Evaluation & Learning Specialist – Development & Donor-Funded Job Creation Programmes (24-Month FTC)

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

Location: Pretoria | Contract: 24-Month Fixed-Term

A national public-sector advisory institution is seeking an experienced Evaluation & Learning Specialist to support a large-scale employment and enterprise development funding programme.

This role requires a strong background in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) within donor-funded, grant-funded, blended finance, or public-sector development funding environments. The successful candidate will play a critical role in evaluating funded projects, strengthening learning systems, and ensuring measurable socio-economic impact across a multi-stakeholder portfolio.

Emphasis: Required Funding & Programme Experience

The ideal candidate must have demonstrable experience in:

• Donor-funded development programmes (local or international donors)

• Grant funding mechanisms and performance-based funding models

• Public sector development finance programmes

• Enterprise development and job creation funding initiatives

• Blended finance or catalytic funding models

• Evaluating projects funded through results-based or impact-driven frameworks

Experience working within government-funded programme management units (PMUs), development finance institutions (DFIs), donor communities, or economic development funds will be highly advantageous.

Key Responsibilities:

Evaluation & Learning Leadership

• Execute the Evaluation Framework and Learning Agenda for a national job creation fund.

• Design and manage baseline, mid-term, formative and summative evaluations.

• Develop Terms of Reference (ToRs) and manage external evaluation service providers.

• Extract portfolio-level lessons from funded projects and support evidence-based decision-making.

Monitoring & Results-Based Management

• Strengthen results-based planning, monitoring and reporting frameworks.

• Review and appraise Project Implementation Monitoring Plans and Theories of Change.

• Support the definition and tracking of KPIs across funded projects.

• Ensure validity and integrity of M&E data through systematic reviews.

Data Analysis & Impact Measurement

• Analyse complex datasets and generate actionable insights.

• Evaluate socio-economic impact, job creation metrics and sustainability outcomes.

• Support impairment of performance risks through data-driven recommendations.

• Contribute to social impact reporting and knowledge dissemination.

Donor & Stakeholder Engagement

• Prepare technical evaluation reports for government, donors, management and partners.

• Liaise with project partners, stakeholders and service providers.

• Conduct benchmarking and learning exercises within job creation and enterprise development sectors.

• Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions and capacity building on evaluation methodologies.

Systems & Continuous Improvement

• Improve data collection systems and reporting tools.

• Collaborate on grants management system (GMS) enhancements.

• Simplify technical M&E processes into practical guidance for programme teams.

• Contribute to institutionalising a learning culture within the funding programme.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Monitoring & Evaluation, Development Studies, Economics, Public Administration or related field.

• 6–8 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation of development or donor-funded programmes.

• At least 2 years’ experience at management level.

• Strong experience evaluating grant-funded, enterprise development or job creation projects.

• Advanced qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation methodology expertise.

• Proven ability to prepare high-level technical evaluation reports for multiple audiences.

• Experience managing multiple stakeholders within complex funding environments.

Postgraduate qualification in M&E or related field will be advantageous.

Ideal Candidate Profile

This role is best suited to a technically strong Evaluation & Learning Specialist with direct exposure to development funding, grant funding, donor reporting frameworks, and impact measurement within job creation or enterprise development programmes.

Candidates should combine strong analytical ability with stakeholder engagement capability and demonstrate experience in turning evaluation findings into strategic programme improvements.