Third-Party Monitoring Specialist, Ukraine USAID Monitoring and Learning Support (UMLS) project

NORC at the University of Chicago is seeking a Third-Party Monitoring Specialist to support the full range of external monitoring activities, including coordinating site visit planning to USAID-funded operations; hiring and overseeing external data collection vendors; maintaining files and a knowledge management system; and conducting quality assurance checks on vendor datasets. We are looking for someone who is detail-oriented, highly organized, and an effective communicator to coordinate implementation of external monitoring activities. This individual will serve as the primary point of contact for the TPM vendor(s) and USAIDs implementing partners for TPM activities on the UMLS project.

The Ukraine Monitoring and Learning Support (UMLS) project assists the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) regional mission for Ukraine and Belarus (USAID/Ukraine) in addressing its overall monitoring and collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) needs. A key feature of UMLS is a robust, dynamic, and systems-driven focus on MEL. As part of its approach, UMLS is strengthening "Third-Party Monitoring (TPM)," to monitor the activities and outputs of USAID implementing partners and further support the accountability of USAID/Ukraine operations. TPM involves conducting monitoring by a third party, that is, neither the donor nor the implementer of an intervention. Through providing strong external monitoring support, UMLS will help USAID further advance evidence-based decision-making, learning, knowledge transfer and strategic communications.

The position is based at the UMLS office in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Third-Party Monitoring Specialist will be expected to travel throughout Ukraine as needed. Ukrainian citizens are highly encouraged to apply.

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Third-Party Monitoring Planning and Implementation

• Provide input to the TPM strategy and workplan to guide implementation of TPM activities.
• Identify resource needs (vendors, consultants, home office staff) for the execution of external monitoring tasks.
• Support the design of the sampling plan for site selection, interviewees, survey respondents, etc.
• Develop and regularly update data collection instruments for external monitoring activities.
• Lead the training and re-training of site monitors on use of data collection instruments and protocols.
• Coordinate TPM site visits with implementing partners and TPM vendor points of contact.
• Regularly communicate site visit summaries and concise updates, and address any issues or concerns encountered during site visits with Senior TPM Specialist.
• Monitor overall TPM vendor implementation quality and compliance with USAID regulations.
• Clean and analyze TPM data, in coordination with TPM vendor(s), to ensure high standards of data quality and reliability and vendor compliance with UMLS templates for site visit reports. Data quality assurance includes regular activities, as well as spot checks and verification exercises on vendor datasets.
• Ensure maintenance and storage of monitoring data within appropriate project databases and knowledge management systems.
• Coordinate internal (within UMLS staff) and external (with USAID) reviews of TPM reports and deliverables, and of final report to USAID.
• Support the development and presentation of summary findings, lessons learned, or other cross-site reporting, as required, to extract themes and trends from TPM activities and support USAID and implementing partner learning and evidence needs.
• Prepare learning and reflection sessions with staff and partners.

Other essential functions:

• Engage fully as a member of the UMLS team, including participating in staff meetings and other team events.
• Provide support to other monitoring, evaluation, and learning tasks as required by the UMLS team.

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in a social science, economics, management, psychology or a related field and an additional two years of related professional experience.

Required experience and skills

• Minimum of 3 years of experience designing and implementing performance monitoring systems of complex international development projects; organizing and managing data collection processes; and/or implementing or managing monitoring systems for humanitarian projects.
• Experience developing data collection instruments and performance tracking tools.
• Experience in indicator development, data collection and analysis, data quality assessments, and statistical methods.
• Experience in the training, management, and supervision of data collection teams and ensuring data quality.
• Experience using monitoring data to review programming, trends, and activity needs and willingness to be flexible and adaptable to respond to new information.
• Strong teamwork, interpersonal, communication, and presentation/facilitation skills.
• Strong written and spoken English skills, and Ukrainian and/or Russian fluency.

Desired experience and skills

• Experience developing performance monitoring plans (PMPs), logical frameworks, results frameworks, and M&E plans at both an activity and program-wide level.
• Understanding of the monitoring and verification methods that donors employ in challenging and conflict-affected environments, such as Ukraine.
• Familiarity with USAID programming in Ukraine and Belarus, USAID performance data information systems, and USAIDs Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Policy and CLA practices.
• Familiarity with third-party monitoring programming and related guidance on conducting it. Experience implementing third party monitoring systems highly desirable.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office program suite and Google Drive applications.
• Demonstrable and advanced experience in MS Excel; survey programming and visualization solutions, such as Kobo Toolbox, Tableau, or PowerBI; and the management of access and permissions within information management platforms.

SALARY: The salary range is between $28,000 - $48,000 USD/year, gross, paid twice monthly. Benefits include health insurance, a 13th month bonus, vacation, holidays, and sick leave, and funds for annual professional development.

NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, non-partisan research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business, and policy decisions. Since 1941, our teams have conducted groundbreaking studies, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and advanced principles of scientific integrity and collaboration. Today, government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world partner with us to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge.

For over 80 years, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications and groundbreaking research findings. But our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a business casual environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which were known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer that values and actively seeks diversity in the workforce. NORC evaluates qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other legally protected characteristics.