Senior Strategic Learning Research and Evaluation Officer

AJWS has offices in New York, Washington, D.C. Applicants within commuting distance to these cities may apply.

Overview of AJWS

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is the leading Jewish organization working to fight poverty and pursue justice in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. By supporting hundreds of social change organizations in 18 countries, we respond to the most pressing issues of our time—from disasters, genocide and hunger, to the persecution of women and minorities worldwide. With Jewish values and a global reach, AJWS is making a difference in millions of lives and bringing a more just and equitable world closer for all.

Overview of Team

AJWS has an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, motivated, thoughtful and organized individual to contribute to the Strategic Learning, Research and Evaluation (SLRE) division. The division is responsible for driving a robust, meaningful, and innovative learning agenda that will increase AJWS’s capacity for understanding and refining its impact and becoming a leader in the field of human rights learning and evaluation. Collaborating closely with staff in all divisions, the SLRE team ensures that learning practices are embedded in the culture and that we are always eliciting the best work to realize our theory of change.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President for SLRE the Senior Program Officer will lead the maintenance and implementation of AJWS’s routine strategy monitoring and learning systems. This will include ensuring complete and accurate data collection, quantitative and qualitative analysis of data, developing reports and other products to disseminate analysis and facilitate uptake of findings, as well as process review and improvement efforts. They will collaborate with staff and other key stakeholders to support the strategic learning, research and evaluation framework for AJWS. They will lead development of and reporting on monitoring and evaluation frameworks and plans for all institutional grants. They will contribute substantively to commissioning evaluations and facilitating learning processes. They will also participate in frequent formal and informal collaborations across the organization.

The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to become deeply engaged on creative and strategic work with the SLRE division. The ideal person for this position will have a deep commitment and experience related to AJWS’s mission and strategic learning, research, monitoring, and evaluation. In addition, the successful candidate must demonstrate critical-thinking, analytical and management skills, and attention to detail.

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

• Lead strategy monitoring systems development, implementation, and staff training to enable more efficient processes both within the SLRE Division and in its work across divisions, collaborating closely with colleagues in IT to manage development, implementation, and improvements
• Oversight of strategy monitoring including qualitative and quantitative data collection, cleaning, coding, and ongoing analysis, contributing to learning and facilitating critical conversations with Programs staff and other organizational stakeholders, including SLRE team
• Design, plan, execute, and/or support workshops, processes, process-reviews, or other learning engagements, including PD SLRE retreats
• Project management, including management of external consultants for technical support and/or evaluations
• Review and/or prepare monitoring & evaluation (M&E) reports / products and data for organizational reports such as the annual report; respond to all requests for SLRE related data from grants management system
• Translate research and M&E data into easily accessible findings for non-technical audiences
• Lead M&E framework design and reporting for institutionally funded grants
• Commission external evaluations: engage staff in conceptualizing evaluation questions, lead recruitment process to identify appropriate consultants, onboard and manage consultant per timeline, provide technical reviews and feedback, facilitate active engagement of Programs staff throughout process, and facilitate Programs staff uptake of evaluation findings
• Support SLRE’s divisional activities including staff onboarding, retreats, team meetings, and budget preparation and management
• Represent AJWS’s work at conferences and other relevant external spaces
• Participate in organizational working groups and/or initiatives launched by working groups to contribute to organizational improvement and cross divisional learning

ALL SLRE team members are expected to actively participate on the SLRE team to leverage each team member’s strengths and expertise to demonstrate commitment to customer service and maximize our contribution; contribute to the development of SLRE strategy, including principles, processes, and policies; represent SLRE internally, ensuring principles, processes, and policies are understood and taken up; participate internally on cross-divisional and organizational initiatives; represent AJWS with peer funders in external evaluation spaces; stay abreast of SLRE field learning; contribute to all administrative SLRE functions (budget management, contract management, consultant recruitment and management, etc.)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Commitment and passion for the mission and vision of AJWS
• Master’s degree in social sciences or related discipline, or equivalent in experience and/or skills and abilities
• Demonstrated technical skills in monitoring and evaluation, including: qualitative and quantitative data analysis; development of theories of change, logic models, and other monitoring and evaluation frameworks; knowledge of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methodologies
• Advanced Excel skills including the ability to clean large data sets, create pivot tables and use formulas
• Proven project management skills, and the ability to take a project from conception to completion and meet deadlines with minimal supervision
• Demonstrated commitment to social justice issues, especially gender equity, structural inequality, and other related issues
• Demonstrated interest in social movements and advocacy
• Critical thinking skills, strong attention to detail, the ability to solve problems in real time
• Strong work ethic, motivated self-starter, positive attitude, flexibility, and desire and willingness to take on new challenges and opportunities
• Ability to organize and prioritize work on multiple projects simultaneously and with a minimum of supervision
• Desire and ability to work collaboratively and thoughtfully as part of a committed, integrated team, and build strong relationships both within the team and across the organization, with a demonstrated ability to work with efficiency and diplomacy
• Able to represent the division and organization with diverse audiences
• Demonstrated sensitivity to power and power dynamics
• Ability and willingness to travel nationally and internationally

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Prior experience with statistical software packages (e.g. SPSS, STATA, R), qualitative data analysis software (e.g. Atlas.ti, NVivo), and GIS software (e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS)
• Prior research experience, including internet research
• Prior facilitation experience
• Experience working in the Global South
• Experience working with grassroots organizations

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Salary Range: $77K-$100,250
• This role is full time (40 HRS), Exempt
• This is a union position

Compensation and Benefits Information

• AJWS is committed to a salary framework that aligns with our culture and values. The compensation range reflected is in alignment with our framework and individual pay decisions will vary based on skills and experience while still allowing for growth.
• Paid Time Off: 15-22 Federal and religious holidays off each year in addition to generous vacation and sick days;
• Full health benefits coverage with minimal contribution by employees;
• 403(b): 4% company match (safe harbor);
• Flexible Spending Account and Commuter Benefits;
• Workplace flexibility and generous leave policy.

Additional Considerations

Black, Indigenous and People of Color; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, Trans and Gender non-conforming people; women; and differently abled people are encouraged to apply. We also encourage applications from people of diverse religious, spiritual and cultural backgrounds.

As an organization committed to promoting social justice around the world, it is essential that we incorporate a diverse, equitable and inclusive lens into all aspects of our work at AJWS. We encourage applicants with a global perspective and a commitment to values around diversity, equity, and inclusion to apply.

Authorization to work in the US is required.

How to Apply

Applications submitted without a resume and personalized cover letter will not be considered. We thank you for your interest in career opportunities with AJWS. Due to high volume, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.