Principal Consultant: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (Economic Development Team)

About the job

Triple Line has an exciting and growing monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) project portfolio with philanthropic organisations and other partners in East Africa and beyond. We are looking for an individual to lead the delivery of some of these existing projects, while also driving the growth of our portfolio in line with our Evaluation, Policy Analysis and Learning (EPAL) and East Africa Strategies.

We are looking for someone with well-rounded technical expertise in MEL who is motivated to deliver high-quality work and can provide direction and technical backstopping to more junior team members to achieve this. We are primarily looking for individuals with experience working with philanthropic organisations in MEL and/or practical experience in learning-focused MEL, adaptive management, participatory methods, or system-change-focused approaches. Much of our Economic Development MEL work focuses on agriculture, private-sector development, and women’s economic empowerment, so thematic expertise in these areas would be a significant advantage.

The work you will be leading and supporting is diverse. It includes, for example, supporting the development of MEL frameworks; data collection, analysis, and reporting in the context of evaluation or learning activities; evidence synthesis; facilitating sensemaking sessions; building MEL capacity; and leading small projects. Our role is often that of a partner rather than a traditional service provider, working closely with implementing organisations and funders, and the work is therefore frequently demand-driven and flexible. As such, we are looking for a dynamic individual who is adaptable, comfortable working across a range of MEL technical areas, and willing to learn new skills as needed.

In addition to delivering projects, you will be expected to drive the growth of the Economic Development portfolio by building relationships and networks with prospective clients and partners; increasing our visibility on social media and at conferences; developing a tailored offering; and leading the drafting of technical and financial proposals. Therefore, we are seeking applicants with a proven track record in successful business development. Individuals with experience raising funding from philanthropic organisations are especially encouraged to apply.

In the Triple Line structure, a Principal Consultant is an early senior-level role, with a strong focus on hands-on delivery, whether in a project or business development context. While the role does involve managing and guiding more junior colleagues—both as a Team Leader on projects and as a line manager to staff—we expect a significant portion of the technical work to be delivered directly by the Principal Consultant. If you are looking for a more junior role as Senior or Managing Consultant with 4-7 years of experience, please check some of our other opportunities.

Roles and responsibilities and the specific tasks you will undertake:

Project Delivery & Technical Input (~65% of your time)

In this position, we expect you to act as a Team Leader or a core technical team member on MEL-focused projects and programmes, principally in the areas of private sector development, agriculture, and women’s economic empowerment. Specific tasks likely to include:

Developing the approach and methodology of assignments, which might include innovative methods not previously used by the applicant or the delivery team
Holding ultimately responsibility for the delivery of all project deliverables on time and in line with clients’ quality expectations
Leading the development of project outputs with input from other team members
Participating in the delivery of most core project activities from secondary data review and primary data collection, to report drafting and facilitating sensemaking sessions
Presenting analysis, findings and research clearly and visually, both in writing and orally—through, for example, case studies, reports and presentations for the client and other stakeholders—to support uptake and sharing of findings
Ensuring gender equality and social inclusion is mainstreamed into the design and implementation of assignments at all stages – design, methodologies, tools, processes, outputs
Leading client engagement and presentations as pertains to technical delivery
Mobilising a suitably qualified and structured team, and working with the Project Director and Project Manager to identify and meet resourcing requirements
Day-to-day management and technical leadership of the project delivery team. This includes, where necessary, coaching, technical backstopping, and building the capacity of team members in all aspects of technical delivery to ensure that their work meets client quality expectations
Building a positive, fair and participatory working environment where team members can thrive
Managing medium and large projects, budgets and workplans, interfacing effectively with clients and team members on project planning, implementation, reviewing and reporting
It is expected that you apply problem-solving skills and innovative thinking, and work collaboratively with other team members throughout all of your activities, and that you deliver these within agreed timelines and budgets, and to outstanding quality

Business Development (~20% of your time)

Build partnerships to market and raise business profile; and network and develop partnerships with organisations, donors, companies and individuals working on areas relevant to Triple Line’s work
Lead team business development efforts: contribute and develop knowledge about existing and potential clients, assess opportunities, identify a pipeline of work and seek opportunities for follow up work with existing clients
Build visibility of Triple Line’s expertise in order to develop our reputation and attract new clients, for example through attending conferences, networking, building social media presence and writing copy for the website
Lead the development of technical and financial proposals that help to unlock more work
Support the company in developing effective systems and processes for delivering MEL work to philanthropic organisations, ensuring these are well understood by members of the MEL Economic Development team and documented for use in business development activities and proposals

The rest of your time will be spent on line management, supporting internal leaning, development and skills transfer, and corporate administrative tasks.

