Senior Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (P4)

Build Your Future, Brighten Theirs

At Save the Children, you’ll join a century‑long legacy of leading meaningful impact when it matters most. We empower you to innovate, collaborate and grow alongside people who share your commitment to kids and each other. You bring the drive – and together, we’ll build a better world for children. 

The Role

As the Senior Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), you’ll be integral to our work in helping vulnerable children achieve a brighter future. You will lead the monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) systems behind Save the Children’s workforce development and strengthening portfolio, building the indicator frameworks, data standards, reporting processes, and learning systems that show what is working for the families and communities we serve. You will design and manage rigorous mixed-methods evaluations, lead federal performance reporting, and serve as a trusted thought partner to program teams and senior leadership, translating evidence into practical program decisions.

Location

Hybrid – Washington DC office location

What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)

*not inclusive of all role responsibilities. May be subject to change

• MERL Systems, Data Management & Dashboards (30%)
  • Own the MERL infrastructure for workforce development and strengthening, including indicator frameworks, data standards, reporting processes, and learning systems that span multiple initiatives
  • Coordinate with the workforce team and state teams to verify accuracy of data reporting
  • Build and maintain the portfolio dashboard and program year results reporting, generating actionable insights for program teams, implementation teams, leadership, and fundraising
  • Manage program data systems and data collection tools (e.g., Caspio, SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms), including the transfer of program data into federal reporting systems
  • Ensure data sources, dashboards, and update processes are documented and stored in shared, accessible locations so teams can rely on them over time
    
    
• Grant & Performance Reporting (25%)
  • Lead federal performance reporting, including quarterly WORC reporting through the U.S. Department of Labor’s WIPS system and similar grants, ensuring requirements are met, data is accurate, and submissions are on time
  • Ensure data requirements for registered apprenticeship reporting (RAPIDS) are understood, processes are set up correctly, and data quality is monitored on an ongoing basis
  • Manage grantee and funder reporting processes, including final reports, reach numbers, indicator definitions, and measurement reviews across grants, ensuring consistency and quality in how results are captured and communicated
  • Serve as the MERL reviewer for new grants, including MERL setup of opportunities in Impact Hub, and provide data trends and research to strengthen reporting narratives
    
    
• Evaluation, Research & Learning (25%)
  • Design and manage mixed-methods evaluations, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to answer the questions that matter most to program teams and funders
  • Develop and maintain logic models and results frameworks to guide program design, indicator selection, and evaluation planning across the portfolio
  • Support the design and lead the analysis of participant and network surveys, translating results into findings program teams can act on
  • Manage research protocols and submissions to Save the Children’s Ethics Review Board (IRB) and support data privacy and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) processes when programs change or new funding sources are added
    
    
• Strategic Partnership, Program Development & Team Leadership (20%)
  • Serve as a thought partner to program teams and senior leadership, presenting evidence and helping translate findings into practical program decisions
  • Support grant proposals and new program development with MERL frameworks, theory of change design, indicator definition, and data architecture planning
  • Advise on the design and evaluation of AI-enabled tools and emerging initiatives, including community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and community finance, demonstrating comfort entering new and adjacent areas
  • Train, develop, coach, lead, and supervise staff, clearly communicating organization, division and department priorities, and how their work contributes to our mission and supports Save the Children values

Required qualifications for the role

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, plus at least 7 years of relevant experience

• Advanced logic model and evaluation design skills
• Experience in data collection, program monitoring, analysis, reporting, and visualization
• Strong quantitative and qualitative skills, including data analysis, synthesis, and recommendations
• Experience developing data collection instruments, including surveys, interview protocols, and tools to support program monitoring and evaluation
• Experience drafting institutional review board (IRB) protocol submissions
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to prioritize work in an environment with competing deadlines

• Professional proficiency in MS Office suite
• Professional proficiency in spoken and written English
• Willingness and ability to travel up to 5% domestically

Preferred qualifications for the role

• Experience with R, STATA, Power BI, and/or Tableau

• Experience with U.S. Department of Labor grant performance reporting systems (e.g., WIPS, RAPIDS)
• Familiarity with data privacy and protection practices, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA)
• Familiarity with salesforce-based systems
• Experience with childcare or early childcare workforce development in the US, including familiarity with workforce credentialing, apprenticeship pathways, or career development programs for the childcare sector

Compensation

Save the Children is offering the following salary ranges for this position, dependent on candidate location:

• Geo 1 - NY Metro, DC, and other locations with labor costs significantly above national average: Target Salary for this position is $119,425 - $133,475 base salary
• Geo 2 - Locations around the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $107,525 - $120,175 base salary
• Geo 3 - Locations significantly below the US National Labor Cost Average: Target Salary for this position is $96,050 - $107,350 base salary

The salary ranges listed above are for US based candidates. For candidates located outside of the US, salary ranges will be based on the salary scales of the local employer of record. Actual base salary may vary based on, but not limited to, relevant experience, base salary of internal peers, business sector, and geographic location (more information on job structure is available here).

Join a Culture of Collaboration, Creativity and Inclusion

At Save the Children, you’ll find nonprofit jobs with purpose. Whether you’re working in advocacy, fundraising or operations, you’re part of a mission-driven organization that’s giving kids a healthy start in life, opportunities to learn and protection from harm.

Every role supports lifesaving humanitarian and development programs anchored in safeguarding children's rights, dignity and well-being – across the U.S. and around the world.

We invest in our people with competitive compensation, comprehensive employee benefits, a deep commitment to employee health and wellness, generous paid family leave and an inclusive culture where everybody belongs.

• Flexible schedules and time off: Flexible schedules, generous PTO, 11 paid holidays plus 2 floating holidays and hybrid working opportunities
• Health: Competitive health care, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Family: A variety of paid leaves: caregiver, parental/adoption, critical child illness and fertility benefits
• Employee Rewards Program: Annual merit increases and/or additional incentives for eligible employees
• Retirement: A retirement savings plan with employer contributions (after one year)
• Wellness: 15 safety and wellness days annually (if hired on or after July 1, safety and wellness days prorated to 8 days), mental health benefits and support through Calm and company-hosted events
• Employee Assistance Program: free and confidential assessments, short-term counseling, referrals, and follow-up services
• Learning & Growth: Access to internal and external learning & development opportunities and mentorships

Click here to learn more about how Save the Children US will invest in you.

Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom we are in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse.

Save the Children is committed to minimizing safety and security risks for our valued employees, ensuring all are given training, support and information to reduce their risk exposure while maximizing the impact of our programs for children and families. Our shared duty, both agency and individual, is to seek and maintain safe working conditions for all.

If you require disability assistance with the application or recruitment process, please submit a request to applicantsupport@savechildren.org.