MEL Director

MEL Director

• Reports to: Chief Sustainability Officer
• Location: 100% work-remote, preference for +/- 4hrs EST
• Employment type: Full-time with benefits
• Start Date: January 2027
• Salary: $108,000 - $120,000 USD

What’s the job and who is Nuru?

The MEL Director provides strategic leadership and technical ownership over Nuru’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems across the Nuru Collective. Anchored in rigorous mixed-methods research, this role combines robust quantitative statistical analysis with insightful qualitative methodologies to measure and evaluate complex agribusiness, livelihood, environmental, and social outcomes. The Director is responsible for championing and building on top of current MEL systems while delivering a consistent, defensible evidence base—ensuring that organizational impact claims are grounded in statistically sound quantitative models and nuanced qualitative insights. The Director will be an excellent scientific communicator to internal and external audiences.

This technical leadership role requires an experienced researcher and manager of people with deep expertise in advanced statistical software (such as Stata or R), rigorous experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs, qualitative field research, and spatial data integration (GIS). While core responsibilities center on advanced statistical modeling, field survey pipelines, and mixed-methods research designs, the role also leverages secondary capabilities in Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks to align Nuru’s spatial and outcome data with market-based standards and Nature-based Solutions (NbS).

Nuru is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the ability to hire employees globally. Founded in 2008, Nuru is a global collective of locally-led NGO’s working to break cycles of unjust poverty in marginalized communities across Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Niger, and Togo. We achieve this by helping smallholder farmers transition from subsistence to professionalized farming.

A pioneer in remote work, Nuru has been fully remote since 2008. Our team members work from the locations that suit them best, and we remain committed to this flexible, remote-first model. For this role, candidates must be able to maintain regular working overlap with the U.S. Eastern Time, preferably within approximately four hours.

What you’ll be doing:

• Lead mixed-methods evaluation design, sample size determination, econometric modeling, and causal attribution using advanced statistical software (Stata, R, Python) to ensure defensible impact claims.
• Provide organizational leadership over MEL indicator frameworks, field survey infrastructure (ODK, KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO), impact briefs, and reporting dashboards across the Nuru Collective.
• Oversee quantitative and qualitative tracking of environmental outcomes, integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial datasets, and remote sensing into data pipelines to evaluate land health and climate resilience.
• Lead the secondary integration of Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) capabilities, aligning spatial and outcome data in partnership with Nature-based Solutions (NbS) partners.
• Serve as a technical authority for funding proposals and donor engagement while managing third-party evaluation partnerships and representing Nuru through publications and sector events.
• Manage and support the professional development of the Senior MEL and Data Systems Associate.
• Build capacity among country-level MEL teams in East and West Africa through targeted guidance, communities of practice, and annual in-person field collaboration.

What you bring to the team:

• Required Experience
  • 5+ years of leadership experience in mixed-methods research, experimental/quasi-experimental designs, and monitoring systems within international development, research, agriculture, information systems, evaluation, or a related area.
  • Proven ability to manage and scale MEL department workflows, direct third-party research partnerships, and coach multicultural regional teams in quantitative/qualitative data analysis and evaluation methodologies.
  • Deep hands-on experience designing, scripting, and managing digital field collection platforms (e.g., KoboToolbox, ODK, SurveyCTO) and end-to-end data pipelines.
  • Demonstrated experience tracking environmental, agricultural, or land-use outcomes with direct oversight of GIS tools (e.g., QGIS, ArcGIS, Google Earth Engine) integrated into quantitative workflows.
  • Fluency in English.
• Bonus Skills (Please apply even if you don’t check every box!)
• Working or intermediate proficiency in French.
• Proficiency with advanced statistical and visualization tools (e.g., Stata, R, SQL, Python, Power BI, or similar data packages).
• Direct experience authoring technical MEL sections for major institutional, multilateral, or bilateral grant proposals.
• Deep contextual knowledge of African smallholder agriculture, rural food systems, cooperative development, or climate-smart agriculture.
• Technical familiarity with Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks, Nature-based Solutions (NbS), or market-based/corporate ESG compliance standards.

Who you are:

• Detail-Oriented Systems Thinker: You find satisfaction in organized spreadsheets and clean datasets. You enjoy keeping files, trackers, and documentation orderly, accurate, and accessible for a global team.
• Mixed-Methods Evaluator: You appreciate the power of numbers and narrative alike, knowing how to synthesize rigorous statistical findings with rich qualitative insights.
• Experienced Mentor: You excel at coaching your staff team members and multicultural local leaders in advanced quantitative, qualitative, and statistical skills, building lasting analytical capacity across local entities.
• Data Pipelines & Spatial Thinker: You know how to build repeatable quantitative data pipelines—from field mobile collection to spatial GIS overlays and executive dashboards.
• Pragmatic MRV & ESG Specialist: You leverage secondary capabilities in MRV and environmental compliance to help Nuru navigate carbon/NbS reporting without losing focus on programmatic rigor.

What Nuru offers you:

• Culture of Wellbeing: A 100% remote, flexible work environment that prioritizes personal resiliency and a healthy work/life satisfaction.
• Commitment to Growth: Access to professional development, clear paths for career advancement, and a leadership team dedicated to mutual feedback and coaching.
• Global Collaboration: The opportunity to work alongside a diverse, purpose-driven team of professionals dedicated to Nuru’s mission.
• Inclusive Environment: A workplace that actively values diversity and ensures you have the resources and training needed to succeed.
• Competitive Compensation: We provide equitable, data-driven salaries and a comprehensive benefits package - including medical/dental/vision. 401(k) matching, paid parental leave, and generous time off.

Note: We prioritize transparency and will discuss compensation and benefits during our first interview.