The context:
Across the developing world, more children than ever are in school – but they are not learning. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of school children in Sub-Saharan Africa attend a school where the teaching meets basic standards of quality. At Rising Academies, we’re changing that, and we want your help. Our mission is to create the best schools and the most powerful teaching and learning tools for the people that need it most. We’re one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and a Certified B Corp®.
About us: (make sure to reference the latest company blurbs to update this as needed)
Founded in Sierra Leone in 2014, we’ve spent over a decade crafting a unique blend of high-tech and low-tech learning solutions proven to dramatically improve student outcomes that elevate teaching quality at scale. 7 RCTs have shown that the students we support learn, on average, 2.4x faster each year than their peers in comparable schools.
Today, we serve more than a quarter of a million students across 1,000 schools in West and East Africa through three integrated and complimentary channels:
- Pioneering Great-Value Private Schools: Our innovative networks of private schools deliver best-in-class results for children while developing highly scalable new technologies and approaches.
- Scalable Government Partnerships: We partner and collaborate with local and national governments across Africa to transform the quality of public school systems at scale.
- High Impact Solutions for Partners: We offer our proven high-impact solutions to other education providers and schools to improve school performance & increase outcomes.
Our innovative approaches combine expertly designed curriculum materials, personalized learning experiences, intensive teacher coaching and actionable data for school leaders. You can learn more about our solutions here: https://www.risingacademies.com/oursolutions
At Rising we keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to share in our commitment to meeting the highest standards of safeguarding excellence and protecting children from harm.
About the role:
We are seeking an exceptional and impact-driven Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Manager to join our team in Sierra Leone. The MERL Manager will support the effective implementation of MERL processes in Sierra Leone. This role is critical to ensuring that our education programs are backed by accurate data, insightful analysis, and continuous learning. By working closely with implementation teams, schools, and partners, the MERL Manager will help ensure data-driven decision-making, improve program quality, and ultimately enhance learning outcomes for children.
The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Manager will:
- Ensure timely and accurate data reporting from partner and private schools, following up quickly on any gaps or inconsistencies.
- Produce monthly analysis reports with actionable insights, ensuring datasets are cleaned and ready for reporting.
- Support timely delivery of monitoring and evaluation reports (monthly, quarterly, annual) and contribute to donor compliance.
- Design and administer teacher and school feedback tools, ensuring data entry and analysis are accurate and recommendations shared consistently.
- Maintain an updated repository of MERL documentation and share learning products and progress with partners each term.
- Present findings and lessons learned during team meetings and facilitate at least one quarterly reflection session.
- Support program teams to develop and implement M&E plans, conduct monitoring visits, and integrate recommendations into work plans.
- Lead and deliver regular training for staff and coaches on M&E tools, data use, and best practices.
- Explore and recommend innovative approaches for real-time data collection and feedback.
Location and reporting:
Location: This is a full-time onsite position based in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Reporting line: The MERL Manager will report to Rising’s Managing Director in Sierra Leone.
Application deadline:
The target start-date for this role will be November 2025. We encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.
Requirements
Qualifications and Experience:
- 5+ years of professional experience in M&E, MEL, Data analysis, Research, or related roles (education sector or related industry experience is an advantage).
- Proven skills in quantitative and qualitative data collection, management, and analysis.
- Proficiency in data analysis tools (Excel, STATA, SPSS, PowerBI, or similar).
- Strong research and learning lens with exceptional report-writing and presentation skills.
- Experience in training and capacity building for non-technical audiences.
- Demonstrated stakeholder management skills
- Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Education, Social Sciences, or related field (Masters is an added advantage).
About You:
- You can communicate with stakeholders in a multicultural environment, as well as clearly document high level data and reports for these audiences.
- You are keen on data system building, M&E, research and improvements.
- You have a keen interest in student learning and leverage data tools to improve programs.
- You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and interpersonal skills.
- You have a strong track record of professionalism, trustworthiness and working independently sometimes.
- You are data-driven, make decisions in a logical way and on the basis of good evidence/reasoning, with ability to adapt to changes in a fast-paced agile environment.
- You are proactive, self-driven and can take initiative to problem-solve.
- You are willing to take risks, fail, learn, give and receive feedback, and try new approaches.
- Strong familiarity with technology, including Microsoft, Google Suite, data collection tools, slack, data analysis and visualization tools.
- You are passionate about improving the quality of education across Africa.
Benefits
Why Join Us?
- Compensation: We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. We regularly benchmark our compensation against comparable businesses, social ventures and non-profits. Rising’s goal is to be transparent about salaries at all levels of the organisation and have a standard, global pay scale for all positions that is non-negotiable.
- Continuous Development and Growth: Rising is a Certified B Corp and twice named in its “Best for the World” list. We are committed to continuous development, which is grounded in our values and a vital part of how we bring the ‘Rising Way’ to life. We provide a nurturing environment where our staff are supported with the right ongoing conversations with their managers, among teams and as an organization, to support their career growth and help us reach our goals.
- Impact: Our students achieve learning gains 2.4 times faster than their peers in comparable schools, positioning our impact in the top 10% of global education interventions. This role offers an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this proven success.
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Rising is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, family or parental status, veteran or disability status.
Rising is committed to creating a culture within the organisation, and its schools, that recognises the importance of safeguarding children and prioritising their rights and needs. We strive to uphold international safeguarding standards, and keep the safety and well-being of our students at the heart of what we do. All Rising employees are expected to abide by the Child Protection Policy, and to have the same level of commitment to protect children from harm. Safeguarding questions are part of every interview process and all Rising employees undergo reference checks before joining the organisation.
