Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Associate Asia

Forest Carbon; Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta; On-site; USD 30.000 - 50.000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Associate for the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) team in Asia. The role involves monitoring and reporting activities, ensuring data quality, and facilitating learning across various climate change initiatives, while working closely with regional managers. Applicants should have relevant experience in climate programs and demonstrate strong analytical and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities.
• Ability to work flexibly with changing priorities.
• Experience analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and report data across country funds.
• Support the implementation of evaluation activities.
• Facilitate learning processes within program teams.

Skills

Data analysis

Communication

Team collaboration

Flexible task management

Reporting

Education

Experience in large-scale climate or development programme

Professional fluency in English

Job description

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Associate -Asia

Programme overview

UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) is a UK Government programme funded through International Climate Finance (ICF) that has been running since 2018. The programme’s overall objective is to alleviate poverty, working primarily through reducing greenhouse gas emissions. UK PACT is a flexible technical assistance (TA) programme that is designed to support ODA eligible countries to increase their future climate ambitions, reduce their emissions, and accelerate just transitions to clean growth. A key feature of UK PACT is that it aims to respond explicitly to partner government demand for capacity building interventions, and that it shares UK expertise (for example in areas such as climate legislation, green finance, and smart energy).

Palladium is recruiting for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) professional with a passion for tackling climate change to join our UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) team in Asia.

Purpose of the position

This new role will contribute to the monitoring and reporting of results of technical assistance activities across UK PACT bilateral funds in Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as a regional element under the ASEAN Green Transition Fund. It will also support the delivery of focussed evaluation and learning activities across the Asia region. The MEL Regional Associate will work closely with the two UK PACT Regional MEL Managers for Asia, based in Jakarta and Manila, providing flexible and agile inputs to support MEL delivery across all Funds.

We are open to applicants based in any of the UK PACT implementing countries, though co-location with the existing team in either Jakarta or Manila would be preferred. Some travel may be expected as part of the role.

Reporting Lines:

The position will report to the UK PACT Asia MEL Manager, and will work in close coordination with UK PACT Asia Regional Lead and broader programme MEL team.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

The MEL Regional Associate will contribute to the implementation of the monitoring and learning activities across all country funds in the region. This includes supporting annual strategy testing and theory of change refresh sessions; ensuring programme level guidance and tools are adapted and applied appropriately at the country (and regional) fund level; contributing to the review or delivery of timely and high-quality reporting from each country fund; supporting learning and adaptation processes for decision making; and leading or providing inputs to ad hoc MEL deliverables such as project case studies, learning events or knowledge products.

Specifically, the UK PACT MEL Regional Associate will:

Monitoring & Reporting:

• Support quarterly and annual data collection, assisting with data analysis and presentation, quality assurance and reporting of results from across relevant regional and country funds;
• Assist UK PACT Implementing Partners (grantees), experts and UK PACT Fund teams in monitoring, reporting and learning activities, ensuring technical and results reporting meets FCDO and programme requirements, and providing a coordination and quality assurance function;
• Lead or oversee the design and delivery of specific MEL deliverables, such as project or portfolio case studies, post-closure outcome reviews or cross-cutting sector reports.

MEL Strategy Development and Implementation:

• Support the Regional MEL Managers to adapt and apply programme level guidance and frameworks, including Theory of Change (ToC) and results framework (logframe), at the country (and regional fund) level, ensuring these reflect country fund level specificities and needs;
• Contribute to the facilitation of country and sector level ToC development sessions in Asia, and annual refreshes.
• Contribute to the development and management of tools to facilitate programme MEL.

Learning:

• Facilitate processes to ensure learning is identified and captured across all areas of the programme, and fed back into strategic decision making to facilitate adaptive management;
• Support in identifying and advising on the potential to extend, scale up or replicate successful projects, and enhance strategic portfolio development to deliver impact, through provision of relevant research, evidence and learning pieces.

Relationships:

• Act as a point of contact for MEL queries in Asia, providing a key support function to Fund teams for MEL issues and bottlenecks;
• Contribute to flowing down monitoring and reporting excellence to grantees via the Fund teams, including provision of guidance, tools coaching and training where necessary to deliver MEL successfully.

Key Competencies and Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• Working across multiple funds and as part of a small regional MEL team with the two existing Regional MEL Managers, this role requires an ability to work flexibly and in an agile manner, with priority tasks and focus areas likely shifting from one month to the next.
• Demonstrable experience in the delivery of monitoring, evaluation and learning activities, preferably in the context of a large-scale climate or development programme
• Experience in gathering, organising, and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data
• Strong reporting skills, with proven ability to engage with and manage both donor client formal reporting and ad-hoc requests
• Excellent communication skills, including demonstrated ability to capture and communicate results and impact in a clear, compelling and cogent manner
• Highly collaborative and committed to close working and open communication with colleagues in post and in the UK, and other UK PACT partners
• A high degree of personal resilience, flexibility and ability to work under evolving circumstances
• Ability to manage own time and resources effectively, knowing when to escalate issues and ask for support
• Professional fluency in English, both written and spoken. Knowledge of other regional languages a bonus but not essential
• Experience in the climate change space, and/or an interest in learning more about the sectors UK PACT covers, would be advantageous

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [e-mail] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding

We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.