Evaluations and Assessments Specialist

The Evaluations and Assessments Specialist will provide technical leadership for evaluation, assessment, and research activities under the Jordan MELA work order. This position will lead the design and implementation of evaluation and assessment assignments in response to U.S. Department of State priorities, ensuring that products are rigorous, relevant, timely, and actionable. The Evaluations and Assessments Lead will work closely with the Jordan MELA Senior M&E Specialist (Evidence Generation Lead), Department of State counterparts, technical specialists, and subcontractors to support credible evidence generation for program design, adaptation, and learning. This is a full-time, Amman-based role with a period of performance from September 2026 - September 2027. Essential Job Functions: The following duties are considered essential to the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions: Lead the design and implementation of evaluations, assessments, political economy and market studies, situational analyses, rapid appraisals, and other research assignments under the Jordan MELA SOW. Develop evaluation and assessment scopes of work, methodological approaches, and work plans in collaboration with the Jordan MELA Regional Director and Department of State counterparts. Select and apply appropriate qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches based on the evaluation question and context. Oversee data collection, analysis, synthesis, and reporting for evaluation and assessment assignments. Ensure all studies adhere to evaluation quality standards, ethical research practices, informed consent requirements, and do-no-harm principles. Coordinate with subject matter experts and local researchers as needed to strengthen technical quality and contextual relevance. Support development of evaluation design reports, final reports, presentations, and other dissemination products. Translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations for decision-makers and implementers. Support learning and utilization activities, including validation meetings, dissemination workshops, and follow-up action planning. Contribute to portfolio-level evidence synthesis and identify strategic themes across multiple assignments. Ensure strong documentation, version control, and quality assurance throughout the evaluation process. Collaborate with team members to align evaluation and assessment work with broader monitoring, learning, and capacity strengthening objectives

Desired Candidate Profile

Master s degree in international development, economics, public policy, social sciences, statistics, evaluation, or a related field required; doctoral degree preferred. Minimum of 7 years of experience designing and implementing evaluations, assessments, research studies, or applied social science research required. Demonstrated experience with qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches. Strong experience developing evaluation scopes of work, research designs, and actionable reports for donor or government clients. Knowledge of evaluation standards, human subjects protection, and ethical research practices. Experience working in Jordan and/or the MENA region strongly preferred. Familiarity with U.S. Government foreign assistance programming and evaluation requirements strongly preferred. Strong analytical, writing, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate findings to technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to manage multiple assignments and deadlines in dynamic, sometimes sensitive environments. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Arabic required.