Company profile:

SoCha (a portmanteau of Social and Change) is an independent Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) firm providing bespoke solutions to social challenges. We are a US-registered, veteran-owned small business with a base in Mauritius. SoCha supports foreign assistance interventions across Africa and Asia, specializing in advancing innovative MEL methodologies.

Background:

SoCha has an expanding portfolio of MEL projects across Asia and seeks to staff a senior MEL professional to lead delivery on a complex, multi-grant program. The MEL Manager will serve as SoCha’s primary technical lead on a program that disburses grants to local NGOs and CSOs, academic institutions, and community-based organizations to deliver technical capacity building, research and training, and humanitarian assistance activities across a challenging regional operating environment. The program is expected to expand significantly in the coming funding period, requiring intensive field monitoring. SoCha’s MEL team operates as part of the broader program implementation team, working closely with the prime implementer’s program management, technical, and grants staff to inform program and grants management decision making.  

Scope of Work:

SoCha seeks a MEL Manager to lead its in-country MEL team on a complex, multi-grant program based in Thailand. The MEL Manager’s core function is to lead the design of the program’s grant monitoring approach; collaborate with grantees, technical advisors, grants managers, and other stakeholders to implement it; and guide a team of MEL officers and field monitors to collect data, verify grant implementation, and support grantee learning and program delivery. The MEL Manager is responsible for the quality and timeliness of all MEL outputs under SoCha’s subcontract and reports to SoCha’s home office Project Manager.

Responsibilities:

1. Lead development and revision of the program's theory of change and performance monitoring framework, including indicator definitions, disaggregation requirements, and grantee reporting templates; adapt as program scope or client priorities evolve.
2. Develop tailored MEL plans for each grant covering indicators, targets, verification approach, and reporting obligations; attend grant review meetings to flag monitoring risks before award and lead MEL plan reviews with grantees before grant start.
3. Assess the risk level of each grant and calibrate verification intensity accordingly; delegate plan drafting to Senior MEL Officers where volume requires.
4. Lead all grant verification activities to confirm milestone deliverables and collect output data; sign off on milestone payment requests alongside the Grants Director.
5. Manage a field monitoring operation with consistent protocols, quality standards, and tailored onboarding of field monitors across programs and geographic areas.
6. Assign each grant to a MEL Officer lead responsible for grantee coordination, questionnaire development, monitor briefing, and timeline tracking; maintain a verification tracker for reporting and audit purposes.
7. Flag compliance concerns — including evidence gaps or respondent integrity issues — immediately to the Grants Director and commission additional verification as needed.
8. Maintain the program's output data database; prepare MEL sections of quarterly and annual client reports including results against targets, verification summaries, and outcome updates; track disaggregated data for client requirements.
9. Manage tracking of short- and long-term outcome indicators through grantee surveys, secondary sources, and stakeholder perception surveys; manage periodic institutional assessments and lead program outcome assessments when required.
10. Maintain a rolling lessons learned matrix; lead Strategic Review Sessions and other management forums presenting MEL findings; support grantee debriefs at close-out.
11. Represent SoCha in program management meetings and conduct weekly MEL team meetings to review verification status and coordinate workloads.
12. Directly supervise SoCha's MEL team and field monitor roster; manage deployment logistics and maintain a roster with performance notes, language coverage, and geographic availability.
13. Liaise with SoCha's home office Project Manager on subcontract compliance, staffing, budget utilization, and escalation issues.

Qualifications:

Required:

1. Minimum 8 years of progressive MEL experience in international development, with demonstrated experience in a team leader or senior advisory capacity.
2. Proven experience managing grant verification on milestone-based grant programs, including MEL plan development, milestone review, and payment authorization processes.
3. Experience developing and maintaining performance monitoring frameworks, including theory of change development, indicator definition, and indicator reference sheet preparation for institutional donors.
4. Experience designing and overseeing mixed-methods data collection, including field-based key informant interviews, structured remote verification, and KoboToolbox or equivalent data collection platforms.
5. Proven ability to manage a geographically dispersed MEL team across varied engagement arrangements — full-time, part-time, and on-demand — in complex or access-constrained operating environments.
6. Experience working within a consortium or subcontract structure, collaborating closely with a prime implementer’s technical, grants, and management staff as part of an integrated program team.
7. Strong analytical and writing skills; ability to synthesize verification findings across a large grant portfolio and produce clear, well-structured performance reports for institutional audiences.
8. Excellent coordination skills; demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent grantee relationships, verification cycles, and field deployments under time pressure.
9. Proficiency in KoboToolbox, Excel-based data management, and project management platforms.
10. Bachelor’s degree in international development, social sciences, public policy, or a related field.

Preferred:

1. Experience working in Southeast Asia; regional contextual knowledge and relevant language skills are a strong advantage.
2. Familiarity with technical capacity building or programming in complex environments.
3. Experience monitoring local NGOs, CSOs, academic institutions, or community-based organizations as grant recipients.
4. Prior experience designing and managing remote verification.
5. Master’s degree in a relevant field.

Terms of Engagement:

Place of Performance:  Thailand-based, with a regional focus across Southeast Asia program areas.

Period of Performance:  Full-time position for the program duration, subject to continued funding, following an initial probationary period.

Reporting:  The MEL Manager reports directly to SoCha’s home office Project Manager and works under the day-to-day technical direction of the program’s senior management. The MEL Manager directly supervises SoCha’s MEL officers and all field monitors assigned to the program.

How to Apply:

Please submit your CV via the application link. Shortlisting is conducted on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.