Senior Specialist – Regional MEARL job at Habitat for Humanity

Description

Habitat for Humanity Uganda is hiring a Senior Specialist – Regional MEARL that provides strategic and technical leadership to strengthen Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEARL) systems across national organizations. The role drives the generation and use of high-quality evidence to inform regional strategy, program design, and portfolio performance.

Geographic Reference

The position plays a critical role in ensuring consistency, quality, and alignment of MEARL approaches across countries, while promoting a culture of learning, accountability, and adaptive management. It contributes to strengthening organizational effectiveness by embedding data-driven decision-making, enhancing beneficiary accountability, and supporting continuous improvement of programs.

At the regional level, the specialist synthesizes insights across countries, identifies trends and risks, and provides strategic recommendations to leadership to improve impact and resource allocation. The role also contributes to strengthening external credibility through high-quality reporting, evidence generation, and engagement in regional and global MEARL initiatives.

Overall, the position serves as a key enabler of program quality, strategic learning, and evidence-based influence across the region.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic & Technical Support for MEARL Systems

• Lead the design and strengthening of integrated MEARL frameworks aligned with global standards and regional priorities.
• Contribute to program and proposal design, including theories of change, log frames, MEARL plans, and budgeting.
• Ensure alignment and consistency of MEARL approaches, tools, and indicators across national organizations.
• Provide technical guidance on data collection methodologies, tools, and systems to ensure quality, reliability, and integrity.
• Promote the use of data for adaptive management, program improvement, and strategic decision-making.
• Support the design and implementation of evaluations, including development of Terms of Reference (TORs) and management of external evaluators.
• Strengthen beneficiary accountability systems, ensuring feedback mechanisms are inclusive, responsive, and effective.
• Monitor and analyze regional portfolio performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide strategic MEARL insights to inform regional strategy, portfolio prioritization, and resource allocation.

Research, Knowledge Management & Learning

• Promote the integration of research and learning into program cycles and strategic processes.
• Support the development of learning agendas aligned with regional and global priorities.
• Identify evidence gaps and guide targeted research initiatives.
• Support the design and implementation of applied and operational research.
• Ensure research quality through appropriate methodologies, ethical standards, and data integrity.
• Translate research and evaluation findings into actionable insights for strategy and program design.
• Foster a culture of learning through structured reflection, learning events, and knowledge-sharing platforms.
• Support the development of knowledge products, including learning briefs, case studies, and evidence summaries.
• Strengthen linkages between research, evaluation, and learning systems.
• Contribute to positioning the organization as a leader in evidence and learning in the region.

Data Management, Reporting & Knowledge Use

• Strengthen systems for data management, analysis, and reporting across national organizations.
• Ensure quality assurance of data and reports, including consistency, accuracy, and donor compliance.
• Promote harmonized regional reporting and performance tracking.
• Translate data and evaluation findings into clear, actionable insights for decision-making.
• Support the use of data visualization and reporting tools to enhance accessibility and use of information.
• Promote structured learning and knowledge-sharing processes across the region.

Capacity Strengthening

• Assess MEARL system capacity across national organizations and identify priority gaps.
• Develop and implement tailored capacity strengthening plans.
• Design and facilitate training on MEARL tools, systems, and approaches.
• Coach and mentor national teams to strengthen technical competencies and practical application.
• Support the institutionalization of MEARL practices within country systems and structures.

Collaboration, Partnerships & Influence

• Engage actively in internal communities of practice to promote alignment and knowledge exchange.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with regional and global stakeholders.
• Contribute to regional and global MEARL initiatives, frameworks, and learning priorities.
• Represent the organization in relevant external platforms, promoting evidence and learning.
• Support donor engagement through strong evidence generation, reporting, and learning outputs.
• Contribute to positioning the organization as a leader in MEARL practice in the region.

