Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Research Specialist, USAID Basiki ni Tagne Kunafoni Activity

PACT Overview

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Department

Programs - Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

Pact seeks Measurement, Evaluation, Learning and Research Specialist (MELRS) for the anticipated USAID-funded Basiki ni Tagne Kunafoni (Information for Peace and Development) Activity, an Associate Award under the Civil Society and Media-Strengthened Together and Advancing in New Directions (CSM-STAND) Africa & Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Leader with Associates (LWA) Cooperative Agreement. This Activity aims to address information integrity in the Malian information ecosystem by enhancing publicly available content that provides timely, relevant, and accurate information to Malian citizens; and to use data-driven approaches that promote media literacy, mitigate harm from inaccurate information, and optimize the reach of quality information. This is anticipated to be a two-year activity and the position will be based in Bamako, Mali. This position is contingent upon award. Malian or African nationals who lived in West Africa and worked on this topic in the last three years are encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities

The proliferation and spread of inaccurate information threaten democracy and security in Mali. The accelerating rates of inaccurate information and its likely adverse impact within the information ecosystem have added to the challenge of information integrity in the wider, West African regional context.  Hence, ensuring information integrity through the supply of timely, relevant, and accurate information and the promotion of media literacy using data-driven approaches to mitigate harm and ensure information integrity in Mali are core mandates of this Activity. In this context, the Measurement, Evaluation, Learning and Research Specialist will play a key role in increasing evidence and data to inform and improve programmatic interventions to support information integrity and promote media literacy.

The core duties to be carried out by the successful candidate are:

• Design and implement a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to inform interventions, including the learning agenda for the activities under all objectives.
• Coordinate with partners to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, including online and offline campaigns and initiatives to address misinformation and demand-side activities and to inform the design of future USAID programming in Mali and the region.
• Foster collaboration between Malian researchers and practitioners and with peers in the region to subject practitioner interventions to academic study and to make academic study accessible to the community of practitioners.
• Grow research and learning partnerships among Malian, regional, and international institutions with expertise related to this project’s objectives.
• Collaborate with partners to develop learning products for practitioners in the media literacy and information integrity space in Mali.

Basic Requirements

• Master's degree and 8+ years relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. Bachelor's and 10 years of experience.
• Experience developing brief reports, infographics, and other communications products that translate research into actionable findings for practitioners.
• Demonstrated understanding of information integrity in the Malian information ecosystem, data-driven and technology-based solutions to address disinformation and the role of civil society and media actors in West and Francophone Africa
• Demonstrated flexibility, adaptability, and the ability to perform and collaborate in complex and politically sensitive project environments.
• Fluency in French (oral, writing, and reading)
• Professional working proficiency in English
• Ability to occasionally travel regionally and internationally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in media intervention, analytics, countering inaccurate information, and enhancing the capacity and relevance of media actors, including independent sources.
• Conversant with information technology, use of popular social media platforms and media services, and experience in analyzing the veracity of media disseminated to the public.
• Knowledge of impact evaluation and social science research methods.
• Knowledge of how to cater to the comprehensive needs of Malian communities USAID is trying to reach.
• Experience implementing communities of practice and/or MEL capacity development activities.