Senior MEL Adviser Global Ocean Accounts Partnership

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Last update: Apr 14, 2026 Last update: Apr 14, 2026

Details

Deadline: May 1, 2026 Deadline for applications has passed

Location: Home Based

Home Based

Organization:Global Ocean Accounts Partnership - UNSW CSDR

Sectors:

Environment & Climate, Monitoring & Evaluation

Job type:Contract, 12 months +

Languages:

English

Work experience:Min 7 years

Date posted: Apr 8, 2026

Expected starting date: As soon as possible

Attachments

MEL Consultant .pdf

Apr 8, 2026

Description

Senior MEL Adviser Global Ocean Accounts Partnership

Location: Global | Contract: ~24 months

The ocean is being counted for the first time. Your expertise will prove it is working

At the Third UN Ocean Conference in 2025, every nation on earth agreed that counting the ocean — its ecosystems, its economies, and the communities that depend on it — is no longer optional. It is essential. Nineteen countries have pledged to build ocean accounts by 2030. A global movement is underway, and the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership is at the centre of it.

But ambition without evidence is just intention. To make this programme transformational — to shift policy, mobilise finance, and genuinely improve the lives of coastal communities — we need to be able to show what is changing, why it is changing, and what we are learning along the way. That is where you come in.

A role being built from the ground up

This is not a role managing someone else's results framework. It is a role designing one.

GOAP has a Theory of Change and a bold 2030 programme. The 2030 programme is an initiative spanning Small Island Developing States, coastal least developed countries, and five transboundary regions of high biodiversity significance. What it does not yet have is a fully developed results framework, logframe, or the indicators and targets to bring them to life. Your first and most important task will be to build these — working alongside a small, high-calibre, mission-driven team to translate GOAP's theory of change into a rigorous, measurable, and compelling evidence architecture that spans a complex multi-country portfolio and satisfies the requirements of a diverse range of donors and governance bodies, including the UNSW CSDR Steering Committee.

This is a rare opportunity to shape at an early stage how a globally significant programme understands and demonstrates its own impact.

What you will be doing

As Senior MEL Adviser, you will be a core part of the GOAP Secretariat, bringing the same commitment and shared mission as any colleague. You will lead GOAP's MEL function across the full 2030 programme, from results framework design and baseline establishment through to periodic evaluations, learning reviews, and donor results reporting.

You will work across a diverse landscape of donors and governance bodies, ensuring that results reporting meets the specific requirements of each, while maintaining a coherent and consistent picture of what GOAP is achieving. You will build MEL capacity among country teams and implementing partners, support adaptive management decisions with timely and well-synthesised evidence, and work hand-in-hand with GOAP's Communications Manager to ensure that the impact of ocean accounting is told clearly and compellingly to the audiences that matter most.

You will also ensure that GOAP's MEL systems are genuinely inclusive — capturing disaggregated data across the full range of gender, disability, age, Indigenous identity, and other social dimensions — working closely with GOAP's Senior GEDSI Adviser to ensure the evidence base reflects the communities the programme exists to serve.

Who we are looking for

You are a senior MEL professional with at least seven years of experience designing and managing MEL systems in complex, multi-country international development programmes. Critically, you have experience building results frameworks and logframes from scratch — not just inheriting and managing existing ones. You know what it takes to turn a Theory of Change into a measurable, donor-compliant results architecture, and you have done it before.

You are comfortable working across multiple donor reporting frameworks and governance requirements. You bring strong analytical and writing skills, and the ability to synthesise complex evidence into findings that are accessible to a fisheries minister, a donor results team, a board of directors, and a coastal community organisation alike.

You thrive in a collaborative, fast-moving environment. You are energised by the learning side of MEL — not just measuring what happened, but helping an organisation understand why, and what to do differently. And you are committed to ensuring that the people most affected by ocean change are visible in the data that shapes decisions about their futures.

What we offer

Up to 24-month assignment with genuine scope for extension

Full-time engagement (minimum 0.8 FTE), with flexible working hours

Competitive Remuneration Package

Home-based from anywhere in the world

Travel (up to 12 weeks per year) as required

Full integration into a small, high-calibre, mission-driven team working at the frontier of ocean governance

The opportunity to shape the evidence architecture of a globally significant programme from the ground up

How to apply

Send the following to info@oceanaccounts.org and juliet.grimm@unsw.edu.au, with the subject line: "Consultancy Application – Senior MEL Adviser [YOUR NAME]"

A technical proposal outlining relevant experience and knowledge to completing the assignment and ability to meet the qualifications and experience requirements (maximum 4 pages)

A document detailing relevant experience with UK ODA/ICF results reporting requirements (or other relevant framework or donor), and a brief discussion of how you have previously designed and managed results frameworks for complex multi-country programmes, including experience in adaptive management and learning systems (maximum 2 pages)

An updated CV/résumé highlighting relevant MEL experience, including results framework design, donor reporting, and learning and adaptive management (maximum 4 pages)

A monthly rate and yearly, based on full-time or 0.8 FTE engagement as applicable, with any exclusions clearly listed

A potential start date and preferred length of contract

Two examples of relevant previous work products (e.g. results frameworks, MEL plans, donor results reports, evaluation reports, learning products)

Contact details for two professional referees

First applications will be reviewed on or before 1st May 2026. Subsequent applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Early application is strongly encouraged.

GOAP are committed to diversity and inclusion. We strongly encourage applications from women, people with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and candidates from underrepresented groups. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership is hosted by the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, Sydney. Learn more at www.oceanaccounts.org