Global Monitoring, Evaluation, and Knowledge Management Officer

Scope: Urban Futures: Youth action for inclusive, climate-resilient urban food systems

Reports to: Global Program Manager, Urban Futures

Location countries: Ecuador or Costa Rica (only Ecuador o Costa Rica nationals, or with resident status)

Monthly Gross Salary: US$2,982

Hours: 40

Start date: 15 June 2025

JOB CONTEXT

Hivos' upcoming Urban Futures (UF) program (2023-2027) aims to contribute to more inclusive, climate-resilient cities and urban food systems. In these systems, young people collaborate to voice their priorities, influence decisions, and seize opportunities in the food sector. Shorter value chains provide healthy, sustainable food that is accessible, affordable, and attractive.

We aim to achieve this in 10 cities in 5 countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Program implementation will be led by local partners in each city and take a climate justice approach, in line with Hivos strategic compass. To realize this, we aim to achieve the following outcomes (see Theory of Change in Annex 1):

1. Inclusive, transparent, and participatory food policies and governance strategies that support youth and gender equality through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
2. Youth-driven narratives of inclusive, conscious, and climate-resilient cities promote behavioral change and improved consumption patterns that favor sustainable, healthy, and food heritage practices.
3. Agri-food systems adopt sustainable, regenerative, and climate-resilient practices.
4. Increased resources and opportunities from diverse stakeholders—private, public, multilateral, and community-based—create an inclusive and climate-adapted entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports youth and women’s participation in food system initiatives.

As fund and program manager, Hivos will engage partners and innovators (especially young people), provide grants and demand-led technical assistance, capacity building, and lead on monitoring, evaluation, and learning, including the support of RUAF, (Global Partnership on Urban Agriculture and Food Systems), UF global partner.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This position supports the Urban Futures program by leading the implementation of monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) strategies, while also enhancing knowledge management and learning (KM&L) practices. The role ensures alignment with Hivos's overarching KM&L strategy and the donor's Design, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (DMEL) framework, particularly emphasizing Outcome Harvesting methodologies.

The MEKM will be line-managed by the Global Program Manager, who will provide strategic oversight and support, and will work closely with the Food System and Global Advocacy Advisor. They will also work closely with regional counterparts (Regional Linking, Learning and Communications Officers 1 x Latin America, 1 x Southern Africa, 1 x Indonesia) who will lead these activities on the ground in each region.

MEKM’s role is anticipated to be approximately 65% on Monitoring and Evaluation and Knowledge Management, and 35% on linking and learning, although these will often overlap in practice.

The role encompasses the implementation and adaptation of monitoring and evaluation tools and methods to ensure efficient and coherent data collection and analysis across the five program countries. This includes co-developing a learning agenda, facilitating continuous improvement processes, and coordinating high-quality learning products and communities, both online and offline. While these tools and methods will be tailored to the specific contexts of program stakeholders, alignment with Hivos's overarching Knowledge Management & Learning (KM&L) strategy and relevant methodologies, such as the M&E framework, will be maintained.

Linking and learning in this context refers to activities, processes and trajectories towards boosting collaboration, exchange, learning, collective intelligence, innovation and the application and gathering of new knowledge within the Urban Futures program network of partners, rightsholder groups (especially young people), and Hivos global and regional teams, as well as beyond the program across Hivos, with the funder, and through relevant external networks and platforms. The MEKM Specialist will co-develop with a Global Consultant and implement a global strategy for linking and learning that supports and enhances the Urban Futures theory of change. This strategy aims to strengthen program visibility and advocacy efforts to influence relevant stakeholders, for example, by commissioning research and co-organizing the program’s presence at key events. In support of these objectives, the MEKM Specialist will collaborate with the communications team to ensure coherent and effective dissemination of knowledge products and learning outcomes.

MEKM will liaise with and support their regional counterparts under the supervision of the Global Program Manager to ensure strong monitoring and evaluation, cross-learning, and strategic and coherent communications across the program.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Monitoring and evaluation

• Coordinate the implementation of the global M&E strategy, ensuring harmonized and efficient data collection across all regions using the established output indicator framework
• Co-facilitate yearly updates of the Global Theory of Change based on city-level ToCs and evaluation plans during the annual work-planning process.
• Track global output indicators; maintain and enhance databases and visualization tools (including Google Looker Studio dashboards) to demonstrate program effectiveness.
• Provides technical assistance to the Urban Futures regional teams and partners on how to plan, monitor & evaluate activities, including review and monitoring of project-based M&E plans to track results, generate data-based program decision-making, or identify gaps or risks; provides training as needed.
• Coordinate the Global Linking and Learning Team of UF to provide technical support, follow up on the Outcome Harvesting process, and ensure quality implementation of M&E plans.
• Advise field visits to validate data and monitor the quality and completeness of data sets; oversee data collection at project sites to monitor project development and ensure timely data compilation and reporting; capture and document lessons learned; and lead the scaling up of best practices.
• Develop comprehensive biannual global program reports that consolidate quantitative data from the global M&E tools with qualitative outcome harvesting analysis.
• Supports the Urban Food Systems Technical Lead on information and data that support global advocacy strategies, for example, with key decision-makers and at key positioning events
• Support the Sustainability Strategy and business development using lessons learned from monitoring and evaluation strategies of past projects.
• Ensures alignment with and contribution to the Hivos M&E and DMEL frameworks, tools, and methods. Publish information periodically on the Hivos M&E website.
• Support mid-term (2025/6) and final (2027) program evaluations by assisting global teams and external consultants in designing assessments, developing evaluation questions, and coordinating regional support.
• Adaptive Management and Outcome Harvesting
• Provide technical support to regional teams in implementing their Outcome Harvesting processes, ensuring methodological consistency while allowing for regional adaptations.
• Receive, consolidate, and analyze outcome harvesting databases from all regions to identify trends, critical topics, and insights to inform program strategy and implementation.
• Document and share adaptive management lessons learned across regions to promote cross-regional learning.
• Ensure Outcome Harvesting approaches adequately capture youth engagement and contributions to program outcomes, aligning with the program's focus on youth.

