Please note this is a hybrid role based on the successful candidate working at least two days a week in our London office. Remote contracts would not be considered for this role.

PURPOSE OF JOB:  

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager is responsible for the design and delivery of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) for a range of funding portfolios. Working internally and with the partners we fund (UK and internationally), the successful candidate will be confident developing and implementing MEL frameworks, has experience of commissioning or undertaking a variety of MEL processes and outputs, and is familiar with the challenges and opportunities of putting learnings into use. In addition to technical MEL experience, you will be interested in the bigger picture, keen to explore wider contexts and drivers of social change. The postholder will need to be pragmatic and flexible, be able to develop practical and accessible technical advice within resource constraints, and willing to find opportunities to generate learnings on the way to a long-term mission. 

Racial Justice/Equity is a huge component to this role and while we will accept applications from all communities, we particularly encourage those with lived personal and professional experience to apply. 

ROLE FOCUS AREAS 

The postholder will be one of three MEL managers in our friendly MEL team, which sits within the wider Funding team. The MEL team works across all of Comic Relief’s funding programmes in the UK and overseas, supporting Portfolio Managers and funded partners to deliver on MEL objectives. The role will focus on a variety of programmes and cohorts of funded partners in different sectors and geographies. 

 Interviews are expected to take place on Wednesday 6th & Thursday 7th of September

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:  

• Design and manage monitoring, evaluation and learning activities related to strategic funding portfolios, both those funded directly by Comic Relief, and those co-funded with our various funding partners 

• Recruit and manage external consultants to deliver specific evaluation and learning projects as required  

• Engage with the Funding team to develop and implement learning ambitions and frameworks for existing funding programmes and use insights generated to inform strategic decision making  

• With Portfolio Managers, support funded partners to monitor, evaluate and learn from their work through progressive, appropriate and proportionate grant reporting processes  

• Creatively find ways to unlock the inherent power of communities and organisations by ensuring that people with lived or learned experience are actively engaged in the way monitoring, evaluation and learning activities are designed, commissioned, implemented and disseminated 

• Build on Comic Relief’s convening power to support funded partner cohorts to build networks, provide peer support and learn collectively in support of systemic change 

• Prepare inputs to reports, meetings and strategic planning, ensuring that learning is well documented in a variety of accessible formats 

• Work cross-organisationally to ensure learning is widely and openly disseminated, both internally and externally, so that it meaningfully impacts our own practice and that of the wider sector 

• Support the development of new funding partnerships and funding programmes by providing inputs into the overall monitoring, evaluation and learning needs and strategy and advising on routes MEL  

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

Essential criteria: 

• Experience of processes, approaches, tools and methodologies that facilitate formal and informal monitoring, evaluation and organisational learning practice, ideally within organisations of different scales and contexts. 

• Experience of commissioning and managing external consultants to deliver MEL initiatives, including brokering fair and equitable partnerships. 

• Excellent analysis and sense-making skills, underpinned with sound judgement under pressure, and the ability to identify solutions to address delivery risks and issues.  

• Excellent facilitation skills with an ability to promote critical thinking and reflective practice to encourage learning within a group. 

• An understanding of, critical engagement with, and commitment to applying, an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lens to MEL. 

• Experience of successfully supporting organisations to plan and implement quality improvements, including through monitoring, evaluation and learning. 

• Strong planner with outstanding attention to detail and the ability to manage and prioritise a diverse workload.  

Desirable criteria: 

• Demonstrated ability to be a creative thinker that can seek out opportunities to try new methods and approaches, where appropriate.  

• Experience of designing and delivering participatory learning interventions with individual, or cohorts of, funded partners.  

• Experience of working with both UK and internationally based organisations. 

• Effective relationship builder, with strong emotional intelligence and experience of working in collaborative, multicultural and cross sector environments alongside individuals and organisations with diverse perspectives.  

International Travel will be required within for role. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles

Why work at Comic Relief 

There are lots of good reasons to join us at Comic Relief. You can read more about our employee benefits, such as our commitment to flexible and hybrid working. We ask staff to come to the office once a week, normally on agreed team days, so that we can do all those things that are difficult to do online. Our office is based in Whitechapel, London, but we are also open to remote worker arrangements for those who are based further away. There are lots of opportunities to develop your skills and experience at Comic Relief, including opportunities to become a Mental Health First Aider or to participate in our Employee Network Groups that focus on making Comic Relief a more inclusive place to work.