Director, Program Evidence and Learning - MERL

Position Title: Director, Program Evidence and Learning - MERL Department: Quality, Impact and Learning Location : Remote in CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OR, PA, Puerto Rico, TN, TX, VA, and WA Reports to: Senior Director, MERL Assignment Type: Full time Compensation: $127,036-139,600 USD gross annually Benefits : Visit our Careers page to learn more about our benefits. Written Application Requirements: Resume and application questions Global Health Starts with YOU!

About Americares: Americares is a global health and disaster relief organization that helps people and communities around the world access health in times of disaster and every day. Each year, Americares reaches 85 countries on average, including the United States, with life-changing health programs, medicine, medical supplies and emergency aid. Americares is one of the world’s leading nonprofit providers of donated medicine and medical supplies. For more information, visit americares.org. Americares Values: We create global community, treating people as they want to be treated. We respond effectively and responsibly, putting plans into practice. We embed ethics and equity in our work and workplace. We are better together; partnership is at our core. We ask and listen, to create sustainable solutions for a healthier tomorrow. We commit to quality, growing and improving to ensure individuals and communities thrive.

Position Summary: Americares is seeking an innovative leader to build and advance the organization's program performance and evidence capability. Working across a diverse global portfolio, the Director integrates evidence from monitoring, evaluation, implementation research, program implementation, and external sources to generate actionable insights that strengthen program design and leadership decision-making.

Operating across technical areas, the role connects project-level monitoring, evaluation, and learning with organization-wide understanding of program performance. Working closely with Technical Advisors, Program teams, Strategy, and MERL colleagues, the Director leads the development of thematic theories of change, organizational measurement approaches, strategic metrics, and evidence agendas that strengthen how Americares measures, interprets, and improves program performance.

Rather than managing project-level MERL implementation, the Director builds Americares organizational evidence capability by identifying cross-program patterns, prioritizing evidence needs, and translating evidence into recommendations that inform future program design and investment decisions.

The Director serves as deputy to the Senior Director, MERL,supporting leadership across priority workstreams while helping operationalize the Quality, Impact and Learning vision across the organization.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Organizational Performance, Impact and Learning -Lead the development and refinement of thematic theories of change across Americares technical portfolios. -Develop organizational approaches for understanding program performance, outcomes, and impact across thematic areas. -Integrate evidence across programs to identify patterns, generate actionable insights, and inform program design and organizational priorities. -Build and strengthen thematic evidence bases by identifying evidence priorities and advancing implementation research. -Support organizational learning processes by identifying cross-program lessons and promoting their application across thematic areas.

Organizational Measurement Frameworks -Lead development of organizational approaches for measuring and interpreting program performance across thematic areas. -Develop and refine thematic outcome frameworks, strategic metrics, and core measurement approaches. -Improve consistency of outcome definitions, indicators, and measurement approaches across technical portfolios. -Support interpretation of organizational metrics for executive leadership, board reporting, and organizational decision-making. -Strengthen organizational learning by promoting consistent approaches for capturing, synthesizing, and applying knowledge across programs and thematic areas.

Evidence Strategy and Implementation Research -Develop and operationalize thematic learning/evidence agendas that identify organizational evidence priorities. -Identify priority evidence gaps and guide implementation research priorities in partnership with technical advisors and program leadership. -Lead cross-program evidence reviews that integrate findings from monitoring, evaluation, implementation research, program implementation, and external evidence. -Promote systematic use of evidence to strengthen program design and organizational decision-making.

Strategic Partnership and Organizational Integration -Partner closely with technical advisors to strengthen theories of change and outcome pathways. -Collaborate with Programs, Strategy, IT, QIL, MERL and other internal stakeholders to align performance measurement systems. -Provide strategic guidance on measurement approaches during program design. -Strengthen organizational capacity by translating evidence into recommendations that inform program design, organizational priorities, and future investment decisions. -Represent MERL in cross-functional planning and organizational initiatives.

MERL Leadership -Serve as deputy to the Senior Director, MERL, supporting planning, prioritization, and coordination across the MERL function. -Supervise assigned staff and support professional growth as the function evolves. -Strengthen organizational approaches to performance measurement, learning, governance, and data quality. -Model Americares values and contribute positively to organizational culture. -Other duties as assigned.

Expectations for the role: In the first 90 days: -Actively engage in and complete all organizational onboarding. -Learn and model the organizational values. -Build trusted relationships with key internal stakeholders including technical advisors, Programs teams, Strategy, and MERL. -Assess existing theories of change, outcome measurement approaches, organizational metrics, and available evidence across thematic areas. -Identify priority thematic areas for initial focus in partnership with leadership. -Develop a roadmap for advancing thematic theories of change, outcome measurement, and learning agendas. -Produce an initial assessment of Americares current approach to measuring and interpreting program performance.

In the first 6 months: -Begin development of thematic theories of change in partnership with technical advisors and Programs teams. -Establish an approach for developing thematic learning and implementation research agendas. -Identify priority evidence gaps and opportunities to strengthen program performance measurement across thematic areas. -Pilot cross-program performance reviews to synthesize insights and identify emerging evidence needs. -Begin integrating cross-program performance insights into program design and organizational planning discussions.

I n the first year: -Establish thematic theories of change for priority areas of work. -Develop initial thematic learning and implementation research agendas aligned with organizational priorities. -Build organizational alignment around thematic theories of change, program performance measurement approaches, and learning priorities. -Demonstrate evidence informing program design and organizational decision-making. -Establish this function as a trusted organizational resource for synthesizing, interpreting, and communicating cross-program performance insights that strengthen organizational understanding and inform leadership decision-making. -Demonstrate that cross-program learning is routinely informing program design, implementation research priorities, and organizational decision-making.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS -Master's degree in Public Health, International Health, Epidemiology, Health Systems, Evaluation, Social Sciences, or a related field. -Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring, evaluation, learning, and implementation research. -Demonstrated experience developing organizational performance measurement frameworks for large institutions, including designing strategic indicators, operationalizing organizational metrics, and developing enterprise-level approaches to performance measurement. -Demonstrated experience integrating multiple sources of evidence to support organizational decision-making, strategic planning, or program design. -Experience developing and evaluating MERL frameworks across both U.S. and international public health contexts. -Experience developing theories of change, outcome frameworks, and organizational learning agendas. -Strong understanding of implementation research, evaluation methodologies, and evidence synthesis. -Excellent written and verbal communication skills with demonstrated ability to translate complex evidence into actionable insights for senior leadership.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS -Doctorate in Public Health, International Health, Health Systems, Epidemiology, Evaluation, Implementation Science, or a related discipline; or equivalent level of academic research experience. -Experience operating at the intersection of government, multilateral organizations, academia, and international partners, providing strategic leadership on complex health systems, policy, and organizational performance initiatives. -Experience working within international humanitarian and global health organizations. -Experience developing organizational evidence strategies, implementation research agendas, or enterprise learning approaches. -Record of peer-reviewed publications or other scholarly contributions related to public health, health systems, implementation research, or evaluation. -Experience supporting organizational strategy, enterprise performance measurement, or Board-level performance reporting. -Fluency in languages that are spoken in at least one of our core locations (India, Philippines, Tanzania, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Colombia, etc.), in addition to English.

Additionally, our core competencies as an organization are: Ownership and results Communication Problem solving Equity and inclusion

Teamwork and conflict resolution Leadership Prioritization Management Strategy and planning Decision making

Americares complies with the EEOC: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws

Americares is currently authorized to support remote work employees in the following locations: CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OR, PA, Puerto Rico, TN, TX, VA, and WA. Please note that we do not provide relocation assistance at this time.

Americares is committed to ensuring safe and accountable workplaces and programs. Our code of conduct, organizational values, and policies and procedures help to safeguard the welfare of everyone working for and participating in Americares programs. Americares is committed to the prevention of all types of abuse, discrimination, harassment, and exploitation. Employment with Americares will be subject to appropriate screening, reference, credentials, and background checks. By applying to our organization, job applicants confirm their understanding of and consent to our procedures during recruitment, and to adhering to our values and commitment to safe and accountable workplaces and programs as an employee.

This job description may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, responsibilities, or aspects of the job described, and may be amended at any time at the sole discretion of Americares. At any point in the recruitment process, we may request additional information to confirm qualifications. Any misrepresentation of qualifications in any stage of the process will prevent the applicant from moving forward in the process.

If you have a specific request or need assistance to fully participate in the application or recruitment process, please email us at talentcenter@americares.org.