Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Officer

IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

The MEAL Officer at IUCN Cambridge will lead the design and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities for a fixed-term assignment. You will coordinate with project teams, support risk management and ensure data quality for donor and institutional reporting.

Fluency in English is essential; extensive MEL experience in international conservation projects and strong data and reporting skills are required.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated proficiency in performance and accountability in conservation or development.
• Experience designing, implementing and managing complex MEL for multi-country, multi-partner projects.
• At least 8 years of MEL experience on international projects or programmes.
• Experience across global level and multiple scales.
• Fluency in English; working proficiency in French or Spanish is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Design and plan MEL approaches, including theory of change, results framework and monitoring plan.
• Coordinate MEL activities with the project team and partners.
• Input to donor reporting and institutional reporting with appropriate indicators and baselines.
• Provide technical advisory and capacity building on MEL; support risk management and adaptive management.
• Prepare technical inputs and contribute to reports and evaluations; support management decisions with data.

Skills

Excellent organisation

Communication skills

Group facilitation

Data analysis

Report writing

English proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in environmental studies or related field

Tools

PowerBI

Smartsheet

Kobo Toolbox

SQL

Job description

Vacancy #: 7720 Unit: Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Organisation: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Location: Cambridge Office, Cambridge, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Reporting to: Centre Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator - Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Team Work percentage: 100% Grade: P2 Expected start date: 01 January 2027 Type of contract: Fixed-term (up to 12 months with possibility of renewal) Closing date: 22 November 2026

BACKGROUND

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. IUCN’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature, and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. With over 75 years of experience, it harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 15,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. The IUCN Secretariat has offices located all around the world and is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. Every four years, the IUCN membership adopts a quadrennial Programme that guides the work of the Union, especially that of the IUCN Secretariat. The Secretariat implements the IUCN Programme through a growing portfolio of over 400 projects across the world that are designed to respond to country, donor, and IUCN priorities.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• The design and implementation of planning, monitoring and evaluation approaches and instruments at proposal stage and in accordance with IUCN’s requirements (e.g., situation analysis, risk analysis, theory of change (ToC), logical framework, indicator selection, performance measurement framework, monitoring evaluation and learning plan, baselines, surveys, etc.).
• The implementation of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities, in coordination with the project team.
• Input and analysis to aspects of project reporting to donors, namely against project results framework and indicators. Project donor reporting is the responsibility of the Project Manager.
• Input to the project(s) contributions to institutional reporting against IUCN indicators. Institutional reporting is the responsibility of the Country Office / Programme Manager.
• The facilitation of adaptive management and learning throughout the project(s) based on monitoring and evaluation data and findings.
• The facilitation of risk analysis processes on a quarterly basis, based on the project´s risk register defined for the project.
• Support the project manager to monitor and update the project´s data and status in the IUCN Project Portal.
• Input to the finalisation and closure of projects according to IUCN requirements.
• The management of required independent project evaluations, including contribution to ToRs development, review of evaluation deliverables, facilitation of preparation of management response, and overall support on evaluation management when required.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Project MEAL Officer is also responsible for the management and implementation of the project performance management and accountability efforts, coordinating the activities and inputs of project team members including with partners and IUCN Members. She/he/they will ensure quality assurance and alignment with institutional policies, practices, standards, and systems, including the Project Guidelines and Standards (PGS), the Project Appraisal and Approval System (PAAS), and other donor specific contractual requirements. She/he also supports the relevant Project Manager / Country Representative / Programme Manager in ensuring that project risk management and environmental and social safeguards under the IUCN Enterprise Risk Management Policy and the IUCN Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) are embedded in the design of the intervention and effectively implemented. As a subject matter expert on performance, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, she/he/they provides technical support and capacity development to project managers and project team members.

Design and planning

• Through technical expertise and operational guidance, support the Project Manager / Country Representative / Programme Manager on designing and planning, leading on the theory of change, results framework, and monitoring and evaluation plan.
• Ensure alignment of the intervention results and indicators with IUCN strategic goals and priorities (global, regional, national, and thematic) and with the principles laid out in the One Programme Charter.
• Lead the design and development of monitoring tools, including quantitative and qualitative indicators, and MEAL processes.
• Provide input on the level of effort and resources required to support all planned performance and accountability activities.
• Support the formulation of baseline measures and targets during proposal writing, project inception, and throughout project implementation.

