Director of Impact, Evaluation and Learning

This position can be based in Washington, DC or in an international IFAW office

Staff work a hybrid schedule with 2 days/week in the office

The Director of Impact, Evaluation, and Learning (DIEL) will fill a pivotal role in ensuring that IFAW's initiatives are effective, efficient, and aligned with its mission. This position involves overseeing the design and implementation of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks at institutional, program, and project levels. By developing robust metrics and methodologies, the DIEL will ensure that all organizational efforts are measurable and that outcomes can be accurately assessed. This includes setting up data collection systems, creating evaluation protocols, and ensuring that all data gathered is reliable and valid.

At the institutional level, the DIEL will collaborate closely with senior leadership to integrate M&E into the organization's strategic planning and decision-making processes. This involves not only developing and tracking progress towards long-term goals but also identifying opportunities for organizational learning and improvement. The DIEL ensures that the insights gained from evaluations are used to refine strategies, optimize resource allocation, and enhance overall institutional effectiveness. This role requires a deep understanding of the organization's mission, as well as the ability to translate complex data into actionable recommendations for both senior leadership, staff and the IFAW Board.

On the program level, the DIEL will ensure that each individual Program strategy and major cross program initiatives (such as Room to Roam) are aligned with the broader organizational goals and that their impact is systematically evaluated. This includes designing program-specific evaluation plans, setting performance targets, and developing indicators that measure both immediate outputs and long-term outcomes. The DIEL will work with the VP and DVP Programs, Senior Program Directors and Program Directors to ensure that these plans are implemented effectively and that any deviations are promptly addressed. By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and through the provision of training to Program staff, the DIEL will help teams to learn from their experiences and to apply best practices across different projects. At the project level, and with a particular emphasis on the development of proposals for restricted funding, the DIEL and their team will focus on the granular details of each initiative, leading the development of robust logical framework and indicators, ensuring that project activities are being executed as planned and that their impacts are being accurately measured. This will involve participating in limited field visits, liaising with project staff, and supporting the collecting qualitative and quantitative data from various sources. The DIEL and their team will analyze this data to assess the effectiveness of specific interventions, to identify any unforeseen challenges, and to measure the overall impact on conservation and animal welfare outcomes. This hands-on approach ensures that projects remain on track and that they contribute effectively to IFAW's overarching Program and Institutional goals

The DIEL will play a crucial role in fostering a learning environment and culture within IFAW. This includes facilitating training sessions, workshops, and learning exchanges that build the M&E capacity of staff members and partners at all levels. By promoting a culture of evidence-based decision-making, the DIEL will lead efforts to ensure that IFAW remains adaptive, responsive, and innovative in its efforts.

Role and Responsibilities

• Leads development and delivery of technically robust Institutional Strategic Plan goals, objectives, indicators and impact progress monitoring.
• Technical contribution to priority initiatives and projects progress and impact monitoring in particular focusing on Room to Roam and North Atlantic Right Whales among others.
• Collaborates with Program Directors to develop effective program strategies that align with the institutional strategic plan
• Works closely with the DVP Institutional Giving and team to support foundation, government, corporate partnership proposal development particularly around logical pathways, M&E design and implementation plans.
• In collaboration with Program Leadership and other support function leads, conducts analytics and collates annual program impact data for reporting
• Leads the Impact, Evaluation and Learning team that supports all project teams' activities and initiatives around strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning
• Oversees the IEL capacity building needs in each region to ensure staff keep pace with contemporary IEL practices
• Builds a culture of learning, sharing and transparency across the organization by identifying opportunities for internal or external sharing and adoption of lessons learned, innovative approaches, failure growth, and adaptive management solutions
• Collaborates with Senior Manager of Program Operations and team (Grants management, Compliance & Project Management) to ensure alignment and synergy with the Impact Evaluation and Learning team
• Supports Program Directors and Managers to review annual project plans and quarterly reports to ensure accuracy, completion, and thorough M&E data analysis and inclusion
• Facilitates project and strategic planning meetings where needed
• Supports teams in the management of external evaluators to evaluate projects or programs
• Conducts internal evaluations or assessments of projects or initiatives, developing reports and action plans to integrate key recommendations
• Develops and manages all planning and IEL systems and tools across Programs and Regions, and ISP reporting for Development and Communications & Brand Marketing functions.
• Conducts ONLY appropriate field project site visits for strategic backstopping the IFAW IEL team and partners when needed
• Conducts outreach and provides thought leadership to the broader M&E community through speaking engagements and conference participation where relevant
• Supports VP of Programs on other projects or requests

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience preferred; MA/MS degree in monitoring and evaluation, biological sciences, or international studies is ideal
• Minimum of five years' experience planning, monitoring, and evaluating international projects
• Five or more years' experience preferred in project management and/or formal/informal education or outreach campaigns
• Understanding of technology use in monitoring and evaluation (including GIS or other geospatial data systems)
• Solid understanding of international animal welfare and conservation issues and stakeholders
• Confident and creative facilitation and public speaking skills
• Superior writing skills, report writing, briefing documents, strategic analysis, etc.
• International experience preferred, particularly working in an international team environment
• Organized, self-motivated and able to work independently
• Ability to collaborate and communicate effectively, and demonstrate diplomacy and sensitivity with people from varying educational, social, and cultural backgrounds
• International travel required
• Fluency in English required; proficiency in multiple languages a plus

At IFAW, we aim to create and foster a workforce that reflects and contributes to the diverse, global community in which we work to improve the lives of both animals and people. We are dedicated to fostering justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion so we actively encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Tagged as: animal welfare, conservation, evaluation, international, monitoring