Director of Strategic Learning (SLRE)

The director of the international programs within SLRE will be responsible for overseeing the international learning agenda and facilitating the implementation and monitoring of effectiveness indicators that assess the performance of international programmatic initiatives; identify and implement the operational structure, systems and evaluation tools needed to test and refine our theory of change; and support AJWS staff members in enhancing their capacity to lead evidence-based, effective and accountable programs.

Deadline:         On a rolling basis

Location:         New York, NY

Organization:  AJWS

Overview of AJWS

Inspired by the Jewish commitment to justice, American Jewish World Service (AJWS) works to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world. AJWS advances the rights of women, girls and LGBTI people; promotes recovery from conflict, disasters and oppression; and defends access to food, land and livelihoods. AJWS pursues lasting change by supporting grassroots and global human rights organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean and by mobilizing supporters in the U.S. to advocate for global justice. Working together, the AJWS community strives to build a more just and equitable world.

AJWS prioritizes strategic learning, research and evaluation. The organization’s learning agenda is driven by the same core values that are integral to its grant-making and advocacy: we aim to co-create knowledge and learning with our partners. AJWS will disseminate its expertise and learning, ensuring that we provide meaningful and credible evidence for action in the field. Building AJWS’s partners’ learning and evaluation capacity in the field, where appropriate, is important to this strategy. AJWS’s learning agenda will contribute to amplifying grassroots perspectives, and understanding how grassroots perspectives transform policy debates.

Position Overview

The SLRE 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.

The director of the international programs within SLRE will be responsible for overseeing the international learning agenda and facilitating the implementation and monitoring of effectiveness indicators that assess the performance of international programmatic initiatives; identify and implement the operational structure, systems and evaluation tools needed to test and refine our theory of change; and support AJWS staff members in enhancing their capacity to lead evidence-based, effective and accountable programs.

Reporting to the Vice President for SLRE, the director will collaborate with international programs staff and other key stakeholders in implementing and managing the strategic learning, research and evaluation framework for all international AJWS programs. The ideal candidate will be a leader in their field(s), with a demonstrated commitment to social justice and human rights. They will be a self-starter who is flexible, has a positive attitude, and a desire and ability to work collaboratively and thoughtfully as part of a committed, integrated team that builds strong relationships.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Lead collaboration with international programs staff and in-country consultants to continually refine and develop capacity for learning, monitoring and evaluation;

• Manage and monitor the on-going implementation of the SLRE framework;
• Assess and identify capacity needs in the field that will enable AJWS to conduct meaningful and realistic ongoing monitoring & evaluation work and strategy strengthening;
• Increase the capacity of AJWS staff to understand and communicate the results of evaluations, evaluation analyses, and evaluation reports;
• Analyze international programs data, make recommendations, facilitate reflection;
• Contribute to furthering the strategy of SLRE as a programmatic intervention;
• Manage efforts to develop case studies, participatory baselines, and other research and evaluation activities in collaboration with international programs staff. Write terms of reference, participate in identifying grantees, contract with external evaluators, researchers and consultants related to SLRE;
• Increase the capacity of all AJWS staff to produce data and key learnings for the board, funders, communications and other target audiences that highlight AJWS’s impact and contributions to social change, so that others can translate this data into easily understandable stories that reflect the organization’s value;
• Serve as the lead with the Development team on international grants and fundraising efforts and reporting;
• Serve as a member of the directors team and participate in the development and implementation of AJWS-wide strategic and tactical plans;
• Partner with the rest of the SLRE division to serve a key role in leading the organization’s strategy management and annual priority setting processes;
• Stay abreast of trends related to SLRE and establish relationships with collegial organizations, particularly their monitoring and evaluation staff, by serving as an active member and participant in affinity organizations (e.g. American Evaluation Association); and
• Serve as a strategic learning, research and evaluation resource for AJWS, both internally and externally, as needed. For example, collaborating with the Director of SLRE for National programs.
• Conduct analytic literature reviews on issue areas and strategies, and make recommendations for strengthening AJWS strategies and contributing to the wider field of human rights philanthropy.
• Collaborate with the Director of Strategic learning, Research, and Evaluation for National Programs.

Qualifications

• An advanced degree (MA required) in social science or other related fields, with a minimum of ten years of experience with a wide range of monitoring, evaluation and assessment strategies, both quantitative and qualitative;
• Demonstrated ability as a strong and flexible methodologist, including participatory and/or feminist methodologies, and a deep appreciation and understanding of how to appropriately and realistically value human rights/social justice change;
• Experience developing and managing monitoring and evaluation processes for international human rights, ideally in human rights philanthropy/grant-making;
• Demonstrated success in all aspects of monitoring, evaluation and organizational change — evaluation design, monitoring, analysis, synthesis, report writing and editing, strategic learning, capacity building, peer learning, and group facilitation;
• Experience in a role requiring collaboration within an organization, and a demonstrated ability to work with efficiency and diplomacy as part of a team effort;
• Proven experience in leading organizational change, particularly in transferring evaluation knowledge and skills and developing this capacity in others;
• Excellent public speaking, interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to coach and mentor, as well as communicate effectively and concisely (both in writing and orally);
• Strong attention to detail with the ability to solve problems, work independently, and excel in a high performance culture;
• Ability to organize and prioritize work on multiple projects simultaneously and with a minimum of supervision;
• Innovative, creative, and ambitious;
• Ability and willingness to travel internationally;
• Professional maturity, credibility, good judgment and ability to motivate others in a similar way;
• Strong work ethic, positive attitude, flexibility, and desire and willingness to take on new challenges and opportunities;
• Strong commitment to the mission and vision of AJWS with the ability to serve as a strong, compelling ambassador for the organization; and
• Thoroughly understand American Jewish World Service, its mission, policies, culture, values, history, key stakeholders, programs, and finances.

How to Apply

For immediate consideration, please forward your resume and cover letter to opportunities@ajws.org. Please include your name and “Director, SLRE International Programs “in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

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.

AJWS is an equal opportunity employer and provides competitive salaries and benefits.

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.

AJWS is an equal opportunity employer and provides competitive salaries and benefits.