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1. A cover letter is mandatory to be considered. Cover letters should effectively align your skills and experiences with the specific job responsibilities outlined in the position's description, demonstrating your aptitude and enthusiasm for the role, your daily fee and current availability.
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Alinea is an international development consultancy providing technical and management expertise that helps people improve their lives. We work with governments, investors, companies, and communities to create lasting change. Over 38 years, Alinea has successfully delivered more than 1000 projects worldwide. alineainternational.com
  
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At Alinea International we value diversity, equity, inclusivity, accessibility and belonging in everything we do. We are an equal opportunity employer opposed to all forms of discrimination. We actively seek and encourage applications from people of diverse backgrounds recognizing that an inclusive workforce enriches our organization and achieves smarter, more innovative results.  

Alinea is committed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Due to the nature of our work, all candidates will be subject to due diligence checks and extensive background checks where appropriate

Project Description:
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is a signature initiative for the Australian Government that enables workers from 9 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and Timor-Leste to work in priority sectors in Australia. The Pacific Labour Mobility Support Program (PLMSP) builds on the successes of the Pacific Labour Facility (PLF) program, with a renewed focus on the provision of tailored support to worker sending countries to address their specific needs and priorities. Palladium is contracted to deliver PLMSP on behalf of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Alinea International is sub-contracted to deliver the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) stream.
  
PLMSP’s role is to provide DFAT and governments in 9 PICs and Timor-Leste with support to enable workers to access PALM scheme in inclusive ways that maximise the benefits for the workers and national economies while minimising risks from labour mobility participation. PLMSP’s primary functions include capacity building for PALM scheme labour sending units; skills development and training for PALM workers; support for returning PALM workers and their families; information system management; monitoring, evaluation, research and learning; and communications.
  
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão released a joint statement on 21 December 2024 announcing bilateral funding of nearly A$50m (A$48.6m) for the Timor-Leste-Australia Labour Mobility and Skills Partnership, to equip Timorese workers with job-ready skills and provide them with more employment opportunities. The Partnership will help contribute to long term economic growth for Timor Leste and will assist the country to achieve its target of 10,000 workers in the PALM scheme by 2027-28.
  
In Timor Leste, PLMSP’s main government counterparts are National Directorate for External Employment (DNEE) and the State Secretariat for Vocational Training and Employment (SEFOPE). The Timor scale-up and PLMSP’s core activities support DNEE and SEFOPE to deliver on their mandates and objectives, including the 10,000 worker target.
  
About the work:
The Timor Leste Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager will be responsible for leading monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) activities for a country program of approximately $10 million per year and a team of three staff. The role will cover MERL for both core PLMSP activities and activities funded through the scale-up. Activities include regular reporting to DFAT and the Timor Leste government, mentoring and support for the country MERL team, and strong technical leadership.

The Role:
Primary Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of the Timor Leste MEL Manager can be broadly described as follows:

• Manage and write English language reports for all Timor Leste PLMSP activities, including biannual reports to DFAT, quarterly reports to the DNEE.
• Implement the PLMSP MERL plan in Timor Leste, including but not limited to worker surveys, the worker tracer study, evaluations of Timor Leste activities and outcomes, reflect and refocus workshops and collection of stories of change.
• Provide insights (in writing and verbally) from MERL activities to leaders in PLMSP, DNEE, SEFOPE and DFAT on the performance of DFAT-funded activities and the labour mobility ‘ecosystem’ in Timor Leste more broadly.
• Support the design of new development activities in Timor Leste by providing technical advice on proportional MERL approaches.
• Help local implementation partners to build their MERL capacity, focused on their assessment of the performance of PLMSP-funded activities and report to PLMSP.
• Build new and deeper MERL partnerships with local research organisations, universities and think tanks, including providing grant support for co-designed MERL activities.
• Manage a team of two MERL coordinators, one coordinator focused on core PLMSP MERL activities and the other focused on scale-MERL activities. Management of the team will include building each other’s capacity on MERL approaches relevant to Timor Leste and labour mobility.
• Promote and follow PLMSP guidelines for ethical MERL and MEL processes are culturally responsive.
• Ensure that cross-cutting priorities, particularly in relation to GEDSI, are mainstreamed in all activities and outputs.
• A strong understanding of DFAT policies related to MERL and development program management, particularly DFAT’s design, monitoring, evaluation and learning standards.

Relationships, Communication & Development

• Communicate evidence, findings and recommendations clearly and concisely to decision-makers. The candidate will need excellent written and spoken English, with expectations of written English in line with the Australian Government’s style manual.
• Build and maintain effective, trusting relationships with leaders in DNEE, SEFOPE, DFAT and PLMSP, and use these relationships to channel information to decision-makers.
• Train, mentor and coach more junior colleagues, supporting them to work through ambiguity and ensuring messages from leadership are supported and clearly cascaded.

Other

• Other tasks as reasonably requested by Senior Manager, Pacific and Timor Leste MERL team.
• Travel, as required, to and around Timor Leste.
• Advocate for Australian development priorities.
• Foster equality, diversity and inclusion, drawing on capabilities from within Timor Leste and the region wherever possible.
• Comply with, and advocate for, DFAT’s policies in all aspects of implementation, including gender, disability, fraud and anti-corruption, the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, child protection and environmental and social safeguards. This includes incorporating policy principles into planning and everyday work, promoting process improvements, and reporting concerns to your Line Manager or Palladium’s Integrity Hotline (details on Palladium website).
• Operate with high levels of integrity, consistent with the intent of DFAT’s Ethics, Integrity and Professional Standards Policy Manual.

Reporting Requirements
This role reports into the Senior Manager, Pacific and Timor Leste MERL, with additional reporting to the Timor Leste scale-up manager and the PLMSP engagement manager in Timor Leste. Where the Timor Leste MERL Manager is writing reports for DFAT, close collaboration will be required with PLMSP’s Senior Manager for Program and Pilots.
Reporting requirements may include but are not limited to:

• Attendance at team meetings, other requested meetings and regional meetings (e.g. townhalls).
• Regular (minimum of monthly) one to one meetings with your line manager on the status of personal Key Result Areas (KRAs), career development discussions and any other matters.
• Palladium encourages flexible work practices to enhance wellbeing, productivity and team culture. For this role, we require that employees maintain an in-office presence for at least 50% of their working week.  For example, if an employee works five days a week, they must spend at least three days physically in the office.

Minimum Education and Experience Required

• Excellent written and spoken English, particularly for the purpose of professional written reports.
• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant social science, supported with demonstrated experience in data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Approximately 10 years of experience in the design and implementation of MERL systems for international development programs.
• Experience working with DFAT and/or on DFAT funded programs, and experience working in Timor Leste, will be beneficial.
• Excellent team management skills, with the ability to motivate and manage staff remotely and in different work environments.
• Demonstrated quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
• Strong communication skills with an ability to communicate with diverse audiences using multiple channels (infographics, written, workshops, reports, etc), and to communicate results to people without technical backgrounds.

Due to the evolving nature of our program, it is possible that the incumbent may be expected to undertake duties that fall outside the remit of their original terms of reference as reasonably required to ensure the ongoing success of the program.
Where this is required, the following will occur:

• The adviser will have the skills and experience to fulfill the duties.
• This arrangement will be short term.