Director – Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning & Adaptation (MERLA)

**Program Background**

About Australia-Papua New Guinea Law and Justice Partnership (APLJ)

DT Global has been engaged by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to manage the next phase of Australia’s investment in strengthening the delivery of law and justice services in Papua New Guinea for a 4-year period to December 2027. APLJ seeks to contribute to PNG’s law and justice sector capacity to provide inclusive, safe, secure and accountable law and justice foundations for peaceful and prosperous communities, equitable economic development and private sector growth.

APLJ will achieve three End of Program Outcomes (EOPOs):

• **EOPO 1 - Community Safety and Access to Justice at the Local Level:** Communities in target locations, especially women, children, people with disability, vulnerable people and those accused of sorcery, have improved access to selected justice and support services.

• **EOPO 2 - Law and Justice Services Supply:** Responsible law and justice sector agencies increasingly provide selected inclusive, responsive, and accountable essential law and justice services in target locations.

• **EOPO 3 - Leadership, Coordination and Accountability:** Responsible law and justice mechanisms demonstrate improved sectoral leadership and coordination of national and subnational law and justice services and improved sector integrity systems.

APLJ is implemented in the National Capital District (NCD) and seven provinces (Enga, Hela, Madang, Morobe, Western, West New Britain, Southern Highlands) as well as the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARoB).

**About DT Global Asia Pacific**

At DT Global Asia Pacific, we aim to positively impact people’s lives through delivery excellence. As a leading implementing partner across Asia and the Pacific, we co-create locally led solutions in partnership with governments, communities, and stakeholders. We bring together talented teams and deep regional expertise to deliver initiatives that promote inclusive economic growth, essential services, and resilient, secure communities. With over 1,500 staff, experts in 22+ countries and more than 60 years of development experience, we tackle complex community, national and transnational challenges — from governance and justice systems to climate resilience, infrastructure and social equity — with innovative thinking and a commitment to long-term impact.

For more information, please see **www.dt-global.com**

**The Role**
The Director – Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning and Adaptation (MERLA) provides strategic leadership and oversight of APLJ’s MERLA systems, processes, reporting, learning agenda, and evidence generation. The Director will oversee the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose MERLA frameworks that support: performance monitoring, adaptive management, strategic learning, evidence-based decision-making, accountability to GoPNG partners, and demonstration of development effectiveness.

The Director will champion a culture of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement across the program and support high-quality reporting against APLJ’s Program Logic, End-of-Program Outcomes (EOPOs), and annual work plans. The role will also oversee program research activities, knowledge management systems, data quality assurance, and results communication.

The Director will be a member of the APLJ Senior management team and will work with all program teams to ensure MERLA is embedded across APLJ.

Click on the link or copy paste it to access the full Terms of Reference for this position:

**https://tinyurl.com/58j6x7fn**

**About You**

**Essential Skills, Experience and Knowledge**

• Tertiary qualifications in monitoring and evaluation, international development, statistics, social sciences, law, governance, or a related field.

• Minimum 10 years’ experience in senior roles in monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, or adaptive management roles within complex donor-funded programs, preferably DFAT-funded investments.

• Strong understanding of DFAT and other international MEL Standards, program logic, adaptive management, and results-based management approaches.

• Experience managing capacity development initiatives with a commitment to strengthening capabilities of MERLA staff, local counterparts and institutions.

• Demonstrated experience of building program management and quality systems, preferably for adaptive management programs.

• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills in cross-cultural environments.

**Desirable**

• Strong analytical and report-writing skills, including preparation of high-quality reports for senior government and donor audiences.

• Experience implementing MERLA in low-data environments; creating baselines and innovative data collection methods; supporting development of new or improved systems with partner organisations.

• Experience working in GEDS