Position Title: Lead Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)

Location: New Delhi, India (travel as required within India and, occasionally, internationally) Reporting to: Director of Programs

Type of Contract: Full-time, Fixed-Term (2 years, renewable) Status: Salaried

Grade: 8

Date: January 2026

Who We Are:

Organizational Overview:

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global conservation organization committed to safeguarding the lands and waters upon which all life depends. In India, our subsidiary, Nature Conservancy India Solutions (NCIS), partners with government agencies, research institutions, and local communities to develop science-based, sustainable solutions for climate change, water security, and biodiversity conservation. NCIS offers research, consulting, technical support, and advisory services to diverse stakeholders in India and globally on conservation, environment, biodiversity, and climate change.

For more information, please visit our website: https://www.nature.org/en-us/

What We Can Achieve Together:

The Lead MEL will be responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) initiatives across all TNC-India Business Unit (BU) programmes, with a particular focus on the PRANA programme. This position will manage a small MEL team, ensuring high standards in MEL processes and fostering a culture of learning and adaptive management. The Lead MEL will spearhead the design, implementation, and continual improvement of MEL frameworks, enhance data quality, and ensure that MEL activities inform organisational decision- making and progress towards the organisation’s 2030 goals. The role requires close collaboration with internal teams, data specialists, and external partners to maximise conservation outcomes and strengthen MEL practices across all projects and programmes.

Key Responsibilities & Scope

• Oversee and lead the MEL team in designing, implementing, and refining MEL frameworks for all TNC-India BU programmes, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities with TNC’s data quality standards and donor requirements.
• Provide strategic guidance to the BU on monitoring progress towards 2030 goals, operating effectively within a complex, matrixed organisational environment.
• Supervise the maintenance and reporting of the Conservation Hub, providing relevant documents on progress of projects and programmes, TNC’s targets and goals ensuring timely and accurate reporting of Hub results, and support the Director of Programmes during the Portfolio Review process and check-ins.
• Manage the development and execution of MEL work plans, budgets, and regular monitoring reports for all programmes, including PRANA, in coordination with MEL staff and contractors.
• Lead the definition and refinement of indicators; support the BU Portfolio team in developing dashboards, tools, and templates for high-quality data collection, analysis, and reporting to inform strategic decision-making and programme evaluation.
• Ensure the integrity and technical quality of all data collection, management, and reporting activities; maintain MEL databases and oversee analysis of monitoring data to identify trends, variations, and lessons learned.
• Drive adaptive management processes, including quarterly reviews, strategy sessions, and portfolio assessments, by providing evidence-based recommendations for programme adjustments to senior leadership.
• Lead training and capacity-building efforts for internal programme staff, focusing on planning, measurement, and adaptive management of conservation work.
• Work closely with geospatial science colleagues and data specialists to integrate spatial technology and develop enterprise-scale spatial and relational databases for MEL.
• Interpret organisational guidelines, evaluate information, and adapt MEL processes in response to evolving programme circumstances, with oversight from the Director of Programmes and programme leads as appropriate.
• Travel domestically and internationally as required; flexible working hours may be necessary to fulfil the role’s responsibilities.

What You Will Bring:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree in environmental science, conservation, management, or related field.
• At least 10 years of experience in conservation or development, with specific focus on monitoring, evaluation and learning systems.
• Demonstrated success in leading complex MEL systems, adaptive management processes, and data-driven decision-making.
• Ability to develop practical applications of scientific concepts and technical innovations for conservation purposes.
• Capacity building and training experience.
• Experience delivering and reporting on grant objectives.
• Ability to manage time independently and prioritize diverse responsibilities to meet deadlines.
• Ability to design and lead mixed-methods evaluations, integrating qualitative insights with quantitative data to deliver comprehensive program analysis and actionable recommendations.
• Proven ability to work in a multidisciplinary, multicultural environment, cross-functional teams
• Fluency in English; knowledge of Hindi or other Indian languages is an asset.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 15 years of experience in MEL in conservation/ development programs, including supervisory experience (motivating, leading, setting objectives and managing performance).
• Experience managing a conservation database and developing or implementing data governance processes.
• Strong team player who can build relationships and work collaboratively across the organization and with partners.

What We Bring:

The Nature Conservancy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our commitment to diversity includes the recognitionthat our conservation mission is best advanced by the leadership and contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures. Recruiting and mentoring staff to create an inclusive organization that reflectsour global character is a priority and we encourage applicants from all cultures, races, colors, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, gender identities, military, protected veteran status or other status protected by law.

How to apply: Visit this link: https://careers.nature.org/

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