About you

We are looking for applicants with a successful track record in consulting, experience working with philanthropic organisations in MEL, and/or practical experience with progressive MEL approaches. Some experience with MEL for programmes focusing on economic empowerment is also required, with preference for candidates with in-depth expertise in agriculture, private-sector development, or women’s economic empowerment.

We particularly encourage applications from individuals who are thoughtful and motivated to deliver outstanding quality work; excel at problem-solving; and have the confidence to contribute new ideas and constructively challenge those around them, while remaining a committed team player. We are a consulting business, which means our staff most often work on multiple projects and business development opportunities simultaneously. Therefore, we are looking for candidates who have experience working in similarly dynamic environments and are comfortable with dividing their attention across multiple competing priorities.

Essential candidate attributes:

10+ years of post-qualified experience in MEL in international development, some of which should be with programmes focusing on economic empowerment
Experience with consultancy work
Demonstrated and sound experience in leading the technical delivery of MEL assignments
Confidence in using both quantitative and qualitative methods (e.g. theory-based, outcome harvesting, Most Significant Change method, contribution analysis, etc.), with practical experience in at least one of the following: learning-focused MEL, participatory methods or system change-focused approaches
Experience delivering projects in East Africa
Experience in the technical, financial and operational management of international development programmes
Experience managing and overseeing the technical work of medium-sized teams, providing guidance, coaching and backstopping as needed to deliver high-quality work
Ability to manage projects or project components on time, within budget and to client satisfaction

Desirable candidate attributes:

In-depth technical expertise in private sector development, agriculture and women’s empowerment would be a significant advantage
Experience working in a consulting business and with/for philanthropic organisations
Experience with more than one of the following: learning-focused MEL, adaptive management, participatory methods, or system-change-focused approaches
Experience delivering projects in other regions of Africa and/or Southeast Asia
Experience with setting up organisation-wide project and resource management systems would be an advantage

About us

For over 25 years, Triple Line has worked with governments, financial institutions, the private sector, foundations and civil society to deliver an expanding portfolio of development assistance in countries across Africa, Asia and the rest of the world.

Climate change, loss of biodiversity, growing povert, entranched inequality, unemployment, access to decent work and shifting demographics – these are just some of the complex problems standing in the way of the global sustainable development goals. We are helping to address many of them at both a policy level and on the ground. By combining innovative thinking with practical solutions, we aim to help meet today's challenges and prepare for tomorrow's opportunities.

Our ultimate goal is to create opportunities for people, protect the environment and generate prosperity in responsible ways that create lasting value, unleash innovation and build inclusion and equity.

We work across two teams (Inclusive Growth and Resilience and Evaluation, Policy Analysis and Learning) to deliver 7 services to our clients:

GDPR declaration

By applying for this position, you are confirming that you allow Triple Line to retain your CV and personal details on record, unless you explicitly ask for them to be removed. In turn, we acknowledge that the team will not use your details for any purpose beyond the recruitment of this position and will not share your CV with any third party without your permission.

Recruitment process

Interested candidates should submit an up-to-date CV of up to 2 pages and a covering letter to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), referencing the position title in the subject line. The cover letter (max 1 page) should include an explanation of how your experience and qualifications qualify you for this position, reference to availability, salary expectations, and any additional information related to your application that you would like us to consider.

Please also confirm your right to work in Ethiopia and/or Kenya.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The recruitment process will include three rounds of interviews, a practical written assessment or case study, and two reference checks.

Please include any information you would like to share with Triple Line about additional support you may need during the interview and recruitment process.

Triple Line is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination within our recruitment process and actively encourage applications from a range of backgrounds.

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