Scope of work

Integrity is looking for a dynamic and ambitious Chief of Party (COP) for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Coordination, Contract Deux (MECC-2) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR). The purpose of MECC 2 will be to provide support to the DRC Operating Unit, the CAR Operating Unit and the Central African Regional Operating Unit (CAROU). The support will include technical and advisory services in planning, designing, conducting, disseminating, and learning from monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the Mission’s portfolios in order to measure progress towards development objectives and improve the achievement and sustainability of the missions development outcomes. Additionally, this award will provide services to strengthen the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) capabilities of USAID/DRC staff, targeted local partners, and the Government of DRC.

The COP will lead and manage the overall complex operations of the MECC-2 activities and ensure that quality standards and schedules are met. S/he will provide vision and overall leadership to program operations and serve as the primary point of contact with USAID on day-to-day activity implementation and management issues. The COP will supervise the work of all personnel assigned to tasks under the program and provide cost and quality assurance of all tasks and assignments undertaken to achieve the objectives of MECC-2.

This is a Kinshasa-based, full-time position. The expected period of performance is an estimated five years to cover the duration of the program. Please be advised that the position is dependent on contract award.

Pr­oject background – USAID DRC MECC

USAID is reorienting its policies and practices with the goal of becoming an evidence-based, learning organization that supports countries in their journey to self-reliance. USAID explores M&E approaches that respond to local host-country priorities and strengthen local actors.

USAID has revamped its Development Policy and put a greater focus on sustainability, ownership and knowledge transfer, where learning from M&E is key. The new USAID operational guidance for the Program Cycle (ADS 201) applies the principles of: (1) Analytic rigor to support evidence-based decision making; (2) Managing adaptively through continuous learning; (3) Promoting sustainability through local ownership; and (4) Utilizing a range of approaches to achieve results.

USAID/DRC applies these principles in its development work, including in its M&E efforts since 2016 through the “Monitoring, Evaluation and Coordination Contract-MECC”. The USAID/DRC Mission is dedicated to advancing the Government of DRC (GDRC) along the journey to self-reliance and the broader Agency organizational learning and development policy efforts through enhanced Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA). The ability to continuously assess performance and adapt to change are critical to yielding the desired outcomes. Achievement of the mission’s strategic development goals and objectives will require rigorous implementation of MEL and adaptation tools, methods and processes at each step in the program cycle through this contract.

MECC-2 will aim to improve upon and provide additional implementation support to the Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) and USAID’s regional strategic frameworks through enhanced MEL system. The selected contractor will provide broad MEL support to the USAID/DRC technical offices - Education; Peace and Security; Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance; Health; Economic Growth; Food For Peace; Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance; and the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment program (CARPE).

Your experience and expertise

We are looking for a wide range of experience in supporting collaborative processes that create better spaces for people to reflect on and learn from each other’s experience and know-how in the context of MEL. In particular, the COP will have:

• At least 12 years of overseas experience in international development with demonstrated capacity to manage and evaluate complex multi-million-dollar development programs, including the design of the evaluation methodology, performance management plans, participatory data collection methods and protocols, and data verification techniques.
• At least 4 years of experience as a COP or senior field management experience such as Project Director, Regional Director or Country Director roles, demonstrating professional interaction with senior U.S. and foreign government officials and ability to provide consulting services in helping clients analyze problems, devise and adopt solutions
• Prior experience in supervising long-term field staff and short-term U.S., third country, and local experts of diverse backgrounds in the area of monitoring and evaluation.
• A graduate degree in the field of management, international development or a related technical field, or sufficient comparable experience in building local staff and partner capacity as well as strategic planning.
• Strong background in project management, organizational development and monitoring and evaluation to ensure adequate liaison with the USAID Mission and provide comprehensive monitoring and evaluation support.
• Technical expertise in monitoring and evaluation related to education, democracy, governance, health, or other relevant areas and experience working in DRC.
• Understanding of Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA), USAID’s J2SR, Program Cycle, and Evaluation Policy.
• Prior experience in a high threat environment with strong multi-cultural, inter-personal and supervision skills.
• Languages: Written and oral fluency in English and French, with the ability to write clear and compelling narrative.