Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist

About Rainforest Foundation US

For over 30 years, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) has worked to address climate change and safeguard biodiversity by promoting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities and supporting their efforts to protect and defend their rainforests. Science shows that forests managed by indigenous peoples are healthier, suffer less deforestation, capture more carbon, and contain more biodiversity than forests managed by private or public entities--including nationally protected areas. What’s more, scientists tell us that protecting forests is as important as reducing greenhouse emissions if we hope to stem the tide of ecological collapse.

RFUS works in partnership with indigenous and local communities and their representative organizations to protect tropical rainforests by supporting their efforts to secure rights to their lands, strengthen monitoring and land security, influence laws and policies that protect their resources, and build strong and sustainable community leadership. By investing directly in indigenous and local communities, RFUS connects the people rooted in the land with the tools, training, and resources to be effective advocates and protectors of the forests they call home. RFUS currently operates four country programs in Brazil, Guyana, Panama, and Peru, and hosts a number of regional partnerships in Central America, the Amazon Basin, and across the tropical belt.

About the Position

The Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist is a new position meant to support the Program department’s growing needs to measure, assess, and communicate progress toward programmatic goals and the effectiveness of our strategies and programming. Under RFUS’s 2030 strategy, we aim to significantly scale up our organization’s impact. For the Program team, this will require a thorough expert review of our existing metrics system and practices; improving collaborative and comprehensive systems for data collection and management; strengthening internal expertise for program analysis, organizational learning, and evidence-based decision-making; and supporting compelling, data-driven communications for donors and general audiences. The position reports to the Program Director, and will collaborate within and across departments, especially development and communications.

Position Responsibilities

Technical Expertise and System Design

• Upgrading our monitoring, evaluation, collaboration, learning and adaptation systems to enhance effective implementation of RFUS’s programmatic strategies and programs to protect rainforests and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities
• Collaborate with program staff to ensure M&E systems reflect indicators of success as identified by indigenous peoples and local community partner organizations and improve the understanding of project performance, and that tools have the flexibility necessary for working with a wide variety of partners on the ground
• Ensure indicators reflect the highest quality strategic knowledge of program learning and evaluation in the conservation and human rights space, staying abreast of innovative tools and approaches and evolving donor requirements, and participating in external, sector-related workshops and conferences as deemed appropriate
• Develop guidelines, procedures, and tools (including databases, templates, and information storage or access systems) for implementing M&E frameworks in cooperation with program staff
• Provide training to all RFUS and partner staff responsible for metric collection with partners to ensure quality of data and limit redundancy in efforts
• Advise program managers on baseline, midterm, and/or end-line assessment design as needed
• Provide technical guidance for results based management to program managers, and facilitating trainings as required
• Lead annual reviews and assessments of the M&E system and its implementation, capturing lessons learned, good practices, and working with staff to create improvements as needed
• Support analysis of new potential projects and/or funding opportunities that can help the team to achieve results and strategic goals
• Manage all M&E related files in the organization’s shared drive
• Lead coordination with vendors as needed to ensure M&E data system needs are successfully met

M&E Implementation

• Work with program managers to develop M&E implementation plans at the program and project levels that track the success of programs, adapted to the needs and capacities of each
• Monitor and oversee the implementation of M&E frameworks, conducting hands-on data collection with partners as needed, ensuring coherence and effectiveness of data and data collection
• Support the Capacity Strengthening Manager to develop training modules for partners related to M&E, including content such as results frameworks, M&E implementation planning, and metric identification, systems development, and analysis
• Lead production and ensure the effective application of M&E-related content in the results frameworks of new proposals and in the M&E sections of reports
• Work with consultants supporting M&E implementation as warranted

Program Assessment

• Lead the development of participatory annual program review processes, capturing critical lessons learned, impact achieved and good practices
• Provide accurate analysis and presentation of results, achievement, and trends of strategies, programs, and projects as warranted
• Support oversight of external program evaluations, including leading coordination with consultants
• Support regular consolidation and internal communication of program progress

Knowledge Development and Coordination

• Build institutional knowledge, ensuring that project results and lessons learned are widely shared
• Lead the sourcing of all organizational impact metrics for quarterly newsletters and annual reports
• Collaborate with grant managers and program staff in planning and reporting to donors
• Collaborate with Development and Communications teams to generate timely, compelling data on programs and ensure accuracy around quantitative and qualitative program impacts in written or visual form

Position Requirements

The ideal candidate will have a deep commitment to human rights and environmental protection and a drive to enable a collaborative team to use data to deliver even greater impact. They will have expertise in quantitative and/or qualitative methods and evaluation design and experience with the collection, reporting, and use of data for improving outcomes. The ideal candidate will also have experience working in multicultural contexts, and working with grassroots organizations.

Qualifications

• At least 4-6 years’ experience with increasing responsibilities in designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation projects in the human rights/environment sector, preferably in an international or intercultural context
• Knowledge of results-based management approaches and participatory approaches to M&E is desirable
• Proven ability to understand, interpret and apply technical and scientific information and data to achieve tangible results
• Demonstrated ability to self-manage and prioritize projects in an efficient manner and in alignment with department needs and goals
• Strong writing skills to deliver high-quality deliverables for donors and general audiences
• Ability to describe complex technical concepts to effectively communicate to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Ability to communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives
• Experience developing and managing data storage systems preferred
• Experience in designing and conducting training on results-based management and M&E is desirable
• Basic GIS and remote sensing skills desirable
• A flexible and patient attitude, with excellent problem-solving skills
• Must be a team player and able to liaise with a diverse and remotely located team
• Ability to travel up to 15% time to support partner capacity development in the area of monitoring and evaluation

Language

• Professional working proficiency in English is required
• Professional working proficiency in Spanish is required, Portuguese a plus

Compensation: Compensation for this role based in NY ranges from $60,000 - 80,000 annually and is commensurate with experience. Depending on the successful candidate's location, we may also add a geographic differential to this base salary that accounts for local job market weighing. The range for your specific location will be discussed in screening conversations if your application is successful.

Benefits:

• Full health, vision, and dental insurance
• 20 days per year of vacation leave
• 10 days per year of sick leave
• 2 days per year of personal days
• 5 days for bereavement leave per event
• Up to 12 weeks of parental leave
• Accommodations for additional time off under extraordinary circumstances
• Annual phone stipend
• Annual professional development stipend

Travel

For this role, nights or weekends will not be expected except possibly during work-related travel, in which case compensatory time will be accrued.

Workplace Culture and Conditions

Rainforest Foundation US prides itself on providing a flexible, equitable, family-friendly, and inclusive work environment that values work-life balance. Our offices are pet friendly and located in a historic downtown Brooklyn neighborhood that is easily accessible by public transit and boasts many restaurants and services. This position can be fully remote or in the Brooklyn office.

Commitment to Equality & Equity ​​

Rainforest Foundation US does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of its activities or operations. We are committed to an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. Black, Indigenous, and people of color are highly encouraged to apply.

Application instructions

• Interested applicants are encouraged to apply early and advised to carefully study the job description to ensure they meet the requirements and skills we are looking for.
• Applications will not be considered without the submission of a resume and cover letter.
• Please note that the position will be listed as open until filled.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be contacted.
• Due to the global scope of this role, international candidates will be considered and are encouraged to apply.