Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, VisionFund International

VisionFund International is World Vision’s microfinance provider serving vulnerable clients through loans, savings, and insurance. We enable families to grow their livelihoods in hard to reach, rural locations in 28 countries so that caregivers can create secure futures for their children.

We believe in brighter futures for children; empowering families to create incomes and jobs; unlocking economic potential for communities to thrive.

Join VisionFund as we seek to end intergenerational poverty through microfinance.

Here’s where you come in:

As Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning, VFI, you will lead the design and delivery of VisionFund’s measurement, evaluation, research, and learning function, ensuring the quality and credibility of evidence underpinning VisionFund’s impact claims. You will oversee the network monitoring architecture, client voice instruments, external research partnerships, internal impact evaluations, and capability building for impact staff across the MFI network.

You will also strengthen fundraising capabilities by leading MERL design for institutional, philanthropic, and blended-finance proposals from opportunity qualification through implementation. You will build joint measurement capability with World Vision and ensure measurement commitments are appropriately resourced and tracked.

You will own VisionFund’s monitoring and evaluation approach, including indicator architecture, data collection protocols, quality assurance, reporting cadence, and client voice methodologies. You will establish technical standards for impact measurement, provide assurance on their application, and ensure evidence is consistently used to inform decisions.

You will lead MERL design for funding proposals, advise on measurement-related go/no-go decisions, and ensure measurement requirements are credible, costed, and deliverable. You will build measurement capability with World Vision support and field offices and track commitments throughout implementation.

You will own and maintain VisionFund’s theory of change and manage the organisational research agenda, prioritising questions where stronger evidence can influence decisions. You will manage flagship academic research partnerships, commission and quality-assure third-party research, and strengthen the evidence base supporting child-level results and defensible impact claims. You will also contribute to sector methodology development through publications, technical working groups, and peer review.

You will design and deliver capability-building for impact measurement staff across the MFI network through technical curricula, coaching, methodological guidance, and tooling support. You will manage the measurement implications of network changes, including reporting close-out for exiting entities and maintaining the integrity of network-level aggregates across reporting periods.

You will lead the MERL team, including performance management, capability development, and succession planning, while fostering a Christ-centred, high-performing culture. You will establish routines that ensure evidence reaches and influences decision-making and will contribute to departmental and organisational strategy as a member of the Impact & Engagement senior leadership team.

Requirements include:

• Graduate-level degree in Economics, Development Economics, Statistics, Public Policy, Evaluation, or a related quantitative discipline, or demonstrably equivalent applied expertise
• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role leading MERL, evaluation, research, or impact functions within a multinational NGO, development finance institution, inclusive finance organization, or similarly complex global organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading the design and implementation of measurement frameworks, evaluation methodologies, and impact-monitoring systems across multi-country or decentralized organizations.
• Minimum 5 years of experience designing and overseeing MERL components of institutional donor, foundation, climate-finance, or other externally funded proposals, including results frameworks, indicator selection, evaluation design, and budget development.
• Demonstrated experience serving as a technical counterpart to academic institutions, research organizations, consultants, or external evaluators, including commissioning, quality assurance, interpretation, and application of research findings.
• Proven experience strengthening technical capability and performance of geographically dispersed teams through coaching, training, curriculum development, and technical guidance.
• Experience influencing and maintaining quality standards across teams and stakeholders that are not under direct line management.
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational change, establishing, redesigning, or significantly strengthening a MERL, research, or evidence function.
• Evidence of external technical contribution through publications, conference presentations, participation in technical working groups, peer review, or other recognized sector contributions.
• Proven experience leading and developing diverse professional teams, including performance management, talent development, succession planning, and fostering high-performance cultures.
• Fluent in English. Working French or Spanish desirable.
• Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement: Home based role with 20% travel

For positions filled in the United States, the typical salary range for this role is $102,000 to $140,000 USD. Ranges are based on various factors, including the labor market, job type, job level, internal equity and budget. Exact salary offers will be determined by factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience and geographic location.