Job Opportunity for Monitoring/Evaluation & Learning Lead at Samhita in Kolkata

MEL Lead, REVIVE Organisation Overview (Samhita.org) Samhita is a social impact consulting firm, with a vision to build a ‘better normal’. The better normal reimagines business environments where social value is an integral aspect of growth, putting stakeholders and environmental guardianship at the centre of business strategy, a strategy that evolves from inputs to outcomes, from individuals to ecosystem, and from delivering services to building capacity and enabling the market.To do this, we support companies to align their core competencies with the needs of the social sector, and build catalytic partnerships with stakeholders with in-depth knowledge and networks to execute sustainable, outcome-oriented social impact initiatives. This approach bridges the gap between purpose and action, and forges business responsibility strategies that balance people, profit and planet, thereby creating a better normal for communities, environments and businesses. About REVIVE:REVIVE leverages CSR and philanthropic capital to plug the gap around timely, affordable and accessible capital, through returnable grants, for semi and unskilled workers, entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises that form the backbone of businesses and the national economy. The provision of grants is complemented by interventions such as job placements, reskilling and upskilling to find additional income sources and visibility to access further loans. Innovative and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation is a core feature of the project where we are building research infrastructure to understand the impact of returnable grants and other intervention through robust primary data collection, experimentation, and ongoing monitoring. Alongside this, there is an in-depth thirdparty evaluator to test the efficacy and fidelity of the program’s impact. Based out of: Mumbai (Remote at the moment) Role Brief: The Research and Operations Lead, MEL at REVIVE is responsible for the overall strategy and day-to-day execution of REVIVE’s monitoring and evaluation vertical at Samhita. The success of the role lies in the ability to seamlessly design and execute customized MEL plans for individual cohorts within REVIVE and grow a young and enthusiastic team under their mentorship. Roles & Responsibilities:- Lead the development of the overall MEL strategy for REVIVE

• Work closely with MEL teams/personnel of REVIVE’s funders
• USAID, MSDF, ONI, UNDP, FCDO, to understand their focus areas and incorporate them into REVIVE’s MEL strategy and execution. Provide them with regular updates and thought partner with them to build a stronger MEL strategy and to troubleshoot challenges.
• Work closely with REVIVE’s implementation team and the Stakeholder and Content Lead, MEL to lead the development of the MEL strategy of individual cohorts under the REVIVE program
• Lead the MEL team to execute research projects end-to-end and support them in tasks such as – developing research design, designing cohort-specific survey instruments, digitization of survey instruments (SurveyCTO), training of enumerators, testing survey instruments, conducting highfrequency checks, cleaning and analysis (STATA, R, Python), creation of insights based on analysis and data visualization, conduct qualitative interviews to develop case studies and triangulate findings.
• Leading design of quasi-experiments to test certain hypotheses with respect to returnable grants and other blended finance models.
• Work closely with all stakeholders to implement experiments – hypothesis creation, getting stakeholder buy-in, creating random samples, designing treatment (intervention), executing timely data collection, and trouble-shooting challenges.
• Lead relationships with partner data-collection and evaluation agencies and NBFC partner to execute the vision of the REVIVE’s MEL seamlessly
• Lead efforts developing protocols and setting high research standards for the REVIVE’s MEL team
• Lead, coach and manage a young enthusiastic team – creating an inspiring and motivating environment, setting clear goals, delegating tasks, resolving conflicts and troubleshooting, mentoring team members to reach their full potential
• Support the Stakeholder and Content Lead, MEL in knowledge management (such as – report writing, articles, slide decks) Qualifications, Skills & Experience:- Master’s degree required (economics, statistics, econometrics, public policy, or other related disciplines)
• 8+ years of experience working with on-ground research projects and managing their end-to-end execution (including research design, sampling, tool creation and data collection and analysis)
• At least 5 years of experience working in social research
• Excellent understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods (econometrics, statistics, and research design)
• Strong ability to balance the study design and rigour with implementation practicalities
• Demonstrated experience working on statistics software (Excel, STATA, R, Python, MATLAB, Julia)
• Demonstrated experience working on data visualisation tools (Google Data Studio, Flourish, Tableau)
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Excellent project management and organizational skills
• Excellent team management skills
• Fluency and excellent communication skills in English (and fluency in other local Indian languages
  Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi desirable)
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• A flexible work style. Someone that can work easily with ambiguity in a fast-paced environment with short timelines.
• Emotionally intelligent. Work with a variety of colleagues with empathy, an open mind, and selfawareness. Why Samhita:Mission-driven organisation with the most inspired people around
• Make a big difference: Take, own and implement.
• Leadership: This is the perfect opportunity to go beyond traditional roles and lead cutting-edge management and research strategies. The candidate shall work alongside the brightest minds, in an environment that fosters growth and creativity
• Impact: Working with Samhita will provide you with an opportunity to bring about a positive change in the lives of millions – doing well by doing well
• Work Culture: Samhita has a team of young, hard-working, and dynamic individuals who strive for excellence while maintaining a humble outlook. Our work has been strengthened and supported by international and domestic donor agencies and foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Tata Trusts, GIZ, DFID, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, UNDP and the Power of Nutrition.
• Learning: Increase your problem-solving capabilities by delving into complex challenges. 7Desired

Skills and Experience

Python,Data Visualization,Data Analytics,Analytics,Research,Statistics