Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Manager - Ethiopia

Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and help communities thrive.

Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 41,000 entrepreneurs across East Africa, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change.  We are the largest lender to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.  

Inkomoko has +250 staff in 20 offices across Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and is expanding in 2023 into South Sudan. Through Inkomoko’s 2030 strategic plan, we are adding 4 additional countries to serve more than 550,000 entrepreneurs and growing our $30M loan fund.

All staff at Inkomoko are connected to a shared set of organizational values:

• Purpose: be solutions-oriented, produce high-quality work, be a global leader.

• Achievement: push yourself to reach beyond what you previously thought possible. 

• Improvement: be humble, engage in continuous growth through open & accurate feedback.

• Bravery: willing to take risks, create a safe space for others, be compassionate, inclusive.

• We Eat Goat:  we celebrate success and support each other in hard times. We do this work together in the spirit of turikumwe, tuko pamoja, abren nen, urang babarengan.

The MEL Manager will report to the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning.  He/she will ensure that the organization is able to generate meaningful data and information that lead to insights by collecting meaningful data and ensuring all data collection systems, protections, and processes are firmly in place.  

Specific responsibilities include:

Data Collection and analysis  (50% time)

• Design criteria of data collection, tools, and processes ensuring adequate reliable information to generate significant insights

• Work with Program leads to ensure that the data collection tools meet the end-reporting needs of various departments, donors and partners.

• Coordinate data analysis to document program progress, outputs, impact, and learnings, identifying trends that could provide meaningful insight.

• Create theories of change for all new programs, and design data collection and reporting processes for each program. 

• Manage, train and support M&E staff (in Ethiopia and beyond) on data management principles including; collection, quality assurance and  analysis.

• Develop and manage  focus groups studies and other qualitative analyses

• Work with the head of research to ensure that the organization’s research initiatives are met

• Coordinate external evaluators, consultants, and researchers to enhance independent impact assessments

Data Systems Management (30% time)

• Lead continual improvements in collecting and managing company data, including working closely with the IT department and others to ensure smooth flow of data within company systems.

• Ensure data collection policies are ethical and meet standards of working with vulnerable populations and human data collection protocols. including data and privacy protections for all content

• Coordinate and manage any third party vendors and consultants for data collection.

• Ensure safe and accessible storage of collected data in company technology systems (Odoo, Kobo and other company technologies), and coordinate processes for these systems to “talk” to one another.

• Work with department managers to develop M&E plans for new programs to meet reporting and learning requirements.

Organizational Management (20% time)

• Manage a subset of the M&E team to build a world-class team who meet global standards of evaluation, including hiring, reviews, and constructive feedback.

• Serve as part of the Management team, providing advice and support on M&E data plans as the company grows

• Work closely with Directors and Managers to ensure that the data systems are reliable and accessible to those who need them. 

• Benchmark and propose/adopt best practices in line with MEL data collection and analysis and presentation initiatives 

• Perform any other activities related to data collection and quality assurance as decided by supervisor.

The MEL manager will be a seasoned leader who has strong previous experiences in MEL and leading teams. Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Technical expertise in tool development, data collection, data management protocols, analysis and reporting.

• Advanced degree in a relevant field

• Fluent oral/written in English & Amharic or any other local language

• Willingness to innovate and ability to think systematically and work SMART

• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies

• Strategic thinker, proven team-building ability and attention to detail.

• Impeccable integrity and excellent communication (oral and written)skills 

• Proactive and ability to work independently

• 6+ years professional experience in the MEL field 

This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:

• Competitive salary, and potential KPI-based bonus

• Incredible company culture, including deep investment in your learning and growth

• Diverse colleagues and policies that show our commitment to equity and inclusion 

• Talented, passionate, and committed team colleagues across the region

• Ability to make a significant social impact to your community

• Generous health insurance, staff savings, parental leave, sabbatical, and more benefits.