MEL ManagerUSAID Improving Private Sector Competiveness (IPSC)

Summary of Activities
IPSC collaborates closely with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) counterparts, including the project owner, AED, under MPI. IPSC and AED develop strategies for sector selection, geographic focus, and SGB engagement and engage a broad range of market actors across the economy that make up the SGB ecosystem, including SGBs, cooperatives, and household businesses (HBs); business chambers, associations, and business development service providers (BDSPs); GVN Ministries and Agencies, provincial and local administrations; and private sector consultants, training institutions, and financial institutions. Using incentives and cost-sharing with SGBs, Pioneering Enterprises (PEs), and other partners, IPSC builds greater demand and supply of business development services (BDS), while improving providers' capacity to understand and offer services desired in the marketplace.
The MEL Manager will lead the strategic objectives of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) and collaboration, learning, and adaptation (CLA) activities, while implementing and managing IPSC's MEL operations across the project. The MEL Manager will work closely with technical staff under the supervision of the Cross-cutting and BSO Director.
1. Tasks and Responsibilities
The MEL Manager shall perform the following tasks:
• Responsible for tracking, monitoring, reporting and documenting IPSC project activities.
• Provide strategic direction on all matters pertaining to MEL contractual requirements, data collection and aggregation, strategic communications, branding and marking, and monitoring progress of technical results.
• Monitor and evaluate technical activities on the project with respect to the project's learning agenda and priorities, conduct monthly touchpoints with the Cross-cutting and BSO Director, and lead annual internal reviews.
• Revise annually the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP), maintain data collection and analysis systems to ensure data quality, update indicators, and measure progress towards achieving project objectives.
• Oversee the collection, synthesis, and analysis of project data, including updating performance indicator reference sheets (PIRS) and the project Performance Indicator Tracking Table (PITT).
• In collaboration with the Cross-cutting and BSO Director, hold teams accountable for progress against the work plan and project objectives; inputs to reporting requirements, work plan updates, inputs to the AMELP; data collection and aggregation; monitoring progress of technical results; and meeting COP and client requests in a timely fashion.
• On a routine basis, identify shifts in the policy and business environment that may impact IPSC directly and provide updates to the technical team.
• Build the capacity of IPSC staff to collect required data from activities and input the information into the MEL database to be used to drive decision-making on technical activities.
• Engage with project stakeholders to conduct data collection (i.e. informant interviews, focus groups, and surveys) to obtain activity data needed to measure project results.
• Implement robust knowledge management and CLA practices across the project, including facilitation of regular strategic review/ pause-and-reflect sessions.
• Share best practices with other external audiences, success stories, and generate new ideas for collaboration and learning.
• Manage shared online data for internal project use, including uploading reports and materials for access by project staff, and oversee data quality.
• Document lessons learned for incorporation into IPSC continuous learning on what works for activity implementation, strategies, and achievement of intended results.
• Keep the Cross-cutting and BSO Director appraised of the project's progress toward objectives and MEL indicators.
• Communicate success stories and major milestones achieved to the Cross-cutting and BSO Director on a regular basis to share with USAID and AED.
• Any other duties as assigned by the Cross-cutting and BSO Director or project leadership.