Implementation, monitoring and reporting

• Manage and coordinate the conduct of performance and accountability activities in a timely and efficient manner.
• Support the implementation of monitoring tools and processes to ensure that activities are on-track and contributing to the achievement of stated performance objectives, results, the IUCN Programme, and contractual obligations.
• Ensure that the performance measurement framework enables accurate and effective quantitative and qualitative measurement of progress and delivery of the project, through the development of baseline measurements, time bound milestones and targets, and clear indicators for measuring progress and results.
• Coordinate across the members of the project team(s) to collect, analyse, and synthesize data and information to monitor and assess performance to support reporting and decision making. This can include coordinating with partners and IUCN Members.
• Provide technical advisory, operational guidance and capacity building to the project team(s) and project manager(s) on performance and accountability to support implementation and adaptive management, including on appropriate monitoring and data collection methods and tools.
• Advocate for and facilitate the proactive use of performance and results information in decision-making and adaptive management across the project through the preparation of technical inputs from monitoring data and as a subject-matter expert on performance dashboards.
• Prepare technical inputs and/or contribute to drafting reports, and other evidence-based communications on progress internally and to the donor, by coordinating, controlling quality and synthesizing monitoring and reporting data.
• Identify and contribute to mitigation of risks, supporting the Project Manager(s) in the development of risk management tools and ensure project risk register is regularly monitored and updated.
• Support the project manager(s) to maintain accurate project data in the IUCN Programme and Project Portal.
• Support the Project Manager(s) in meeting IUCN requirements for formal project finalisation and closure (standards for documenting outcomes and lessons learned).

Evaluation and learning

• Manage independent evaluations of the project in coordination with the Centre MEL Coordinator (who plays an assurance role): draft evaluation ToRs, provide technical inputs, provide quality assurance on evaluation deliverables, contribute to facilitation or drafting of management responses and ensure projects comply with the IUCN Evaluation Policy requirements for evaluation at midterm and end of the project.
• Support and provide inputs to supervision missions, including providing analyses or reports of progress against indicators. May be occasionally requested to participate in supervision missions of other projects.
• Advocate for and facilitate the proactive use of monitoring and evaluation information to support data-driven project management at all stages of the project cycle (promoting adaptive management and learning).
• Promote project, programme and institutional learning through the design and facilitation of internal evaluative work, learning events or other mechanisms that capture, synthesize and share lessons and best-practices.
• Contribute to communications with information stemming from the monitoring, evaluation and learning system.

Other duties

• Build capacity of project team staff, partners and Members on MEL through ongoing training and coaching.
• Share lessons, provide advice, raise issues, and identify current or emerging risks to the implementation of the policies and controls – with both direct and functional line managers.
• Carry out other relevant tasks assigned by, and mutually agreed with, the direct and functional line managers.

Please Note: The above TORs contain the main responsibilities and duties of this position. However, in an ever-evolving organisation such as IUCN staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them, but which are not part of their regular TORs. Where any task becomes a regular part of staff member’s responsibilities, the TORs should be changed in consultation between the manager, the staff member, and the HR Unit. Any one of the three may initiate the consultation.

Requirements

• Demonstrated proficiency in the fields of performance and accountability, results measurement methods and management in conservation, development, or other relevant sectors.
• Demonstrated experience designing, implementing, and managing complex monitoring and evaluation for multi-country, multi-partner or multi-sector projects in conservation, development, or other relevant sectors in the region.
• At least 8 years of experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning for international projects or programmes or portfolios in the conservation or development sector.
• Substantial experience working at the global level and across multiple scale.
• Knowledge of the application of environmental and social safeguards, working experience in this area is a plus.
• Experience with GEF or GCF projects is an asset.
• Experience in gender-sensitive MEL is an asset.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in environmental studies, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, planning, management or social sciences, economics, public policy, business administration, or a related subject matter.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills with broad international experience and a proven ability to engage across levels of an organisation and across geographies.
• Group facilitation skills and experience with application of monitoring and evaluation methodologies.
• Excellent ability to collate, analyse and synthesize information to deliver clear reports to facilitate management decision-making.
• Proficiency in data management and analysis, with strong statistical skills is a plus.
• Proficiency with data management and/or project management software and tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Kobo toolbox, PowerBI, SQL, and other related tools) is highly desirable.
• Experience with institutional knowledge management and learning is an asset.
• Capacity to work collaboratively within a diverse and multi-cultural team.
• Excellent writing skills (in English) to deliver clear and concise reports.
• Fluency in English is a requirement and working proficiency in French and/or Spanish is desirable.

SALARY

The minimum gross annual salary for this position is GBP 44'073. While this is an indicative amount effective as of the current date, changes may occur as per IUCN's compensation practices without prior notice. The same applies to other organisations hosted by IUCN.

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 16,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

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