Subject Mater Specialist- Public Finance Management Assessment

About The Kaizen Company

The Kaizen Company (Kaizen) is an international development consulting firm and an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and the achievement of shared goals. We aspire to transform the nature and impact of development assistance and work to strengthen organizations and institutions through innovative approaches to organizational development, reform, and change.

Jordan Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Activity (MELA) Overview

MELA is designed to ensure that USAID’s activities in Jordan achieve their intended results through monitoring and evaluation, strategic assessments, and USAID’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting approach (CLA). Kaizen will help USAID/Jordan create a dynamic learning environment among development actors, focused on innovation, quality, and knowledge sharing. Through the Kaizen Accelerator, a rapid procurement mechanism, a cohort of Jordanian firms will work with Kaizen's MELA team to successfully deliver activities while simultaneously strengthening their management and compliance systems. The Kaizen approach will provide USAID with high-quality MEL services across its portfolio, build the capacity of local MEL institutions, and ensure programs meaningfully incorporate local participation. The MELA team will ensure program sustainability by building the technical and institutional capacity of one or more local firms that can manage the follow-on MEL Activity in the future.  

Responsibilities and Tasks

Kaizen is currently looking for a Subject Matter Specialist in Public Finance Management (PFM) who will play a pivotal role as the principal technical expert within an evaluation team. The primary responsibility of this role is to provide expertise in the PFM and evaluation domains. The position holder will closely collaborate with the evaluation team lead to ensure that the team's progress and findings are effectively integrated into the final evaluation report.

Responsibilities and requirements will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide technical expertise on the Jordanian public finance sector.
• Serve as principal technical expert for the evaluation team and provide expertise in evaluation domain assessing progress in achieving the deliverables, including identifying challenges and barriers relating to the management and implementation of the evaluated project/program.
• Support the evaluation team lead in the design of the evaluation and the development of data collection tools, facilitating and conducting interviews with key government and other stakeholders, analyzing evaluation data, and assisting in the preparation of preliminary findings presentations and the drafting of the evaluation report.
• Provide technical analysis, information, and guidance throughout all phases of the assignment and assisting in the completion of all deliverables as described in the statement of work.
• The Subject Mater Specialist is required to be in country during the data collection process, validation or exit brief workshops, and any other presentation to be submitted to the USAID and their key partners.
• Participate in USAID evaluations of public finance management projects (preferred).
• Familiarity with Jordan context.
• Proficiency in Arabic language (Preferred).
• This position requires working from Jordan.

Qualifications

• University degree required in Public Finance, relevant social science or other related field.
• A minimum of five years of professional experience with a proven track record of monitoring and evaluating projects/programs in public finance management.
• Demonstrated experience in utilizing quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods, mixed methods, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices to address program evaluation and research questions.
• An innovative leadership style, with a demonstrated ability to apply critical thinking skills to solve complex problems.
• A demonstrated in-depth understanding of the Jordanian context, including public, private, and civil society.
• Fluency in English, with excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey information rapidly, precisely, and succinctly.
• Considerable experience in leading meetings and presenting persuasively to senior officials and partners in a multicultural environment, as well as proficiency in using word processing, spreadsheet, and database programs.

Kaizen, a Tetra Tech company, is a progressive Equal Opportunity Employer. We promote, celebrate, and support a diverse and inclusive organizational culture and workforce. We are committed to providing all of our employees with an environment free from discrimination and harassment, where all are treated with dignity and respect. Our continuing commitment to the principle of Equal Opportunity Employment for all means all employment decisions are based only on the job requirements, the candidate’s qualifications, and the needs of Kaizen as a business—not on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, belief, sex (including pregnancy and related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability status, veteran status, genetic information, family/marital/parental status, or any other status protected by the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we work.

For candidates applying for positions based in Kaizen's office in Washington, DC, we utilize career.place to mitigate bias in the recruitment process. Upon submitting an application, candidates will receive an email from career.place, prompting them to go through the anonymous screening. In order to be considered for a role, candidates must respond to career.place and proceed with the application. We do not currently use career.place for project positions outside of the United States.

At Kaizen, A Tetra Tech Company, we find strength in our diversity. We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive working environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfill their potential. We know that we can only do development differently if we are open to and inclusive of new and unique perspectives. We encourage candidates of all abilities, ages, gender identities and expressions, national origins, races and ethnicities, religious beliefs, and sexual orientations to apply. Further, we urge parents and non-parents, married and unmarried, those from different or non-traditional educational backgrounds, and persons of all other diverse identities or experiences to apply. Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer.