M&E Manager job at NEAR

TERMS OF REFERENCE

M&E MANAGER

Organisation

NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response) (Hosted by Adeso – African Development Solutions)

Position

M&E Manager

Reporting To

Learning Director

Working With

NEAR Secretariat; NEAR members; partners and donors

Duty Station

Remote; global candidates welcome; time zone overlap across multiple regions required

Duration

12 months, full time

Starting Date

ASAP

ABOUT NEAR

NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response) is a movement of local organisations with a bold ambition – to reshape the top-down humanitarian and development system to one that is locally driven and owned, and is built around equitable, dignified and accountable partnerships. NEAR is a membership-based organisation with members coming from four regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

ABOUT ADESO

NEAR is currently hosted by Adeso, an expanding and vibrant African based international development and humanitarian organisation. Adeso and NEAR both aspire to prevent and overcome situations that adversely affect community well being by: Influencing policy change and enacting systemic change through innovative solutions led by local and national actors.

POSITION PURPOSE

The M&E Manager is a new position within NEAR’s Learning Team, created to strengthen the organisation’s data and measurement capacity as our grant portfolio, member engagement, and initiative work grow in scale. The role sits alongside the Learning Manager and reports to the Learning Director.

The two roles are intentionally complementary, with a clear division of ownership. The M&E Manager focuses on the data infrastructure that makes that learning possible and that demonstrates NEAR’s results externally: indicator systems, survey data design and analysis, grant MEL frameworks, and results tracking. The Learning Manager focuses inward on organisational and network learning: facilitation, synthesis, Labs support, team reflection processes, and learning events.

For example, on the Annual Member Survey, the two roles work in close partnership: the Learning Manager leads the overall process, from framing and translation through synthesis; the M&E Manager provides the technical backbone, with responsibility for instrument development, data collection coordination, data cleaning, and quantitative analysis.

This role is best suited to candidates who are genuinely systems- and data infrastructure-oriented, and who bring strong quantitative analysis capability alongside the ability to translate findings for non-technical audiences. Candidates who are primarily facilitation- or synthesis-oriented, without a strong data management and quantitative analysis foundation, are unlikely to be the right fit.

SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Member Survey Design and Analysis

• Serve as the technical backbone for the Annual Member Survey, working in close partnership with the Learning Manager who leads the overall process; responsibilities include survey instrument development, data collection coordination, data cleaning, and quantitative analysis
• Own NEAR’s post-event survey portfolio and on-demand survey management, with responsibility for instrument design, data collection, and data analysis – coordinating with the Learning Manager on the broader learning process design
• Produce accessible data summaries and visualizations for internal use and learning processes
• Work closely with the Membership Team to ensure survey data informs member engagement strategy

Indicator Tracking and Results Frameworks

• Maintain NEAR’s indicator framework and results tracking systems across programs and initiatives
• Support program teams in tracking progress against workplan objectives and donor commitments
• Conduct and maintain an ongoing indicator and data audit to ensure the indicator set remains fit for purpose
• Flag data gaps, quality issues, or misalignment proactively
• Contribute to NEAR’s Annual Report, including evidence of NEAR’s collective impact

Grant MEL Support

• Provide data backbone support for NEAR’s donor-funded programs, working behind the scenes to ensure program teams and Operations have the data they need for reporting
• Support MEL framework development for the Change Fund and Networked Financing Mechanism (NFM) as needed, in coordination with the Solutions Team
• Maintain clear documentation of MEL systems, data sources, and methodology
• Support donor reporting, including updates on progress towards agreed targets and impact

Systems and Tools

• Own and maintain NEAR’s MEL data systems in Asana or equivalent, including dashboards, custom fields, and progress tracking
• Support the Learning Director in the MEL system redesign planned for 2027
• Develop and maintain clear data management protocols and documentation

