Community Development/Resilience & Conflict Subject Matter Expert

Middle East & North Africa Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning Services Activity, Yemen

Company Profile: 

Management Systems International (MSI), a Tetra Tech Company, is a Washington, D.C. metro area management consultancy with a 40-year history of delivering results for our clients. Our expertise is in the fields of monitoring and evaluation; democracy and governance; peace and stability; rule of law and accountability; education; gender and inclusion; strategic communications; and leadership and organizational development. MSI has implemented projects in 90 countries around the world such as Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Ukraine, and works domestically. We support clients ranging from the U.S. Government (e.g., the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Departments of State and Labor, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation) to large bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g., the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program). We also work with national and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, foundations and universities. For more information, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

Project Summary:

The Middle East and North Africa Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Services (MENA MELS) Activity delivers high-quality technical support for monitoring, evaluation, and learning to the Middle East Bureau, its ten field missions, operating units, and implementing partners. Project services include monitoring systems, evaluations, assessments and research; analysis and synthesis; learning and utilization; and MEL capacity building and training. Additional information on the MENA MELS Project is available here.

Under MENA MELS, the MSI team will conduct an evaluation of the Yemen Communities Stronger Together (YCST) project. YSCT is a four-year USAID-funded activity focused on supporting local-level initiatives in Southern Yemen that mitigate conflict, strengthen social cohesion, promote the peaceful resolution of differences, and, where feasible, capitalize on stabilization opportunities. It targets communities in the four governorates of Abyan, Aden, Lahj, and Taiz. This evaluation will examine the effectiveness of the YCST activity in contributing to its intended outcomes and will also examine positive and negative unintended outcomes. To contextualize findings on effectiveness, the evaluation will examine if and how the relevance of the YCST development approach, the quality of implementation, and operational challenges influence the activity’s effectiveness.

Position Summary:

The Community Development/Resilience & Conflict Subject Matter Expert (SME) will support the team lead and other team members in carrying out all necessary tasks to complete the YCST evaluation. The Community Development/Resilience & Conflict SME will support the team lead in the document review, instrument development, and data collection planning process. The SME will ensure that the methodology is suited to the Yemen context and operating environment. The SME will also participate in conducting data collection across the YCST governorates, in analyzing the data, and writing sections of the evaluation report.

Responsibilities:

• Identify and analyze research relevant to the evaluation research questions, with a specific focus on community resilience, conflict mitigation and stabilization programming.
• Provides contextually relevant information on community level stressors, conflict dynamics and mitigation strategies.
• Participate in the development and revision of instruments
• In consultation with the local evaluation specialist, coordinate and conduct data collection efforts including conducting key informant interviews with key stakeholders. Key stakeholders may include government officials, local leaders, tribal chiefs, CSO and NGO representatives.
• Analyze data and write sections of the report, including findings, conclusions, and recommendations
• Support the development and delivery of the evaluation presentation.
• Coordinate with the Team Lead and other team members.

Qualifications:

• Must hold a Master’s degree in international development, local development, stabilization, public policy, economics, or other relevant field from an accredited institution.
• Minimum 10 years of demonstrated experience working on or researching topics including community development, social cohesion, conflict mitigation and resolution, and stabilization preferred.
• At least 10 years’ experience in the MENA region preferred.
• Experienced with community resilience/stabilization programming required.
• Familiar with the development context in Yemen and the operating environment in southern Yemen including in Abyan, Aden, Lahj, and Taiz governorates required.
• Outstanding organizational, analytical, writing and oral presentation skills required.
• Oral and written proficiency in English and Arabic required.

MSI is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion. We strive to develop and maintain a culture that honors the perspectives and identities of our employees, our communities and those impacted by our work.

We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. In accordance with applicable law, we make reasonable accommodations for applicants’ and employees’ religious practices and beliefs, as well as any mental health or physical disability needs.

MSI is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities/Veterans Employer.

Reasonable Accommodations:

MSI is dedicated to hiring an inclusive workforce. If you would like to request reasonable accommodations during the application process, please email MSI.Dept.HRRecruiting@tetratechinc.onmicrosoft.com with “Reasonable Accommodations” in the title. Our recruitment team looks forward to engaging in an interactive process to provide reasonable accommodations for candidates.