Location: Toronto, Canada
Description
Position: Evaluation and Learning Consultant
Terms: Six Months (with possibility of extension)
Location: Toronto, Ontario
ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION
The MasterCard Foundation is an independent, global organization based in Toronto, Canada, with more than $6 billion in assets. Through its programs in Financial Inclusion and Youth Learning, and collaboration with partner organizations in 49 countries, mostly in Africa, it is creating opportunities for all people to learn and prosper. Established in 2006 through the generosity of MasterCard Worldwide when it became a public company, the Foundation is separate and independent from the company. Its policies, operations, and funding decisions are determined by its own Foundation Board of Directors and President and CEO.
EVALUATION AND LEARNING AT THE FOUNDATION
The MasterCard Foundation has a strong commitment to program effectiveness and has engaged in a broad spectrum of monitoring and evaluation activities since its inception. At the Foundation, evaluation and learning are carried out in service of programmatic impact. Our evaluation approach is guided by three main principles:
- Involve multiple stakeholders within and outside the Foundation, including our partners and those that we aim to serve (i.e., youth and microfinance clients);
- Encourage staff ownership and investment in these activities; and,
- Incorporate lessons learned from evaluation and initiate actions based on our findings.
ABOUT THE CONSULTANCY
In service to its evaluation and learning goals, The MasterCard Foundation wishes to hire an Evaluation and Learning Consultant to provide technical assistance and advice on monitoring and evaluating the Foundation's programs.
The Evaluation and Learning Consultant will leverage sector-specific expertise to improve the Foundation's monitoring and evaluation activities. Specific areas of expertise may include economic opportunities for youth (youth employability and workforce readiness); rural and agricultural finance; youth financial services; mobile/branchless banking and use of technology; savings groups; financial education; or entrepreneurship, for example (see below for a more detailed list).
The Evaluation and Learning Consultant will work closely and collaboratively with the Evaluation and Learning team to promote and support an organizational culture that values evaluation and learning in a way that is both practical and useful for improving program and Foundation effectiveness.
The Evaluation and Learning Consultant will also provide assistance with evaluation planning, design, and implementation for a range of evaluation and learning activities across the Foundation's program areas.
As the Foundation is currently conducting an executive search for a Director, Evaluation and Learning, the Evaluation and Learning Consultant will report to the Foundation's President and CEO. In addition, she or he will work in partnership with all program staff and Foundation partners.
Working in partnership with program staff and Foundation partners, the Evaluation and Learning Consultant will be involved in supporting and providing technical assistance to programs during the various stages of partnership, including the development of sound monitoring and evaluation systems and processes, and the provision of technical assistance in linking project monitoring and evaluation with ongoing learning and improvement.
Specific responsibilities include:
Program Evaluation Design and Implementation:
- Work together with current Evaluation and Learning Managers, and financial inclusion and/or economic opportunities for youth program staff to assess needs, and design monitoring and evaluation plans to address the progress and performance of complex multiyear project proposals.
- Review monitoring and evaluation proposals, and advise staff and partners on the design and implementation of these plans.
- Manage quality mid-term and final evaluations of projects that support strategic learning.
- Assist staff in linking program evaluation with ongoing program planning and improvement, including assistance with developing and/or updating logic models, theories of change, identifying appropriate indicators, and analyzing data.
Foundation Level Evaluation and Learning:
- Assist in the review and synthesis of key themes, achievements and lessons-learned from the Foundation's financial inclusion and/or economic opportunities for youth programming.
- Collaborate with communications, IT and finance staff to improve the Foundation's knowledge management activities.
- Collaborate with other staff to effectively share the lessons learned by the Foundation's financial inclusion and/or economic opportunities for youth programming.
- Help foster a 'culture of evaluation' and contribute to the Foundation's efforts around organizational learning and knowledge management.
Other Duties:
- Participate in maintaining a calendar of evaluations, midcourse and final reviews.
- Assist in the creation and maintenance of the Foundation's resources on evaluation and learning.
- Assess current monitoring systems (databases) and support enhancements or upgrades.
- Train and coach program staff in monitoring and evaluation concepts and methods.
- Work with partners in their efforts to monitor and evaluate their projects, including providing assistance in defining and measuring outcomes.
- Handle special evaluation-related projects as assigned. 2Consultant, Evaluation and Learning
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
- Hands-on experience managing and/or conducting evaluations and using a variety of qualitative and quantitative evaluation techniques;
- Ability to apply evaluation tools and techniques in diverse situations and scenarios;
- Experience providing technical advice and assistance;
- Demonstrated skill in prioritizing and balancing multiple competing tasks, projects, and deadlines;
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills;
- Demonstrated skill in working collaboratively and effectively and being flexible;
- Sense of humour, exhibiting grace under pressure;
- Seeks out collaboration; comfortable working across teams;
- Comfort with ambiguity;
- Facilitation skills desired;
- Highly proficient in Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and able to learn and use new databases proficiently;
- Strong sectoral expertise in areas relevant to The Foundations areas of work(see below)
SECTORAL EXPERTISE
The Evaluation and Learning Consultant should have specific demonstrated experience working on monitoring and evaluation within the microfinance/ financial inclusion or youth education sectors, with any and/or several of the following sub-sector expertise:
- Financial Inclusion (i.e., youth financial services, savings groups, scaling access to finance, rural and agricultural finance and development, financial education, and/or microfinance capacity building).
- Economic opportunities for youth (i.e., youth employability and workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, asset-building, and/or private sector linkages).
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
The successful applicant will have an advanced degree or equivalent experience in evaluation or a related field such as international development, economics, psychology, sociology, behavioral sciences, or public policy. He or she will also have a minimum of 10 years professional experience with at least six years hands-on experience managing and/or conducting evaluation, research, public policy analysis and/or working with a variety of qualitative and quantitative evaluation techniques.
BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION
The Foundation offers an excellent benefits package and a salary that is commensurate with experience. TO APPLY Please email your resume and cover letter, by June 28, explaining your interest in the position to MEL@mastercardfdn.org, indicating 'Evaluation and Learning Consultant' in the subject line of your email
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