Global MEL Senior Associate (Fixed-Term) – One Acre Fund (multi-country Africa)

One Acre Fund – Global MEL Senior Associate (Fixed-Term) Location: Flexible, countries of operations – Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania or Zambia Career level: Professionals Contract duration: 2 years Application deadline: 4 November 2026 (rolling – applications are reviewed and processed on a continuous basis until a hire is made) Preferred start date: As soon as possible Eligibility "One Acre Fund can support a work permit for this role. However, nationals of (or those with an extensive professional background and work history in) our countries of operation are preferred." Nationality is not a restriction. Applicants must be able to obtain appropriate work authorisation for a placement country. About the role Seeking an exceptional MEL professional with 3+ years of experience to strengthen the quality and rigor of monitoring and evaluation across One Acre Fund’s growth country portfolio and agroforestry program. The role provides technical guidance, analytical support and quality assurance across a portfolio of two to three country programs within the growth country portfolio (countries of operation currently include Tanzania, DRC, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Burundi). Country MEL Leads are responsible for day-to-day MEL operations in their respective programs; this role complements them by bringing dedicated technical depth and cross-country perspective, and is expected to meaningfully build MEL capacity in the countries it supports. The role reports to a Senior Manager on the Global MEL Team. Responsibilities Serve as the primary technical resource for country MEL Leads, providing structured guidance, review and feedback throughout the programme cycle. Review and strengthen survey instruments and data collection approaches, including questionnaire design and programming in CommCare (or equivalent), prior to deployment. Assess and improve data quality backcheck processes, identifying opportunities to automate checks and strengthen data validation pipelines. Review and advise on country-level data analysis (Stata required; R a plus), ensuring analytical integrity, reproducibility and appropriate interpretation of results. Quality-control MEL deliverables, including reports, dashboards and presentations, and provide actionable feedback. Help country MEL Leads translate data and evaluation findings into clear, decision-relevant insights. Actively identify and share learnings across the portfolio. Advise on evaluation design and review methodology, with fluency in quasi-experimental approaches (propensity score matching, difference-in-differences) and randomized controlled trials. Proactively identify methodological gaps or risks in ongoing evaluations. Contribute to the development and documentation of global MEL standards, evaluation frameworks and shared analytical tools. Contribute to the design and rollout of MEL trainings and capacity-building programmes for country MEL teams. Depending on candidate profile, provide dedicated analytical support to the Agroforestry portfolio. Peer review cross-country workstreams, providing quality control and suggesting areas for improvement. Qualifications Analytical excellence: advanced quantitative skills; proficiency in Stata is required, R is a strong plus. Demonstrated experience with impact evaluation design and methods, including propensity score matching, difference-in-differences and/or randomized controlled trials. Strong attention to detail and commitment to analytical rigor and reproducibility. Survey and data systems: experience designing and programming surveys for mobile data collection; CommCare experience preferred. Demonstrated ability to design and improve data quality assurance processes, including back-check surveys and automated data validation. Experience and education: minimum 3 years of professional experience in monitoring, evaluation and/or applied research, preferably in international development. Master’s degree in economics, applied statistics, agricultural economics or a closely related field. Experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa and with smallholder agricultural programs strongly preferred. Domain knowledge: background in agriculture required; familiarity with common agricultural MEL frameworks and indicators (for example yield estimation, adoption surveys, income measurement) is a plus. Experience with agroforestry, tree planting programs or forest ecosystem measurement strongly preferred. Communication and collaboration: professional fluency in English required. Professional fluency in French is a significant asset, particularly for candidates supporting DRC. Collaborative working style with a service orientation. Willingness to travel within the region (approximately 10-25% of time). Benefits: health insurance, housing and comprehensive benefits. Tagged as: Agriculture , Capacity Building , Conservation , Data Management , Monitoring and Evaluation , Research and Learning