adaptation, validation; and dissemination of learning results for use in program and policy learning and adaptation. · Exposure to M&E methods in a humanitarian context and/or ECD is desirable. · Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate effectively in multi-cultural environment with academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, study participants, etc. · Solid organizational skills with ability to be flexible and work well under pressure, dealing with competing priorities, in a fast-paced team environment. · Passion for connecting rigorous research to policy makers and practitioners and communicating what works and what does not work in humanitarian contexts. · Interest in and ability to think and plan at the ‘big picture’ level. · Demonstrated management and interpersonal skills. · Solid understanding of the MENA context, with previous experience working in the region preferred; · Strong communication and analytical skills, both oral and written. · Fluency in English and Arabic is required. Working Environment: · Standard office work environment; partial remote work possible. · Travel required: 15% but flexible · Position can be based in Jordan or Lebanon. Note:This position will beopen for applications for 2 weeks. However, we review applications on a rolling basis and the posting may close earlier if a suitable candidate is identified before the deadline. Early applications are encouraged.