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• Strong quantitative data analysis skills, including data cleaning, statistical summarisation, and cross-tabulation across large datasets, combined with solid MEL foundations in indicator design and results framework development
• Strong survey methodology experience – design, administration, analysis, and synthesis across multiple instrument types, with particular proficiency in web based member or stakeholder survey platforms such as SurveyMonkey, or equivalent
• Experience maintaining indicator frameworks across multiple concurrent donor-funded programmes, including conducting data quality audits and tracking progress against targets over time
• Ability to produce clear data visualisations and dashboards for non-technical leadership and donor audiences
• Proficiency in Asana or a comparable project management platform
• Strong data organisation, documentation, and data management habits, including experience developing and maintaining data management protocols and MEL system documentation
• Demonstrated ability to translate data and analysis into formats that program staff and leadership can use
• Comfortable coordinating across multiple teams and working as a behind-the-scenes support function
• Detail-oriented and reliable – program teams and Operations will depend on this role for data accuracy
• Collaborative by default, with experience working in close coordination with multiple teams simultaneously
• Demonstrated commitment to localization, locally led knowledge, and Global South-led systems change, in line with NEAR’s mission and values

Preferred

• Experience with member or stakeholder survey programs in network or civil society contexts
• Familiarity with locally led funds, pooled funds, or financing mechanism measurement
• Experience working in or with Global South organisations or networks
• Comfort with the limits of conventional log-frame approaches in systems change and movement-building contexts
• Based in the Global South or with substantial professional experience in Global South contexts
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in monitoring and evaluation, international development, social sciences, or a related field

• Serve as the technical backbone for the Annual Member Survey, working in close partnership with the Learning Manager who leads the overall process; responsibilities include survey instrument development, data collection coordination, data cleaning, and quantitative analysis
• Own NEAR’s post-event survey portfolio and on-demand survey management, with responsibility for instrument design, data collection, and data analysis – coordinating with the Learning Manager on the broader learning process design
• Produce accessible data summaries and visualizations for internal use and learning processes
• Work closely with the Membership Team to ensure survey data informs member engagement strategy
• Maintain NEAR’s indicator framework and results tracking systems across programs and initiatives
• Support program teams in tracking progress against workplan objectives and donor commitments
• Conduct and maintain an ongoing indicator and data audit to ensure the indicator set remains fit for purpose
• Flag data gaps, quality issues, or misalignment proactively
• Contribute to NEAR’s Annual Report, including evidence of NEAR’s collective impact
• Provide data backbone support for NEAR’s donor-funded programs, working behind the scenes to ensure program teams and Operations have the data they need for reporting
• Support MEL framework development for the Change Fund and Networked Financing Mechanism (NFM) as needed, in coordination with the Solutions Team
• Maintain clear documentation of MEL systems, data sources, and methodology
• Support donor reporting, including updates on progress towards agreed targets and impact
• Own and maintain NEAR’s MEL data systems in Asana or equivalent, including dashboards, custom fields, and progress tracking
• Support the Learning Director in the MEL system redesign planned for 2027
• Develop and maintain clear data management protocols and documentation

• Strong quantitative data analysis skills, including data cleaning, statistical summarisation, and cross-tabulation across large datasets, combined with solid MEL foundations in indicator design and results framework development
• Strong survey methodology experience – design, administration, analysis, and synthesis across multiple instrument types, with particular proficiency in web based member or stakeholder survey platforms such as SurveyMonkey, or equivalent
• Experience maintaining indicator frameworks across multiple concurrent donor-funded programmes, including conducting data quality audits and tracking progress against targets over time
• Ability to produce clear data visualisations and dashboards for non-technical leadership and donor audiences
• Proficiency in Asana or a comparable project management platform
• Strong data organisation, documentation, and data management habits, including experience developing and maintaining data management protocols and MEL system documentation
• Demonstrated ability to translate data and analysis into formats that program staff and leadership can use
• Comfortable coordinating across multiple teams and working as a behind-the-scenes support function
• Detail-oriented and reliable – program teams and Operations will depend on this role for data accuracy
• Collaborative by default, with experience working in close coordination with multiple teams simultaneously
• Demonstrated commitment to localization, locally led knowledge, and Global South-led systems change, in line with NEAR’s mission and values
• Experience with member or stakeholder survey programs in network or civil society contexts
• Familiarity with locally led funds, pooled funds, or financing mechanism measurement
• Experience working in or with Global South organisations or networks
• Comfort with the limits of conventional log-frame approaches in systems change and movement-building contexts
• Based in the Global South or with substantial professional experience in Global South contexts

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in monitoring and evaluation, international development, social sciences, or a related field