Technical Manager, MERL

Corus International; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 71,000 - 114,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plan options

Dental coverage

Vision insurance

Retirement plan

PTO and leave

Job summary

Corus International is seeking a Technical Manager, MERL for the MOMENTUM team in Washington, DC. This hybrid role requires coordinating MERL activities across multiple country teams, managing schedules, and ensuring accurate dashboards and reporting. Strong Excel skills and experience with USG programs are essential; two in-office days per week.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in public health, international development, statistics, or related field, plus 5+ years MERL experience.
• Experience in program management and designing data collection tools.
• Experience with US Government-funded programs and SOWs is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate MERL activities across the portfolio, including cross-team coordination and dashboards.
• Lead data collection tool design, data cleaning, and basic analysis for reporting.
• Draft statements of work (SOWs) for MERL consultants and oversee invoicing.
• Maintain MERL documents and presentations for external audiences.

Skills

Project management

Excel data analysis

SOW drafting

Budget tracking

US work authorization

Education

Bachelor's degree in public health/international development/statistics/related field

Tools

Smartsheet

SharePoint

Job description

Position Title: Technical Manager, MERL

Position Type: Regular Full-Time

Department: COO's Office (MOMENTUM)

Location: Washington, DC - Hybrid

Salary Range: $71,000 - $92,500 - $114,000

Note: The posted salary range reflects the full range of Corus' Manager pay grade and does not represent the anticipated hiring salary for this position. The target hiring range for the Technical Manager, MERL is expected to fall between the minimum and midpoint of the pay grade, based on program budget, internal equity and experience.

Corus International provides a competitive, growth-oriented, yet fiscally responsible compensation program.

Additionally, Corus provides a comprehensive and competitive employee benefit package to protect our valued and dedicated staff and their families. Our benefits include three medical plan options with comprehensive prescription drug coverage, low-cost dental coverage with 100% paid vision insurance. Corus also provides a generous retirement plan and PTO to include vacation, sick, holiday, parental, jury, international travel, and bereavement leave; employer-sponsored basic life/AD&D insurance; employee wellness incentives, and employee work/life balance and assistance programs.

Position Summary

Corus International is seeking a Technical Manager, MERL to join the MOMENTUM team in the Washington, DC office. This hybrid position is based at our headquarters in Washington, DC, with in-office days on Tuesday and Wednesday each week.

Responsibilities

MERL Coordination and Project Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for day-to-day coordination across the LHA portfolio, including the Core team and country teams in in DRC, Ethiopia, Mali, and South Sudan.
• Manage schedules and coordinate MERL team meetings, deliverables, and activities.
• Maintain tracking systems for MERL activities and deliverables, ensuring status information is accurate, current and available to the team.
• Lead the development and maintenance of RACIs for MERL workstreams and deliverables.
• Coordinate with the Core Program Team to maintain activity progress dashboards.
• Draft statements of work (SOWs) for MERL consultants.
• Manage consultant invoicing and track expenditures against MERL activity budgets, escalating variances and potential risks to the Senior Director for budget decisions.
• Coordinate logistics for MERL trainings.
• Develop presentations and related materials for external audiences.
• Maintain MERL folders and documents in SharePoint, ensuring an organized, current and accessible file structure.

MERL Technical Management

• Manage the design, deployment, and quality assurance of MERL data collection tools and templates across the LHA portfolio in collaboration with HQ- and country-based MERL teams.
• Lead data cleaning, organization, and basic analysis in Excel to ensure accurate and reliable data for reporting and decision-making.
• Lead literature reviews and assessment-tool searches, synthesizing findings into clear technical recommendations that inform portfolio-level MERL tools and approaches.
• Serve as the primary technical resource for questions from country MERL teams regarding the design of data collection instruments.
• Provide data-entry support to country MERL teams as needed.

Supervisory

• This role has no direct reports.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in public health, international development, statistics, or a related field and a minimum of 5+ years of relevant MERL experience; or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in program management, designing or managing data collection tools and instruments, and conducting literature or desk reviews.
• Experience working on USG-funded (USAID, DoS, CDC) programs.
• Experience with project tracking and collaboration tools (Smartsheet or similar) desired.
• Experience drafting SOWs, managing consultant contracts, or processing invoicing desired.
• Strong Excel skills, including data cleaning, organization, and basic analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to solve administrative, technical, or operational problems in a timely and successful manner.
• Ability to synthesize literature or assessment findings into clear, concise written summaries.
• Strong presentation and technical writing skills, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Highly organized, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and deadlines simultaneously.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to communicate tactfully and develop positive working relationships across teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Strong accuracy and attention to detail in project tracking, writing, editing, and document management.
• Must have authorization to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship now or in the future.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree desired.
• French language proficiency highly desirable.

Physical And Mental Requirements

• The physical requirements that may be needed to execute responsibilities may include bending, standing, and walking, etc.
• The mental requirements that are essential to satisfactorily executing the responsibilities outlined in this job description include, but are not limited to: learning new tasks, comprehending, and retaining information, completing tasks independently, effectively communicating verbally and in writing, demonstrating proficiency in using computer software to perform assigned tasks.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities for the position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. All positions are required to perform any additional tasks assigned by the supervisor. Global positions that are bound by contracts will not be changed without notice and approval.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

• Corus has a hybrid work policy, allowing work to be done remotely; two days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in the office is required. The employee must be available to work outside normal office hours or weekends as required.
• This position must be able to travel as required for standard domestic business purposes.

As a member of the Corus Family, each employee is expected to:

• Foster a work environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Support employees' evaluation and promotion processes based on skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all members of Corus family, stakeholders in general, and particularly for the communities we serve.
• Follow Corus Code of Conduct helping to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment, sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
• Adhere to the Organizational Core Values.

Corus International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.