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About Us

Agriculture is the key to unlocking a better future for billions of people. But while rural families sustain the world, they struggle to sustain themselves. At the same time, they face increasingly urgent challenges, from volatile crop prices to extreme weather.

Root Capital is an impact investor that provides financing and business training to agricultural enterprises in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Since 1999, we have loaned over $2B to more than 800 businesses that are too big for microloans but too small for commercial lenders, and have trained more than twice as many businesses. As these businesses succeed and scale, they become engines of impact for local communities, raising incomes, creating jobs, expanding opportunities for women and young people, preserving nature, and building rural prosperity.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Root Capital has more than 180 employees operating in more than a dozen countries in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and has associated offices in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Ghana, and Kenya.

Position Overview

The Director, Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) leads Root Capital’s impact MEL strategy, ensuring data-driven decision making and sector leadership. The role is responsible for ensuring Root Capital’s position as an Impact MEL thought and practice leader, best-in-class Impact MEL systems, and ability to demonstrate direct and systems level impact. The Director designs and oversees Root Capital’s impact monitoring and evaluation systems, driving optimization of organizational resources and client participation burden. They drive collaboration across teams to ensure Impact MEL priorities inform strategic decision-making. The Director reports to the VP, Strategy & Insights and collaborates extensively across the organization and with external partners.

Duties & Responsibilities

Purpose:

Lead Root Capital’s Impact Measurement, Evaluation and Learning Strategy (50%)

• Ensure Root Capital’s ability to compellingly demonstrate direct and systems level impact in line with its vision and strategy, and in relation to peers. In close collaboration with Partnerships and other leaders in Strategy & Insights, effectively communicate Root Capital’s impact to external stakeholders.
• Continuously strengthen Root Capital’s position as an Impact MEL thought and practice leader in the sector, by overseeing the development and implementation of best-in-class Impact MEL systems that reflect Root Capital’s value of innovation, and engages clients in a way that upholds the values of dignity, humility, and togetherness.
• Oversee an Impact MEL strategy that facilitates strategic decision making, timely learning, and internal and external communication and reporting of results and learning.
• Oversee the operational and financial sustainability of Root Capital’s Impact MEL systems and serve as thought partner to leadership on operational efficiency.

Engagement: Represent Root Capital’s Impact MEL Function Internally and Externally (20%)

• In close coordination with Partnerships, engage directly with donors, investors and other high stakes external partnership representatives to ensure their understanding of our Impact results and MEL systems’ rigor and capabilities.
• In close collaboration with Partnerships and donors, co-develop creative alternatives to our standard MEL indicators as needed for fundraising proposals.
• Ensure Root Capital’s Impact MEL thought leadership through participation in relevant fora including networks and collaboratives, representing Root Capital in these spaces and ensuring that Root Capital produces relevant publications regarding its impact MEL approach, systems, learnings and results, as well as evaluation outcomes. Facilitate the data, analysis, and insights needed to advance Root Capital’s broader field building and innovation agendas for impact pathway leads.
• Lead effective collaboration with other team leaders to ensure the timely and effective alignment of impact MEL initiatives with internal learning needs and external stakeholder requests, including facilitating effective systems and processes. This includes ensuring the translation of strategic learning questions/needs into MEL research questions and tools.
• Serve as lead Data Owner for Impact MEL data assets; represent Root Capital’s impact MEL needs in the Data Governance Council, contributing to setting the vision and direction for data governance best practices, policies, standards, and procedures.

Delivery: Lead Root Capital’s Impact MEL function to drive effective solutions for assessing impact (30%).

• Design MEL efforts that align Root Capital and funder needs; decide on the merit of new impact work arising from external stakeholders; develop original content and lead the development of seminal thought pieces.
• Provide a clear, multi-annual Impact MEL agenda to fundraise for, including discreet impact evaluation projects and related resource requirements.
• Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of MEL processes, tools, and systems, with a particular focus on integration across programs and functions, data collection and leverage optimization and a focus on outcomes.
• Ensure the technical quality of all Root Capital impact MEL products for internal and external audiences.
• Promote and oversee the performance and professional development of Impact MEL team. Achieving this implies ensuring that Impact MEL team members have methodological and technical guidance, support, and mentorship.
• Guide the development of frameworks and processes that optimize data utilization across impact MEL efforts and services, integrate monitoring and evaluation, and ensure appropriately rigorous practices.

Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in economics, statistics, public policy, international development, or a related field, with strong academic background and relevant professional experience. At least ten years of professional experience in agricultural development, impact investing, social finance, international development, or a related field.
• At least ten years of experience (professional and/or academic) in field-based impact evaluation, research design, and data analysis, in one of the above fields; experience designing and implementing learning agendas, M&E frameworks, experience with quasi-experimental methods or RCTs, and experience with qualitative research methods required. Experience leveraging AI in these contexts strongly preferred.
• At least five years of team leadership and management experience required.
• Expertise in designing, leading, and implementing rigorous impact evaluations in developing countries.
• Advanced proficiency in Stata, R, SPSS preferred; Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint required. Experience with mobile data collection platforms (like SurveyCTO) and Salesforce preferred.
• Superior oral and written communication skills, including experience writing technical evaluation reports and synthesizing research findings for broad audiences. Experience translating quantitative and qualitative findings to programmatic recommendations and strategic thinking. Strong writing skills in English and Spanish are required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with a wide variety of colleagues and stakeholders, including funders, academics, clients, and smallholder farmers. Experience and interest in mentoring others and fostering professional development opportunities for colleagues and direct reports.
• Strong project and people management skills, attention to detail, and ability to lead activities of an international team of staff and external consultants.
• Self-started and ability to flexibly manage and prioritize multiple competing tasks; ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced, and entrepreneurial team environment.
• Fluency in English and fluency or advanced proficiency in Spanish required.
• Willingness to travel (1-4 times per year) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, often in remote areas.
• Enthusiasm for working in a multicultural environment; experience in a global and multi-location work environment is highly desired.

• Committed to prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion and embracing transparency and authenticity in daily work life.
• Proactive approach to problem-solving with demonstrated decision-making capabilities.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to a dynamic environment.
• Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
• Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
• Passionate about Root Capital mission.
• Authorized to work in one of the following countries: Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Kenya or the United States.

Applications

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates are encouraged to apply using the form below as soon as possible, making sure to include a resume and cover letter that describes your interest, qualifications, language abilities, salary requirements, and how you learned of the position. Finalist candidates will be required to provide at least three work-related references.

Root Capital provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, active military or veteran status, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and breastfeeding and expressing breast milk), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Root Capital is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that upholds our leadership principles of: empowerment, equity, integrity, service, and transparency.