Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Global Technical Advisor

SNV is looking for a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Global Technical Advisor.

Company Description

SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. We are driven by a vision of a better world: a world where across every society all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably. To make this vision a reality, we need transformations in vital agri-food, energy, and water systems. SNV contributes by strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships in these sectors. We help strengthen institutions and governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion, and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Job Description

For this role you need to be eligible to work in the Netherlands or in Kenya. SNV cannot sponsor for a work visa for these countries.

Who you are

SNV is looking for a Senior MEL Specialist to measure impact in a sector increasingly shaped by private sector engagement, value chain development, impact-driven finance, and climate, where the questions are often evolving more rapidly than the methods. You are a strong facilitator and strategic thinker who can synthesise evidence into clear analysis, translate findings for non-technical audiences, and build trusted partnerships with country MEL teams. You will not be running regressions; you will be shaping the questions, the approach, and the story, embedded within a team leading on measurement frameworks that are not yet textbook, from SROI for impact-finance partners to portfolio-level evidence syntheses that tell SNV what is actually working and why. If you are energised by methodological innovation and comfortable with unsettled answers, please read on.

Job Description

The Global MEL Advisor plays a strategic role in strengthening SNV’s ability to generate, synthesise, and apply evidence to inform programme quality, organisational decision-making, and external positioning. As part of a small, high-impact global team, the role exists to shift MEL from a compliance function to a strategic partner—co-designing programmes from the outset, advancing methodological innovation, including in private sector and impact-finance contexts, and translating evidence into actionable insight.

Over the first 12–36 months, the role is expected to contribute to portfolio-level intelligence, improved project design and delivery, strengthened learning systems, and enhanced positioning of SNV as a results-driven organisation. The role requires strong facilitation, strategic thinking, and methodological depth, and operates in close partnership with country teams, sector leads, and business development colleagues across a decentralised network. The position reports to the Global Head of MEL and contributes across SNV’s four domains of technical expertise: partnerships and BD, project and people support, learning and innovation, and influencing and positioning.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the generation and use of strategic evidence across SNV’s portfolio, including commissioning and synthesising evaluations, facilitating structured learning processes, and producing decision-ready insights to inform programme adaptation and organisational priorities.
• Own MEL input into priority proposals and programme inception processes, ensuring robust theories of change, measurable results frameworks, and coherent evidence strategies are embedded from the outset.
• Develop and operationalise innovative measurement approaches in selected focus areas (e.g. SROI, ESG, systems transformation), translating them into practical tools, guidance, and tested applications across projects.
• Act as a strategic sparring partner to country and sector leadership, providing targeted advice on MEL design choices, evidence use, and trade-offs in complex or high-priority programmes.
• Strengthen MEL practice across countries and sectors by combining targeted coaching with the rollout of practical standards and criteria, tools and guidance, ensuring consistent quality while enabling contextual adaptation and improved use of data for decision-making.
• Shape SNV’s MEL contribution to external engagement and partnerships, supporting the articulation of evidence-based value propositions and collaboration with donors, knowledge partners, and private sector actors.
• Steward priority MEL initiatives and cross-cutting workstreams, ensuring delivery of agreed outputs (e.g. learning agenda, evidence products, guidance) in line with organisational priorities and available resources.

Qualifications

To be considered for this role, you bring:

• Advanced degree in international development, social sciences, research methods, or a related field, or equivalent applied experience.
• Minimum 8 years of proven experience in MEL within international development, including work across project, country, or portfolio levels in multi-country contexts.
• Proven experience designing and leading evaluations, evidence syntheses, or learning processes that have informed programme or organisational decisions.
• Demonstrated methodological expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, including Theory of Change design, outcome harvesting and the ability to quality-assure quantitative analysis.
• Strong facilitation and collaboration skills, with a track record of working effectively with diverse stakeholders (e.g. country teams, technical experts, business development colleagues) to co-design and strengthen MEL practice.
• Proven ability to translate complex evidence into clear, actionable insights and communication products for non-technical and senior audiences.

Additionally, we value (not required):

• Experience in emerging measurement areas, such as private sector engagement, impact finance, ESG, or Social Return on Investment (SROI).
• Experience working with or supporting business development processes, including early-stage proposal design and donor engagement.
• Familiarity with digital MEL systems and data platforms (e.g. Power BI, KoboToolbox, LogAlto) or experience applying data for decision-making.
• Professional working proficiency in French and experience in West Africa, the Sahel, or other SNV regions.
• A proactive, adaptive mindset, with curiosity about new methods and comfort working in evolving and ambiguous contexts.

Working at SNV

At SNV we challenge and inspire and offer continuous growth. We offer meaningful opportunities to shape the future, expand your skills, and collaborate with a vibrant, global network of experts. At SNV your contribution matters, and your development is our priority.

We are home to 57 cultures working in 22 countries, with about 95% of our team members holding the nationality of the respective countries we work in. We promote international career development. Our workforce consists of a mix of both people with longstanding tenure, willing to share their institutional knowledge, as well as people with local expertise and knowledge.

Together, we are committed to the effective and efficient stewardship of resources and maximising positive, lasting impacts. Our ability to deliver results rests on our robust foundation of experience, technical knowledge, evidence and learning; our commitment to strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships; and the relationships and trust of those we work alongside.