TaRL Africa initiative is hosted by Empower Learning Africa, a not-for-profit organisation registered and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with teams in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Zambia and locally registered offices in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire. TaRL Africa began as a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL in 2019, with the goal of supporting governments and organisations across Africa to accelerate children’s foundational skill learning using the evidence-based “Teaching at the Right Level” (TaRL) approach. TaRL Africa’s vision is for every child across Africa to have foundational skills so that they can have a better future. Our mission is to ensure education systems effectively equip children with these foundational skills.  We support governments and organisations in over 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to design, deliver and scale impactful TaRL programmes while learning and sharing how the approach can be improved for different contexts. Together with partners, TaRL Africa has reached over five million children with TaRL programming.

Location: Cape Town, Lusaka, Nairobi, Abidjan, Abuja preferred, but will consider any location in sub-Saharan Africa.

Role Purpose

Are you passionate about using data to drive real change in education systems? Do you thrive at the intersection of innovation, strategy, and government partnership? If so, this could be the role for you. TaRL Africa is seeking a dynamic and strategic Measurement, Monitoring, and Review (MMR) Lead to shape and drive our monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) efforts across more than 15 countries. In this role, you will lead the design and execution of our internal MEL systems and provide technical leadership to support governments to build and use data systems that improve foundational learning for millions of children.

You’ll ensure that our team and government partners have the evidence they need to answer critical questions: Are we reaching the children who need support most? What’s working? Where do we need to adapt? You’ll spark innovation and action by turning insights into smart decisions that guide our work and inspire government ownership.

You’ll report to the Director of Programs and work closely with cross-functional teams across the four Programs sub-verticals: Partnerships, Program Delivery and Training, Program Improvement, and Sustainability. This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for someone who is energized by working with diverse stakeholders, excited by complexity, and committed to data-informed decision-making at scale.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Drive high-quality technical assistance to governments to enable data-driven action for foundational learning (40%)

• Lead efforts to co-create literacy and numeracy assessment tools with government partners across 15+ countries, ensuring tools are contextually relevant and technically sound.
• Support governments to build or strengthen lean, actionable monitoring, measurement, and review (MMR) systems—integrated into existing national structures wherever possible.
• Champion the harmonization of foundational learning assessments and dashboards across large-scale government programs, helping create clear, aligned views of progress.
• Design and deliver capacity-strengthening initiatives to equip TaRL staff, partners, and government counterparts with the tools and confidence to use data effectively.

2. Lead TaRL Africa’s internal monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems (30%)

• Shape and continuously refine TaRL Africa’s MEL strategy and tools, ensuring they reflect organizational priorities and enable learning across teams and countries.
• Design practical, forward-looking systems to track progress, surface insights, and strengthen programming—ranging from early-warning signals to deep dives into what’s driving impact.
• Ensure that data systems—whether digital or paper-based—are easy to use, responsive, and well-managed.
• Embed a culture of learning and accountability through strong MEL implementation and internal engagement.

3. Generate insights and promote learning across the organization and with partners (15%)

• Lead rigorous analysis of data from across the organization and country programs to understand what’s working and why.
• Produce high-quality reports, dashboards, and visualizations that speak to diverse audiences—governments, funders, and teams on the ground.
• Connect data to action by synthesizing insights and translating them into clear, actionable recommendations for program improvement and scale.

4. Inspire and support a high-performing team (15%)

• Manage and mentor a talented team of 6–7 central MEL staff, based across Nairobi and Nigeria, fostering a culture of collaboration, curiosity, and accountability.
• Provide strategic direction and day-to-day support to ensure the team is aligned, growing, and delivering at a high standard.

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in Education, Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, International Development, or a related field.
• 7–10 years of experience leading MEL work in education or international development, ideally across Africa.
• Deep understanding of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, survey design, and learning assessment tools.
• Strong technical experience with education measurement, including EGRA/EGMA and similar foundational literacy/numeracy tools.
• Experience designing or strengthening MEL systems within government education programs or structures.
• Proficiency in data analysis tools (e.g., Excel, STATA, R, SPSS) and visualization platforms (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex ideas simply and effectively to diverse audiences, including policymakers and implementers.
• Excellent project management skills and a solutions-oriented mindset.

Desirable:

• Experience working on Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) or similar foundational learning programs.
• Proven ability to lead or support large-scale data collection in low-resource settings.
• Proficiency in French or Portuguese is an asset.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Mindset: Ability to align MEL approaches with organizational goals and government priorities.
• Analytical Rigor: Skilled in interpreting complex data and distilling insights that inform real-time decisions.
• Collaborative Leadership: Builds strong, trusting relationships across internal teams, government counterparts, and external partners.
• Strong Communicator: Translates data into stories that move people—whether that’s sparking adaptation, learning, or policy change.
• Proactive and Resourceful: Thrives in dynamic, fast-paced environments with evolving challenges and limited structure.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains high standards in data quality, reporting, and team outputs.
• Mission-Driven: Deep commitment to improving learning outcomes for all children, particularly those most often left behind.

TaRL Africa Values

1. We put children’s learning first.
2. We are always learning, improving, and innovating.

3. We are locally rooted for high-quality delivery and sustainable impact.
4. We are kind, respectful, and collaborative.
5. We are proactive, committed to integrity, and doing our best each day.