Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist

About the Internet Society Foundation

The Internet Society (ISOC) supports and promotes the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society. Our work aligns with our goals for the Internet to be open, globally connected, secure, and trustworthy. We seek collaboration with all who share these goals.

Together, we focus on building and supporting the communities that make the Internet work; advancing the development and application of Internet infrastructure, technologies, and open standards; and advocating for policy that is consistent with our view of the Internet.

The Internet Society Foundation (Foundation) is a non-profit organization that works in concert with the Internet Society. It exists to demonstrate and support the positive difference the Internet can make to people everywhere and promote the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society.  

The Foundation is committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion, where all individuals are valued for their distinct contributions.  Our people are the most valuable strengths we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our staff invests in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and the Foundation's achievements.

About the Position

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist plays a critical role in supporting the Foundation team as we advance our systems. This position works closely and collaboratively with members of the Philanthropy and Empowerment teams and directly supports the Director, Learning, Evaluation & Impact in ensuring that programs and funded projects are collecting data, supporting analysis efforts to identify results achieved, communicating results, and facilitating learning from data collected. The MEL Specialist will also contribute to the Foundation's capacity building efforts for staff and grantees, particularly in designing and conducting trainings on monitoring, evaluation and learning for staff and partners. The MEL Specialist combines a working knowledge of technical MEL practices with excellent communication and collaboration skills.

The Foundation is a small team of passionate, collaborative, and driven staff that depend on each other to move our mission forward; this is true of this critical position. 

The MEL Specialist will collaborate across the program portfolio, manage multiple priorities, and support internal and external stakeholders. This role requires strong communication, adaptability, and the ability to thrive in a dynamic, globally diverse environment. A track record of teamwork, initiative, and resourcefulness is essential.

Location

Remote  at home location

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for the Foundation’s monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts, primarily to program staff.
• Contribute to assessments and evaluations of Foundation projects, including designing evaluation methodologies, sampling strategies and data collection tools, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating findings in user-friendly formats.
• Support the design and implementation of learning and adaptation initiatives for program teams, including facilitating reflection sessions.
• Provide guidance and assistance [including report writing and infographics development] in data collection and data analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) on assessments and evaluations conducted by M&E and program team.
• Assist program team in review [including of reports] of grant-level metrics and data collection for associated output, outcome, and impact (as appropriate) level results.
• Provide technical MEL support to grantees, including providing in person and virtual training, developing guiding materials and resources, holding regular consultations and providing real time support for their MEL needs to develop institutional MEL capacity.
• Advise and assist grantees with the monitoring, evaluation and learning processes, activities and products during the start-up and implementation phases of projects including developing logic models, theories of change, MEL plans, indicators, and evaluation and learning approaches.
• Travel internationally either conducting data collection, field research, trainings, or learning sessions.
• Support Foundation’s data quality efforts through conducting data quality spot checks.
• Work with other members of the team to complete projects, achieve organizational goals and advance Foundation’s Learning agenda and related efforts.
• Foster and contribute to initiatives that build an equitable and inclusive workplace that embraces diverse identities, backgrounds and experiences.
• Prepare external communications materials on Foundation’s monitoring, evaluation and learning efforts, including blog posts, articles, presentations, etc.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Desired Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in political/social science, international relations, or related field. Graduate degree preferred.
• Minimum three years of professional experience in the international development sector, with at least two years of professional experience in MEL related roles.
• Demonstrated understanding of the program theory-based approach to program design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Strong knowledge of and experience with common MEL elements including but not limited to: logical frameworks, performance monitoring plans and indicators.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to successfully collaborate with others at all levels of an organization in a virtual work environment.
• Ability to design and conduct performance evaluations, including designing methodology and data collection tools.
• Ability to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data; experience in designing and administering questionnaires and interviews required.
• Ability to interpret and present data in a meaningful, user-friendly way.
• Familiarity with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis software, such as SPSS, STATA, R, NVivo, or Dedoose, preferred.
• Self-starter with significant project management experience, excellent organizational skills, and ability to work across a range of projects.
• Display cultural and gender sensitivity, engage with colleagues and partners in a respectful, welcoming manner and demonstrate integrity by modeling Foundation's values.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. Additional language skills in French and Spanish preferred.
• Passion for, and demonstrated commitment to, a more accessible and trustworthy Internet for all!

What You'll Love About Us

• Make an Impact. We have an exciting vision and mission to bring the internet to everyone!
• Great Company Culture. We are a global team and live our values of collaboration, inclusion, respect, people and passion in all of our HR programs including our new recognition program!
• Holiday/Vacation. Generous paid time off and paid public holidays.
• Benefits. Based on local in-country guidelines.
• Give back. Get paid to volunteer in your community!
• Professional Development and Educational Benefits. Annual company contribution towards professional development or higher education.
• Flexible Work Models. Flexible work-from-home.

Compensation and benefits for this position will be paid in local currency and based on the country and geographic location’s local salary and benefits market data for the position. Exact pay will be based on factors including but not limited to relevant qualifications, experience, geographic location, education, business and organizational needs. 

The Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, race, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, color or any other protected class. Compensation and benefit package for this position will be competitively commensurate with the successful applicant’s qualifications. 

Applications will be evaluated until the position has been filled. The list of applicants will not be posted publicly and will be reviewed in confidence by members of the evaluation committee.

Important Notice to Applicants:
The Internet Society Foundation will never request payment or fees from candidates at any stage of the hiring process. All official communications will originate directly from the Internet Society. Any use of third-party recruiters or partners will be clearly indicated in the job posting. If you receive unsolicited or suspicious outreach claiming to represent the Internet Society, please treat it with caution.