Global MEL Senior Associate (Fixed-Term)

One Acre Fund; Scottsdale, Northern (AZ, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Housing assistance

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

One Acre Fund is seeking a Global MEL Senior Associate to guide country MEL teams across multiple programs. You will enhance evaluation methods, design surveys, and oversee data quality, delivering actionable insights for program teams and leadership.

You'll work across international contexts with a focus on quasi-experimental designs and cross-country learning, reporting to the Global MEL Senior Manager. Strong quantitative skills and communications are essential.

Qualifications

• Advanced quantitative skills with strong experience in Stata; R is a plus.
• Experience with impact evaluation design and methods (PSM, DiD, RCT).
• Ability to review data collection instruments and ensure quality.
• Fluency in data analysis, reproducibility, and clear storytelling with results.
• Experience in international development and agriculture is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical resource for country MEL leads and provide guidance.
• Review survey instruments and data collection approaches before deployment.
• Assess data quality and enhance validation pipelines.
• Review country-level data analysis ensuring integrity and interpretation.
• Quality-control MEL deliverables and translate findings for teams.

Skills

Stata

R

Impact evaluation

Survey design

Data quality

Education

Master’s in economics / applied statistics / agricultural economics

Tools

CommCare

Job description

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund equips 5.5 million smallholder farmers to make their farms more productive. Across nine countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers, we provide high-quality farm supplies, tree seedlings, accessible credit, modern agronomic training, and a wide range of other agricultural services. On average, this model enables any farmer to increase their income and assets on supported land by more than 35 percent, while permanently improving their resilience. This is all made possible by our team of 9,000+ full-time staff, drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions.To learn more, please see our Why Work Here blog post.

About the Role

We are looking for a strong analyst to provide technical guidance, analytical support, and quality assurance across a portfolio of 2–3 country programs within One Acre Fund’s growth country portfolio. Countries of operation currently include Tanzania, DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Burundi.

Country MEL Leads are responsible for day-to-day MEL operations in their respective programs. The Global MEL Senior Associate complements this by bringing dedicated technical depth and cross-country perspective reviewing and strengthening analytical approaches, advising on evaluation methodology, building tools and frameworks that leads can adopt, and surfacing learnings across the portfolio. Over time, this role is expected to meaningfully build MEL capacity in the countries it supports.

Beyond country support, the role contributes to selected Global MEL initiatives such as the design and rollout of team trainings, development of shared tools and templates, and cross-program methodology work. Depending on candidate's profile, the portfolio may also include analytical support for One Acre Fund’s Agroforestry program, a large and technically complex area with significant opportunity for rigorous measurement work.

The Global MEL Senior Associate will report to a Senior Manager on the Global MEL Team.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical resource for country MEL Leads in your assigned portfolio, providing structured guidance, review, and feedback throughout the program cycle.
• Review and strengthen survey instruments and data collection approaches, including questionnaire design and programming in CommCare (or equivalent), prior to deployment.
• Assess and improve data quality backcheck processes, identifying opportunities to automate checks and strengthen data validation pipelines.
• Review and advise on country-level data analysis (Stata required; R a plus), ensuring analytical integrity, reproducibility, and appropriate interpretation of results.
• Quality-control MEL deliverables — including reports, dashboards, and presentations — and provide actionable feedback to raise the standard of country outputs.
• Help country MEL Leads translate data and evaluation findings into clear, decision-relevant insights for program teams and leadership.
• Actively identify and share learnings across your portfolio — bringing effective approaches from one country to another and flagging common challenges to the broader Global MEL team.

Evaluation Design & Methodology

• Advise on evaluation design and review methodology across assigned programs, with fluency in quasi-experimental approaches (propensity score matching, difference-in-differences) and randomized controlled trials.
• Proactively identify methodological gaps or risks in ongoing evaluations and surface these to the relevant Global Senior Manager and MEL Director early — not just at reporting time.
• Contribute to the development and documentation of global MEL standards, evaluation frameworks, and shared analytical tools for use across country programs.

Global MEL Initiatives

• Contribute to the design and rollout of MEL trainings and capacity-building programs for country MEL teams, translating global standards into practical, accessible learning materials.
• Support the development of shared tools, templates, and guidance documents that improve consistency and quality across One Acre Fund’s MEL portfolio.
• Contribute to cross-program methodology projects and special initiatives as prioritized by the Global MEL Director, which may include piloting new approaches, conducting portfolio-level analyses, or supporting strategic planning.
• Depending on candidate profile, provide dedicated analytical support to One Acre Fund’s Agroforestry portfolio. This is a large and technically complex program area with a range of open methodological questions; a key value of this support is having someone with the bandwidth to engage with these questions proactively throughout the year. Work would involve close collaboration with the Agroforestry team and MEL Director on measurement approaches, data systems, and building the evidence base for tree-related program outcomes.
• Peer review cross-country workstreams, providing quality control and suggesting areas for improvement.

Career Growth and Development

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months, and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

We are seeking a technically strong MEL professional with a passion for smallholder agriculture and a commitment to evidence-based program improvement. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

Analytical Excellence

• Advanced quantitative skills; proficiency in Stata is required. R is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated experience with impact evaluation design and methods, including propensity score matching (PSM), difference-in-differences (DiD), and/or randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to analytical rigor and reproducibility.

Survey & Data Systems

• Experience designing and programming surveys for mobile data collection; CommCare experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to design and improve data quality assurance processes, including back-check surveys and automated data validation.

Experience & Education

• Minimum 3 years of professional experience in monitoring, evaluation, and/or applied research, preferably in international development.
• Master’s degree in economics, applied statistics, agricultural economics, or a closely related field.
• Experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa and with smallholder agricultural programs strongly preferred.

Domain Knowledge

• Background in agriculture required; familiarity with common agricultural MEL frameworks and indicators (e.g., yield estimation, adoption surveys, income measurement) is a plus.
• Experience with agroforestry, tree planting programs, or forest ecosystem measurement is strongly preferred and will be a significant advantage in portfolio assignment.
• Professional fluency in English required; strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to translate complex findings for non-technical audiences.
• Professional fluency in French is a significant asset, particularly for candidates supporting DRC.
• Collaborative working style with a service orientation; comfortable providing structured feedback and coaching to peers and junior colleagues.
• Willingness to travel within the region (approximately 10–25% of time).

Preferred Start Date

As soon as possible

Job Location

Flexible, Countries of Operations

Health insurance, housing, and comprehensive benefits

Contract Duration

2 Years

One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred.

Application Deadline

04 November 2026. Please note that we hire on a rolling basis which means that applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and anti-racism are deeply connected to our organization’s mission and purpose. One Acre Fund aspires to build a culture where all staff feel consistently valued, represented, and connected – so that our team can thrive as professionals, and achieve exceptional impact for the farmers we serve.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.

Why Work Here

We’re one of the largest agricultural organizations in Africa, operating in ten countries that together are home to two-thirds of Africa's farmers.
Guided by our mission, we use the discipline of a business to deliver cost-effective services to millions of people. We believe that heart plus rigor can change the world. Read more.

Job Application Process

We use a unique, hands-on interview process to ensure a great match.
We're constantly seeking exceptional leaders from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. We strongly encourage applications from African professionals with deep local knowledge and investment in the communities we serve. Read more.

Here’s your quick guide to some of the common questions we hear about our application process. Read more.