The Opportunity & Role Purpose ​

 

ATL is building the future of enterprise development, ethical prosperity, and opportunity creation in Africa. As the organization expands its blended learning, field-based programmes, enterprise development work, and ecosystem-building initiatives across the continent, it is intentionally strengthening the systems, structures, and capabilities required to support high-quality delivery, stronger evidence use, and deliberate scale.

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The MERL Technical Lead (Consultant) will provide senior-level technical advisory support to ATL’s programmes, systems, and teams by ensuring that the organization’s monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and learning practice is professionally sound, well-structured, and fit for purpose. This is not a junior execution role, nor a routine data handling function. Rather, it is a high-level technical backstopping assignment intended to strengthen ATL’s MERL quality, reporting standards, documentation rigor, and learning architecture as the organization grows.

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Working closely with the Director of Programmes, and in coordination with ATL’s internal programme and systems teams, the Consultant will help ensure that MERL considerations are properly built into both project design and ATL’s broader end-to-end data and reporting ecosystem. This includes providing technical input into the design of project MERL frameworks, advising on data collection and reporting logic, strengthening templates and standards, reviewing reporting and knowledge products, and supporting the development of a MERL-tight institutional system that is increasingly digital, automated, and AI-enabled.

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A key part of the role will be to work alongside ATL’s data and systems build efforts, ensuring that the emerging infrastructure for data capture, cleaning, storage, visualization, and AI-supported reporting is not only technically functional but also professionally aligned with MERL best practice. The Consultant will also help ensure that every new project is set up with a robust and credible MERL framework from the outset, reducing technical gaps and strengthening data integrity, reporting quality, and learning value across the portfolio.

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This role is therefore central to ATL’s ambition to build a more disciplined, future-facing, and evidence-driven organization—one whose systems, reports, case studies, knowledge products, and learning outputs reflect strong professional standards and inspire confidence among clients, partners, and stakeholders.

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2. Core Responsibilities

 

A. MERL Technical Advisory & Institutional Backstopping

• Provide senior technical guidance to strengthen ATL’s overall monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and learning function across programmes and projects.

• Advise ATL on MERL best practice, standards, frameworks, and approaches appropriate for its delivery model, client base, and growth ambitions.

• Serve as a trusted technical backstop to the Director of Programmes and relevant internal teams on MERL-related design, quality, and implementation matters.

• Help identify technical MERL gaps, risks, and weaknesses early, and recommend practical corrective action.

 

B. End-to-End MERL Systems Advisory

• Work alongside ATL’s data and systems consultant and internal teams to ensure the organization’s evolving end-to-end data and reporting architecture is professionally MERL-sound.

• Provide technical input into the design and refinement of data collection logic, indicator structures, reporting flows, evidence pathways, learning outputs, and quality assurance processes within the broader system.

• Help ensure that ATL’s evolving digital infrastructure for data capture, pipeline management, automated cleaning, cloud-based storage, visualization, and AI-enabled reporting supports sound MERL practice.

• Review system workflows and tools from a MERL perspective to ensure that critical monitoring, reporting, verification, and learning requirements are not overlooked.

 

C. Project MERL Framework Design & Setup

• Provide technical support in the design, review, and strengthening of project-specific MERL frameworks during project onboarding and early implementation.

• Help ensure that project results logic, indicators, data requirements, reporting structures, evidence needs, learning dimensions, and quality controls are well designed from the start.

• Review and advise on data collection tools, forms, templates, and monitoring structures to ensure technical completeness and fitness for purpose.

• Support ATL in setting up project MERL approaches that are aligned both to donor or client expectations and to ATL’s broader institutional systems.

 

D. Reporting, Documentation & Knowledge Quality Assurance

• Provide technical review and quality assurance for donor reports, client reports, programme performance reports, learning outputs, case studies, knowledge papers, evidence summaries, and related documentation.

• Strengthen the technical quality, analytical depth, structure, language, and credibility of ATL’s reporting and knowledge products before external submission or publication.

• Advise on strong approaches to evidence-based storytelling, case study development, learning documentation, and publishable knowledge outputs.

• Support the development and refinement of reporting templates, review standards, and documentation guidance that improve consistency and quality across ATL assignments.

 

E. Team Guidance, Templates & Capacity Strengthening

• Provide light-touch technical guidance to internal team members supporting project monitoring, reporting, and evidence coordination.

• Help equip internal staff to work more effectively with MERL templates, reporting expectations, evidence requirements, and documentation standards.

• Support the development of practical tools, review checklists, guidance notes, and template packs that strengthen ATL’s internal MERL discipline.

• Contribute to building ATL’s long-term institutional confidence and competence in MERL practice without taking on routine day-to-day execution responsibilities.

 

F. Scope Boundaries

• This role is a senior technical advisory and quality assurance consultancy, not a routine project administration or data entry role.

• The Consultant is not expected to serve as ATL’s primary day-to-day field coordinator, data clerk, or systems builder.

• Routine follow-up, operational coordination, and non-technical project support may sit with internal team members or other designated roles.

• The Consultant’s value lies in technical depth, professional judgment, framework quality, reporting excellence, and MERL backstopping.

 

3. Profile & Competencies

 

A. Core Attributes

• Senior, credible, and technically grounded

• Analytical, rigorous, and detail-conscious

• Strong judgment and ability to anticipate technical gaps

• High standards of quality, evidence integrity, and professional accountability

• Able to bring clarity, structure, and depth to complex programme environments

• Strong writer and reviewer with an eye for both substance and presentation

• Collaborative, practical, and able to guide teams without overcomplicating execution

• Mission-aligned and motivated by ATL’s vision of ethical prosperity and enterprise development in Africa

 

B. Technical & Professional Requirements

• Advanced degree or strong professional grounding in Monitoring & Evaluation, Statistics, Economics, Development Studies, Public Policy, Research, Data Science, Programme Management, or a related field

• Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in monitoring, evaluation, reporting, learning, results measurement, or related advisory work

• Demonstrated experience designing or reviewing MERL frameworks for complex programmes or multi-stakeholder projects

• Strong experience advising on data collection, reporting, evidence generation, and learning systems

• Demonstrated experience reviewing and strengthening high-quality donor, client, programme, or institutional reports

• Experience supporting knowledge products such as case studies, learning briefs, knowledge papers, outcome stories, or evidence summaries

• Strong understanding of indicators, results frameworks, data quality, evidence standards, and reporting logic

• Familiarity with digital data systems, dashboards, technology-enabled reporting environments, and evolving automation opportunities within MERL practice

• Strong writing, synthesis, analytical, and review skills

• Ability to provide senior-level technical guidance while working effectively with lean, fast-moving teams

• Experience in enterprise development, agribusiness, MSME development, livelihoods, skilling, youth employment, or ecosystem-strengthening programmes will be an added advantage