MEL Specialist

BEQUAL Phase 2 – Basic Education Quality and Access in Lao PDR

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist 

Location: Vientiane, Laos | Full-time | Fixed term contract until 30 June 2028

The Program 

BEQUAL supports the education priorities of the Government of Laos (GoL) described in the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) Education, Science and Sports Sector Development Plan 2026-2030 and is aligned with the strategic directions set out in Australia’s International Development Policy, Gender Equality Strategy, and Disability Equity and Rights Strategy, as well as the Australia – Laos Development Partnership Plan 2024-2029. BEQUAL partners with MoES to improve teaching quality and student engagement and learning outcomes, with a particular focus on teaching and learning resources development, teacher professional development and management, and ensuring mainstreamed and targeted Gender Equality Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) interventions contribute towards safer and more inclusive education for all students, especially the most marginalised learners. BEQUAL Phase 2 builds on the seven years of investment and significant achievements of Phase 1.

The Position 

The MEL Specialist supports the effective implementation of BEQUAL’s MEL system by developing and managing KoBo data collection tools, cleaning and analysing data in Excel, maintaining MEL databases and libraries, and supporting research, reporting, learning, and decision-making processes. The role works closely with the MEL Manager, BEQUAL technical teams, and MoES counterparts to ensure MEL activities are implemented consistently, data are accurate and timely, and evidence is available to inform program reporting, reflection, and improvement. The MEL Specialist also supports research coordination, learning and pause-and-reflect processes, and the integration of GEDSI considerations into MEL tools, analysis, and reporting.

The Person

You have experience in developing, testing, and maintaining KoBo forms or other digital data collection tools for surveys, monitoring, attendance, or related purposes. You can collect, clean, validate, manage, and analyse MEL data using Excel, as well as prepare tables, charts, summaries, and data outputs for managers and decision makers. You have sound knowledge of monitoring, evaluation, and learning principles, including data quality assurance and evidence use. You understand research coordination, learning processes, and reflection mechanisms in development programs. You have experience working with government counterparts and diverse stakeholders to support reliable data collection, verification, and use. You understand gender equality, disability, and social inclusion principles, and how these can be integrated into data collection, analysis, and reporting.