Regional MERL Lead

As part of its preparation for an upcoming multi-country program, FC Africa is establishing a lean and high-impact regional team to provide strategic oversight, technical leadership, and results management across target countries. The team will comprise key cross-functional roles including a Regional MERL Lead (with Programme Coordination for Results and Learning), Climate and Green Economy Enterprise Support Lead, Safeguarding Lead, Gender Inclusion Lead, and MERL Analyst.

ABOUT FC Africa

FC Africa is a leading economic development consulting firm established in 2006, implementing high-impact programs across agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors in Ethiopia and beyond. FC combines deep local context understanding with strong execution capability to deliver measurable outcomes in job creation, enterprise growth, investment mobilization, and inclusive economic development.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

FC Africa is currently exploring participation as implementing partner in an upcoming multi-country program focused on enterprise development, access to finance, and inclusive job creation across selected African markets. The initiative is expected to target nano and micro enterprises, with a strong emphasis on youth and women, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas in green economy. FC Africa will play a central role in program design, coordination, and oversight, working with a network of local partners to deliver scalable and impactful interventions. The program is anticipated to adopt a market-driven and ecosystem-based approach, integrating enterprise support, financial inclusion, and skills development to drive sustainable livelihoods and economic resilience.

POSITION SUMMARY

The following positions are proposed to support the effective design, coordination, and implementation of the program at regional level. Each role plays a critical and complementary function in ensuring strong technical oversight, quality assurance, compliance, and results delivery across multiple countries, while working closely with service providers and ecosystem partners.

POSITION: MERL LEAD – REGIONAL

Position Summary

The Regional MERL Lead will provide strategic leadership and coordination of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) across the regional program. The role integrates results measurement, adaptive management, and knowledge generation, ensuring that program implementation is data-driven, evidence-based, and continuously improved.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and manage the regional MERL system, including frameworks, tools, and dashboards
• Lead results tracking, aggregation, and reporting to internal and external stakeholders
• Ensure data quality, verification, and compliance with program standards
• Coordinate learning agendas, research, and assessments to inform adaptive management
• Provide strategic insights to program leadership for decision-making
• Lead knowledge management, case studies, and documentation of lessons learned
• Build capacity of MERL staff, service providers, and partners
• Develop systems/ databased to manage results/ data
• Coordinate consultants and external evaluations

Reporting

• Reports to Regional Program Director

Required Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in economics, Statistics, Development Studies, Monitoring & Evaluation, or related field
• Minimum 8–10 years of experience in MERL within large-scale development programs
• Proven experience designing and managing multi-country MERL systems
• Strong expertise in:
  • Results frameworks (Logframes, Theory of Change, PMP)
  • Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
  • Data analysis and visualization tools
• Experience with Youth in Work / employment outcome measurement and verification approaches
• Demonstrated ability to translate data into strategic insights and adaptive program decisions
• Experience managing teams and building capacity of partners and staff
• Familiarity with donor requirements (Mastercard Foundation, USAID, DFID, etc.)
• Strong communication, reporting, and knowledge management skills
• Proficiency in digital data systems (e.g., MIS, dashboards, data platforms)