Planning and Coordination

• Support regions and the global team in developing annual workplans that effectively integrate M&E, linking and learning, advocacy, and communication strategies
• Provide technical assistance to Urban Futures regional teams and partners with planning, monitoring, and evaluating activities, including reviewing project-based M&E plans.
• Respond to additional support needs as required by the Global Team.
• Linking and Learning / Knowledge Management
• Coordinate the development of the Linking and Learning / Knowledge Management Strategy of Urban Futures with support of the regional teams.
• Support regional teams in implementing the linking and learning cycle, working collaboratively with the global consultant to design contextually relevant learning questions at the regional level.
• Assist regional teams in developing linking and learning agendas that align with the global program strategy while addressing specific regional priorities.
• Co-facilitates a global partner and staff learning community that supports continuous improvement and exchange, including regular online meetings and occasional in-person events.
• Helps coordinate the production and dissemination of high-quality learning products, in coordination with regional counterparts, including organizing research
• Engages with external (donor, peer networks, platforms, etc.) audiences in specific learning processes and outputs, and engages with the Hivos KM&L coordinator.
• Evaluates and provides support for consolidating good practices, such as social learning and scaling up opportunities
• Supports the research and other knowledge products (with UFS Technical Lead and Global Program Manager, and KM&L coordinator) that strengthen the program and contribute to thought leadership.
• Ensures alignment with and contribution to Hivos KM&L strategy, tools, and methods.
• Support the communications team in developing and implementing a global strategy that aligns with the Urban Futures theory of change and highlights key learning and advocacy messages.

REQUIREMENTS

This is a position for nationals or legally residents of Ecuador or Costa Rica concerned (see above) with the following requirements:

• Relevant academic level on Food Systems, Agriculture, Urban Agriculture, development, Environment, M&E, Knowledge Management, Governance.
• Able to speak and write English fluently (official language of the project), with either Spanish or Bahasa Indonesian desirable.
• Relevant work experience of more than 8 years of setting up and coordinating M&E, learning, in national and global programs, preferably in Food Systems.
• Extensive knowledge of Outcome Harvesting methodology (and qualitative monitoring tools) and adaptive management approaches.
• Knowledge, experience, and commitment to gender-inclusive climate justice issues, ideally in (urban) food systems, cities, youth engagement, and/or multi-actor collaboration
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of quantitative and qualitative M&E systems, tools, and methods, and how to integrate these in support of adaptive management
• Experience designing and facilitating learning activities, including participatory (research) methodologies and inclusive facilitation, online (through learning communities) and offline (through occasional in-person events).
• Proven ability and experience to work effectively with a diverse range of people in a multicultural environment and across a decentralized global team, building impact with hybrid and blended methodologies and tools.
• Experience with data visualization tools, particularly Google Looker Studio.
• Proven ability to effectively document, share, and profile lessons learnt and learning processes
• Experience positioning views at influential international forums and in diverse media channels
• The ability to think and act “outside the box” increases the impact of DMEL and learning activities.
• Keen understanding of relevant political and social dynamics; analytical and conceptual skills, and ability to translate these into relevant, timely actions on linking and learning.
• Well-organized, flexible, independent, decisive, and energetic, with an entrepreneurial spirit and working attitude.
• Level skills: analytical skills, cooperation, influence, leadership, and collaboration
• Job skills: monitoring and evaluation, project management, enterprise

WANT TO APPLY

Please click on the “Apply” button on this platform, at the top right of this page. Submit your resume in English (maximum three pages in PDF format) and a letter of interest (one page in PDF format) by May 30, 2025.

Background checks for final candidates

If you get selected for the final stage of the selection process, please note that professional references and police clearance certification will be requested due to our Safeguarding Policy*. Exceptions will only be made, if there is a local legislation prohibition or when the candidate cannot obtain a police clearance due to activities on LGTBQ+ and Human Rights. We may check social media -unless applicants state they do not wish us to do so. The accuracy of information in the curriculum vitae will also be checked.

(*) https://www.hivos.org/who-we-are/our-organization/integrity/

SDG Impact