Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Manager

POSITION SUMMARY

Position Title: Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Manager

Project or Division: iDE Cambodia

Location: Based in Phnom Penh with regular trips to provinces where iDE operates

Report to: Country Director

Duration: 1 year with a high likelihood of extension based on a combination of performance and project extension

BACKGROUND & PURPOSE

iDE is a non-profit international organization with over 40 years of experience, dedicated to powering entrepreneurs to end poverty through market-based programs. Active in Cambodia since 1994, iDE Cambodia focuses on agriculture, climate and resilience, food security and nutrition, and WASH. We use a market-driven approach to support entrepreneurs and facilitate the inclusive development of value chains and business models, having reached approximately 6 million people.

iDE Cambodia is transitioning to a centralized Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) model to ensure consistent, high-quality support across its growing project portfolio. We are seeking an experienced leader to develop and lead this centralized team, driving a culture of evidence-based decision-making and organizational learning across programs.

The Senior MERL Manager leads this centralized team, ensuring all programs have access to high-quality MERL support. This role involves strategic leadership, team management, technical know-how, and practical implementation. The postholder will develop and manage a capable team, set the strategic direction for MERL, ensure evidence reaches program managers for adaptive management, and contribute directly to program-level MERL activities.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

The Senior MERL Manager reports directly to the Country Director and manages a small team of MERL specialists across various offices. The role involves working closely with all iDE Cambodia program managers to address their MERL needs and serving as the primary liaison with the iDE Global MERL team for strategy, standards, and cross-country learning.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead, manage, and develop the centralized MERL team, including setting priorities, managing workload, and supporting the professional growth of all direct reports through reviews and addressing skills gaps.
• Foster a team culture of intellectual curiosity, psychological safety, and openness to learning, ensuring the team operates as a responsive service to program managers.

Portfolio-Wide MERL Oversight

• Design, implement, and manage MERL frameworks, plans, tools, and systems across all iDE Cambodia programs.
• Serve as the primary point of coordination with program managers to maintain a clear picture of MERL needs, allocate team capacity, and troubleshoot issues.
• Oversee the quality and timeliness of MERL contributions to program reporting.
• Oversee the quality and coherence of MERL frameworks, systems, and practices.

MERL Strategy and Organizational Learning

• Lead the development and continuous improvement of iDE Cambodia's overall MERL strategy, ensuring alignment with iDE Global standards and country office priorities.
• Champion a culture of organizational learning by ensuring MERL evidence actively feeds into adaptive management and strategic decision-making.
• Lead iDE Cambodia's engagement with the iDE Global MERL team, contributing country-level insights and participating in cross-country learning initiatives.

Organizational Representation and Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage with the iDE Global MERL team on strategy, standards, tools, and cross-country learning, ensuring the country office benefits from global knowledge.
• Build and maintain relationships with M&E focal points at partner organizations and engage with external MERL communities to stay current and bring in new thinking.

PROJECT MERL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Senior MERL Manager will directly support two projects within iDE Cambodia’s portfolio.

Transforming Lives Through Nutrition (TLTN)

• Design, implement, manage, and continuously improve comprehensive MERL frameworks, plans, processes, and tools for LDSC-funded projects, ensuring alignment with institutional standards and industry best practices.
• Provide strategic MERL guidance, including collecting, analyzing, organizing, and communicating high-quality quantitative and qualitative data to assess program effectiveness, impact, outcome tracking, and target setting.
• Implement Data Quality Assurance measures to ensure data integrity, and facilitate the integration of learning, reflection, and feedback to support adaptive management throughout the program lifecycle.
• Contribute to donor reporting (including narrative and financial reports) and support knowledge management and documentation of lessons learned, best practices, and program evidence.

Growing Transformative Horticulture (GROWTH)

• Design, implement, and manage comprehensive MERL frameworks, plans, and tools for the GROWTH project, with a strong focus on horticulture market systems development. This includes leading the measurement and analysis of market systems outcomes such as market linkages, MSME performance, and profitability gains.
• Develop and implement indicators and methodologies to assess farmers' transition to collective action models (ex: producer groups) and measure the adoption and outcomes of Climate-Smart Agriculture practices, including changes in productivity, resilience, and sustainability at both the farmer and system levels.
• Ensure data quality assurance, effective data management, and documentation of learning, lessons learned, and best practices related to market systems change and agricultural transformation. Support project teams in using MERL data for adaptive management and contribute to required donor reporting and learning products for the GROWTH project.

The Senior MERL Manager must be a proactive and results-oriented leader with strong technical expertise in MERL. They are expected to exercise sound judgment, provide strategic input, and support evidence-based decision-making across complex, multi-stakeholder programs.

Minimum Qualifications and Skills

• Advanced degree in a relevant field (M&E, Statistics, Data Science, etc.).
• 5 years of full-cycle project MERL experience and at least 3 years in a team leadership or management role.
• Proven experience designing and managing MERL systems (indicators, data collection, quality assurance, and learning processes), with strong skills in data analysis, visualization, and translating data into actionable insights.
• Experience working with multi-donor funded projects (including reporting and accountability), and a proven ability to build productive working relationships with program managers to translate their needs into actionable MERL support.
• Experience engaging with global or regional teams and iDE’s core technical areas (agriculture, WASH, nutrition, etc.) is an asset. 
• Excellent written and spoken Khmer and English are required.

Leadership and Management Skills

• Strong people management skills to develop, motivate, and hold accountable a diverse team, while being comfortable with delegation.
• Sound organizational judgment to prioritize across competing demands and make pragmatic decisions under uncertainty.
• Strong communication and facilitation skills across diverse audiences (field staff to senior leadership), with the ability to navigate organizational complexity and build buy-in for new team models.

Personal Attributes

• Creativity, impact orientation, and an entrepreneurial spirit, paired with a high level of commitment to iDE’s mission, vision, culture, and values.
• Curious and actively nurtures a culture of learning (including openness about failure), and is excited by and open to new ideas and innovative ways of working.
• Collaborative, thrives in a team environment, works effectively in a multicultural team, and high levels of empathy, care, respect, and patience.
• Demonstrates honesty, integrity, and a strong work ethic, effective time management, and an ability to work under pressure, with a willingness to take on additional relevant responsibilities.

DIVERSITY

iDE takes pride in our talented and diverse workforce. Minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Hiring, promotion, and compensation of employees are conducted without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

iDE is more than just a workplace; we’re a family. We respect, support, and appreciate one another. We aim to balance our mission with the health and wellbeing of our team, and we strive to create a work environment that values and supports your personal and family life.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit your information via Workable. Please mark the subject line as “Application for the position of MERL Manager”. We will accept application materials through 16 March 2026, will conduct interviews with short-listed candidates on a rolling basis, and are looking to onboard this position as soon as possible.