[Hiring] Advisor Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) @SOS Children's Villages International

Role Description

The M&E Advisor provides strategic leadership for the global monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework of SOS Children’s Villages International. The role ensures that standards, tools, indicators, and processes are harmonized across the federation, maintaining high quality, ethical integrity, and alignment with organizational strategy and programme frameworks. It drives the generation and use of evidence at both global and national levels, supports the integration of M&E within digital systems and programme IT tools, and strengthens the federation’s ability to measure impact. Additionally, the role leads and professionalizes the global M&E network, fostering peer learning and consistent practice across member associations.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Global M&E Strategy, Framework and Standards:
  • Lead the development, governance and continuous improvement of SOS Children’s Villages’ global M&E framework, including global indicators, data collection & quality standards and evaluation guidance.
  • Ensure M&E framework is aligned with organizational strategy, theory of change, minimum standards, and programme quality frameworks.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Accountability:
  • Manage diverse internal and external stakeholders, including governing bodies, member associations, donors, partners, and academic collaborators; aligning their expectations on impact reporting and evidence needs.
  • Promote and support compliance with global M&E standards, donor requirements, ethical data practices, and safeguarding guidelines across stakeholders.
• Capacity Building and Global Network:
  • Lead and facilitate the global network of M&E focal points, promoting peer learning, and strengthening technical capacity across the federation.
  • Design and deliver global webinars, training materials, and communities of practice, and develop competency frameworks to advance MEAL professionalism.
• Evidence Generation and Learning:
  • Lead the generation of federation-wide evidence for key reporting processes, including external communications and reporting to governing bodies.
  • Ensure that global insights, evaluation findings, and data are translated into actionable recommendations and used to inform strategic and programme decision-making.
• Evaluation Oversight:
  • Coordinate multi-country or portfolio evaluations in collaboration with research teams, developing terms of reference, assuring methodological rigor, and ensuring timely dissemination of findings.
  • Improve quality standards and processes for evaluations, research studies, and assessment tools.
• Cross-functional Collaboration:
  • Work closely with strategy, programme, research, advocacy, and communication teams to ensure an integrated, coherent approach to M&E.
• Responsibilities to Uphold Safeguarding (standards) and Promote a Safe Environment:
  • Commit to the Code of Conduct and reflect on the safeguarding implications of your work on an ongoing basis.
  • Actively participate in team discussions to identify risks and share and apply preventative and mitigation measures and strategies.
  • Integrate safeguarding principles into your daily decisions and tasks.
  • Report any safeguarding concerns promptly and in line with procedures.
  • Promote values-based culture, accountability and zero tolerance of harm.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in coordinating M&E systems, frameworks or evaluation functions in complex organisational environments (e.g. humanitarian, development, public sector or international organisations).
• Minimum 3 years of experience managing or supporting complex M&E projects, including rollout of tools, methodologies, surveys and data collection systems.
• Experience in developing or applying M&E frameworks, indicators, and data collection approaches to support insights generation and data-driven decision-making.

Requirements

• Technical Skills:
  • Advanced: Expertise in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning methodologies (MEAL).
  • Advanced: Knowledge of M&E framework design, indicator development, evaluation design, and learning systems.
  • Intermediate: Experience in designing and implementing data collection approaches.
  • Intermediate: Facilitation, training, and stakeholder engagement skills for capacity building.
  • Intermediate: Ability to translate evidence into clear narratives and insights for reporting and decision-making.
  • Intermediate: Knowledge of data interpretation and analysis.
• Desired:
  • Background in research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative).
  • Experience with digital data collection/ survey tools (e.g. KoboToolbox or equivalent).
  • Familiarity with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
  • Familiarity with data integration between data collection tools and reporting solutions.
• Other competencies and soft skills:
  • Strategic thinker able to connect M&E insights to organizational priorities.
  • Strong communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Strong leadership and influencing skills; ability to manage expectations and build trust with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and high cultural sensitivity.

Benefits

• Global collaboration and communication – Working effectively across countries, cultures, and time zones by maintaining clear communication, transparency, and shared understanding within distributed teams.
• Cross-functional collaboration – Working closely with colleagues across different functions and areas of expertise to combine knowledge, solve problems collectively, and deliver meaningful outcomes aligned with the organisation’s mission.
• Effective collaboration within matrix structures – Working constructively within solid and dotted reporting lines by maintaining open communication, aligning priorities with both line and functional managers, and ensuring clarity on roles, responsibilities, and expectations to support coordinated delivery across teams.
• Flexibility and adaptability – Remaining responsive to evolving contexts and adjusting priorities, approaches, and ways of collaboration as projects, services, or organisational demand evolve.
• Ownership and accountability – Taking responsibility for advancing tasks and initiatives, proactively addressing obstacles, and ensuring that commitments, decisions, and actions are carried through to completion, taking initiative within your scope of responsibility rather than waiting for direction.
• Strengthening member associations and their autonomy – Ensuring that knowledge, tools, and lessons from projects and services are shared with member associations so they can learn from the work carried out and progressively strengthen their capacity and independence.
• Continuous feedback and transparency - Contributing to a culture where feedback and data are shared openly and constructively, enabling teams and stakeholders involved to reflect, learn, and continuously improve their work and impact.

Company Description

SOS Children's Villages, founded in 1949, is the world's largest non-governmental organization focused on supporting children and young people without parental care, or at risk of losing it. We work in more than 130 countries and territories to strengthen families who are under pressure so they can stay together. Together with partners, donors, communities, children, young people and families, we enable children to grow up with the bonds they need to develop and become their strongest selves.