Action Against Hunger seeks a proactive Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Advisor for the upcoming five-year, USAID-funded Feed the Future Global DASHED Activity. This role is central to enhancing access to safe and nutritious foods by fostering an adaptive management environment where continuous learning and evidence-based decision making are at the forefront. The position is based in Washington, D.C., requiring significant travel to project sites internationally. The project is anticipated to start in 2025
Purpose:
The CLA Advisor will support the Chief of Party in embedding adaptive management practices across the project, ensuring that learning informs and improves ongoing activities. This role is crucial for fostering an organizational culture that values continual learning, knowledge sharing, and strategic adaptation of project interventions based on empirical evidence.
Engagement:
The CLA Advisor will engage with project teams, local partners, and stakeholders to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaborative learning. This role is responsible for maintaining open and effective communication, ensuring that all project components integrate CLA practices in their operations and decision-making processes.
Delivery:
This role involves leading the strategic implementation of the project’s learning agenda, managing knowledge capturing and sharing activities, and ensuring that insights and lessons learned are disseminated across all levels of the project and beyond, with a focus on increasing policymakers’ uptake of learning and tools. The CLA Advisor will ensure that adaptive management techniques are practiced to enhance project outcomes and impact.
Essential Job Duties
Develop and implement the project’s CLA framework in line with USAID’s CLA approach, integrating CLA into the project cycle management.
Facilitate the integration of adaptive management practices into project planning and execution, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness to changing on-ground realities.
Lead efforts to capture, analyze, and use data to inform strategic adjustments in project implementation.
Design and conduct evaluations to assess the effectiveness of project strategies and interventions.
Organize and lead knowledge sharing events, workshops, and seminars to foster a culture of continuous learning among project staff and stakeholders and provide expertise for the delivery of learning and uptake outcomes for the co-creation of local innovation. Work with MEAL team members to ensure adaptations to the program theory of change as new information comes to light.
Produce high-quality reports and presentations that summarize learning outcomes, providing actionable insights for project improvement, ensuring evidence is translated into positive changes in practices and political changes.
Lead the formulation and implementation of a detailed program learning strategy.
Build the capacity of Mission staff to fully grasp the core concepts of CLA and directly apply them to Mission programming.
Capture, share, and apply lessons learned, ensuring communication and collaboration with other partners, and sharing learnings with the global resilience and food security community. Cultivate a body of knowledge that can be disseminated with internal and external actors on best practices.
Identify opportunities for capacity building within the Activity consortium and beyond.
Lead joint planning with USAID/BHA, other USAID programming, relevant donor activities, host government initiatives, and private sector actors.
Collaborate with the integration and prioritization of gender equality, protection and inclusion across all facets of project implementation.
Collaborate with efforts to craft and implement a strategy to engage local stakeholders, ensuring their insights and expertise are integrated into project planning and execution.
Supervisory Responsibilities
Manage a team of M&E and knowledge management staff, providing guidance and support to ensure high-quality data collection, analysis, and reporting.
Fiscal Responsibility
Oversee the budgeting and resource allocation for CLA activities, ensuring efficient use of resources to maximize learning and impact.
Required Qualifications
Advanced degree in a relevant field such as International Development, Education, Organizational Learning, or a related field.
A minimum of eight years' experience in a similar role, preferably in an international development context.
Required Skills & Experience
Demonstrated expertise in the application of CLA practices within international development projects.
Proven ability to facilitate workshops and training sessions on CLA methodologies.
Strong analytical skills paired with a demonstrated ability to synthesize complex information into clear, actionable insights.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of effectively engaging diverse stakeholder groups.
The candidate must have at least five years of field experience.
Fluency in English; proficiency in additional languages beneficial for field operations.