Evidence & Learning Integration

• Promote the integration of evaluation and learning into program cycles and strategic processes.
• Support the development of learning agendas linked to strategic priorities.
• Ensure the systematic use of evidence to inform program design, scale-up, and innovation.
• Strengthen linkages between data, learning, and decision-making processes.
• Monitor regional portfolio performance and provide regular insights to inform strategic decisions.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Knowledge & Expertise

• Advanced degree in Monitoring & Evaluation, Project Management, International Development, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in MEAL/MEARL, preferably providing technical support to national organizations or country offices.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing MEARL frameworks for large-scale, multi-country programs.
• Experience in housing or community development programming is an added advantage.
• Strong knowledge of MEARL frameworks, approaches, and methodologies.
• Proven experience in theory of change development, logframe design, monitoring systems, and evaluation processes.
• Proficiency in data collection, management, and analysis tools (e.g., Excel, SPSS, Kobo, ODK, CommCare).
• Experience with data visualization and reporting systems to support decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement beneficiary accountability and feedback mechanisms.
• Familiarity with research design, including applied and operational research methodologies.
• Strong understanding of data quality assurance, ethical standards, and data integrity.

• Lead the design and strengthening of integrated MEARL frameworks aligned with global standards and regional priorities.
• Contribute to program and proposal design, including theories of change, log frames, MEARL plans, and budgeting.
• Ensure alignment and consistency of MEARL approaches, tools, and indicators across national organizations.
• Provide technical guidance on data collection methodologies, tools, and systems to ensure quality, reliability, and integrity.
• Promote the use of data for adaptive management, program improvement, and strategic decision-making.
• Support the design and implementation of evaluations, including development of Terms of Reference (TORs) and management of external evaluators.
• Strengthen beneficiary accountability systems, ensuring feedback mechanisms are inclusive, responsive, and effective.
• Monitor and analyze regional portfolio performance, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide strategic MEARL insights to inform regional strategy, portfolio prioritization, and resource allocation.
• Promote the integration of research and learning into program cycles and strategic processes.
• Support the development of learning agendas aligned with regional and global priorities.
• Identify evidence gaps and guide targeted research initiatives.
• Support the design and implementation of applied and operational research.
• Ensure research quality through appropriate methodologies, ethical standards, and data integrity.
• Translate research and evaluation findings into actionable insights for strategy and program design.
• Foster a culture of learning through structured reflection, learning events, and knowledge-sharing platforms.
• Support the development of knowledge products, including learning briefs, case studies, and evidence summaries.
• Strengthen linkages between research, evaluation, and learning systems.
• Contribute to positioning the organization as a leader in evidence and learning in the region.
• Strengthen systems for data management, analysis, and reporting across national organizations.
• Ensure quality assurance of data and reports, including consistency, accuracy, and donor compliance.
• Promote harmonized regional reporting and performance tracking.
• Translate data and evaluation findings into clear, actionable insights for decision-making.
• Support the use of data visualization and reporting tools to enhance accessibility and use of information.
• Promote structured learning and knowledge-sharing processes across the region.
• Assess MEARL system capacity across national organizations and identify priority gaps.
• Develop and implement tailored capacity strengthening plans.
• Design and facilitate training on MEARL tools, systems, and approaches.
• Coach and mentor national teams to strengthen technical competencies and practical application.
• Support the institutionalization of MEARL practices within country systems and structures.
• Engage actively in internal communities of practice to promote alignment and knowledge exchange.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships with regional and global stakeholders.
• Contribute to regional and global MEARL initiatives, frameworks, and learning priorities.
• Represent the organization in relevant external platforms, promoting evidence and learning.
• Support donor engagement through strong evidence generation, reporting, and learning outputs.
• Contribute to positioning the organization as a leader in MEARL practice in the region.
• Promote the integration of evaluation and learning into program cycles and strategic processes.
• Support the development of learning agendas linked to strategic priorities.
• Ensure the systematic use of evidence to inform program design, scale-up, and innovation.
• Strengthen linkages between data, learning, and decision-making processes.
• Monitor regional portfolio performance and provide regular insights to inform strategic decisions.

• Proficiency in data collection, management, and analysis tools (e.g., Excel, SPSS, Kobo, ODK, CommCare).
• Experience with data visualization and reporting systems to support decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement beneficiary accountability and feedback mechanisms.
• Familiarity with research design, including applied and operational research methodologies.
• Strong understanding of data quality assurance, ethical standards, and data integrity.

• Advanced degree in Monitoring & Evaluation, Project Management, International Development, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in MEAL/MEARL, preferably providing technical support to national organizations or country offices.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing MEARL frameworks for large-scale, multi-country programs.
• Experience in housing or community development programming is an added advantage.
• Strong knowledge of MEARL frameworks, approaches, and methodologies.
• Proven experience in theory of change development, logframe design, monitoring systems, and evaluation processes.