Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning

Position summary:

The Global Programs department will serve as a major programmatic resource hub to guide and support Rainforest Alliance’s implementation of its strategy through global initiatives, regional projects, and partnerships, as well as to draw on for developing external engagements with companies, consumers, donors, and other stakeholders. The department facilitates and ensures consistent programmatic design that brings together the range of programs required to achieve impact and delivers its services in a synergistic and coordinated manner.

The Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) leads all aspects of the MERL unit within the Global Programs department. The Director activates the full potential of bringing to scale data, learning and business intelligence on Rainforest Alliance’s mission impact.  The Director will guide and be responsible for the design, quality control and reporting of Rainforest Alliance’s organization wide M&E systems and the methodology to measure impact and generate learning, based on the organization’s Impact Framework. The Director supervises the tangible activation of the concept of producer centricity in the organization, as well as external research and case studies. Lastly, the Director supervises a team of staff dedicated to managing specific, externally funded project M&E.    

The Director will supervise a multi-disciplinary, international team which designs and implements all its work in co-creation with other departments, and supports the organization to implement standards, best practices and tools that ensure systematic learning and adaptive management at all levels of the organization. The Director will ensure effective collaboration and coordination across Rainforest Alliance departments.

As a leader, the Director will be committed to providing clear direction and to support the teams in driving impact. As we move forward into a more agile Rainforest Alliance, our leaders will be at the forefront of innovating what and how we make that impact as well as how we support our people to grow whilst doing so.

Everything we do focuses on what serves our producers and achieving our mission, and our leaders develop teams who work across and beyond organizational boundaries to deliver excellence to our producers. By defining clear priorities and enabling creative viable solutions to complex problems through robust yet flexible decision-making processes, the Director will contribute to a data-driven and conscientious culture.

Identifying critical cross-departmental and external alliance growth opportunities as well as having the expertise and communication style to positively influence these successful collaborations is key to the success of this role.

Responsibilities: 

• The Rainforest Alliance’s Core Values are Impact, Change, Collaboration, Openness and Trust and as such they form the basis of the behaviours we demonstrate;

• Proactively support the organization in achieving its 2030 Strategy, especially by ensuring our work is set up to drive impact along six impact pathways that constitute the organization´s Impact Framework;

• Complete the organization and effective operating of the new MERL unit, in close collaboration with the Sr Director Global Programs and team members;

• Represent Rainforest Alliance at key events, presentations, policy forums and roundtables;

• Build organization-wide understanding and application of the Rainforest Alliance Impact Framework to measure the defined KPIs towards RA’s mission;

• Create a culture and initiate processes of meticulous analysis, evidence-based decision-making and sharing of experience relating to program performance and needed adjustments to enhance their contributions to Rainforest Alliance’s mission;

• Facilitate the design, support the implementation and take lead responsibility for Producer Centricity across the organization;

• Contract external research and case studies where applicable to complement Rainforest Alliance’s program and project evaluations;

• Produce periodic impact reports of publishable quality relating to Rainforest Alliance’s work;

• Ensure seamless, effective, and service oriented processes for collaboration cross-functionally;

• Cultivate a culture of positive and proactive collaboration, consult widely and inclusively across the organization, clearly demonstrating having taken broad perspectives into consideration, and embed continuous learning and simplification into all aspects of programmatic work;

• Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies applicable laws and corporate behavioural framework- responsibilities include hiring; mentoring and evaluating; guiding professional development opportunities; and addressing employee relations issues; and;

• Other duties, as assigned.
  

Qualifications: 

• Advanced degree in a natural science, economics, business administration or equivalent field;

• At least 12 years of progressive, relevant experience in monitoring & evaluation systems, of which the majority in the field of tropical agriculture and/or forestry 

• At least 8 years of senior-leadership level experience, including industry collaboration, strategic alliances, and systems change methodologies maximizing producer and market value;

• Demonstrated capacity to communicate impacts in a visually appealing way and that focuses on the key information required;

• Extraordinary commitment, energy and a positive mindset;

• Knowledge of sustainable development issues and commitment to Rainforest Alliance’s goals of strengthening livelihoods and securing human rights; conserving forests and other high-value ecosystems; restoring production systems and rural landscapes; and mitigating climate change and building climate resilience;

• Direct experience working with agricultural producers (small, medium and large) and/or forest communities preferred;

• Key competencies: Transformational leadership, innovation, adaptability, persuasion, critical and reflective thinking, public speaking, resourcefulness, relationship builder based on trust, empathy and openness, and strong organizational skills to manage multiple priorities in a time sensitive manner; 

• High quality spoken and written English, preferably with knowledge of other languages.
  

Job level: 1

Salary: Commensurate with experience.

Deadline: 29 September 2023

Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in the locations in which we are registered will be considered.

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: recruitment@ra.org

WHO WE ARE:

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. To achieve our mission, we partner with diverse allies around the world to drive positive change across global supply chains and in many of our most critically important natural landscapes.

Our alliance spans 70 countries and includes farmers and forest communities, companies, governments, civil society, and millions of individuals. Together we work to protect forests   and biodiversity, take action on climate, and promote the rights and improve the livelihoods of rural people.

As an international nonprofit organization with more than 30 years of experience in sustainability transformation, we understand that the social and economic well-being of rural communities is tightly connected to ecosystem health. This knowledge has shaped our rigorous programs to advance sustainable land-use and commodity production.

At the Rainforest Alliance we combat climate change, protect forests and biodiversity, promote human rights, and improve livelihoods. The enormity of the social and environmental challenges we are facing requires working together in a broad alliance. This is why we bring farmers, forest communities, companies, and consumers together to change the way the world produces, sources, and consumes.

Why

To protect nature and improve lives it’s becoming increasingly urgent that we approach the way we use our land and produce food and other products in more sustainable ways. For this to succeed we need to fundamentally change the way that businesses operate and source, and the choices we all make as consumers.

How

Our growing global alliance aims to transform our relationship with our natural resources and each other, to create a better future for people and nature together.

The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability, and any other protected group.

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: recruitment@ra.org