Brief Description:

Title: Manager, Planning, Evaluation & Learning (Remote)
Department: Strategy, Policy & Research Team (Canada)
Travel: Once a quarter or as needed for team, conferences or learning related events

The Opportunity

WES is seeking an experienced professional to work with our expanding team of planning, evaluation and learning specialists. At WES, we see great potential in planning, learning and evaluation to strengthen our collective impact. This is a unique opportunity to support WES in Canada and to work closely with colleagues in our central Social Impact Division and in our US operations as we build out this important internal function. We have made strong progress in building and implementing our social impact evaluation framework, and we are looking for a Manager to continue this work. We value both your strong foundational knowledge in evaluation and your ability to work collaboratively and communicate well with internal stakeholders to support our growing culture of learning. A commitment to and passion for our mission to help people work, learn and thrive in new places and to help society recognize the value of their education and experience is key.

The ideal candidate will:

Have a commitment to advancing the economic inclusion of immigrants, refugees and international students and a strong commitment to WES’ mission.
Combine strong systems and strategic thinking abilities with detail-orientation and the ability to implement and get things done.
Be ready to accompany and support policy, program, and philanthropy teams to respond to new challenges and opportunities and to incorporate lessons as we adapt and evolve our work.
Be skilled at managing your time and prioritizing in line with strategic priorities and organizational direction.
Be open to diverse ideas and approaches and consider where/how evaluation practice can support equity, diversity and inclusion.
Bring a “can-do” attitude and have a willingness to adapt as the work evolves.
Build collaborative working relationships with colleagues and external partners, mobilizing people at all levels towards collective goals.
Be innovative with an eye for identifying practical solutions and knowing what it takes to bring them to life.
Thrive in an environment that values transparency, collaboration, and an orientation for results.
Description:

The Planning, Learning & Evaluation Manager works with and across WES Social Impact teams in Canada. An important technical specialist, you will lead the implementation of WES’ evaluation framework, as well as support teams to incorporate strong planning/design and learning practice into our Canadian policy, program, philanthropy, and partnership work.

This role reports to the Director of Strategy, Policy and Research and is embedded in the Strategy, Policy & Research team that supports our work in Canada. This role offers a unique opportunity to partner with colleagues across the U.S. and Canada to shape a nascent global planning, learning, and evaluation function, building upon the foundational processes, tools, and frameworks developed in both Canada and the U.S. As part of WES’ Social Impact division, this role will work closely with the Associate Director for Social Impact Planning Learning & Evaluation and with the US-focused Program Evaluation Manager. The Manager will have significant exposure to members of WES’ Senior Leadership Team and Canadian Leadership Team.

Location & Work Environment

We are a remote-first work environment, and we have a team that is distributed throughout Canada and the U.S. This position is open to candidates from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, or Nova Scotia. Employees who are based near our Toronto Office enjoy the flexibility of working in the office or at home. WES’ Toronto office has a shared, open office environment with break-out and meeting rooms and light to moderate noise

Duties included but not limited to:

1) Planning and Evaluation in Canada

Lead the implementation of the WES Social Impact Evaluation Framework.
Work in collaboration with counterparts in the Social Impact Division central team and US-based team, aligning work while leading implementation in Canada.
Plan, implement, and adjust, as required, the annual and quarterly evaluation processes and reporting as required by WES internal processes and schedule.
Ensure ongoing management, updating and enhancement, or creation of new frameworks and tools e.g., logic models, evaluation framework, planning and evaluation tools.
Contribute to the development of a monitoring, learning, and evaluation approach for WES’ philanthropic efforts in Canada with the potential to support implementation.
Work with other internal stakeholders, including the Social Impact Division team, to align practices and processes in Canada with WES-wide efforts, where appropriate.
2) Team Support & Accompaniment

Plan, implement and co-facilitate analysis/sense making and collaborative learning activities, which draw on evaluative data and help identify lessons to incorporate into our future practice.
Support teams to ensure strong logic / evidence is incorporated into program design; and support teams to budget and plan for learning and evaluation.
3) Evaluation Management & Evaluation Projects

Working with WES teams, develop and project manage evaluation plans. In some cases, you may provide technical assistance or support to evaluations. In other cases, you may recruit external consultants to conduct evaluations.
Collaborate and manage engagement with program evaluation consultants, as needed.
4) Data Management and Systems Planning

Work in close collaboration with partners, including our CRM (Salesforce), Knowledge Management and Communications teams to establish and maintain systems for data collection, management and use.
Design and/or enhance data reporting and visualization to maximize effective use.
Inform and advise data strategy for processes linked to planning and evaluation.
Collaborate with Knowledge Management colleagues in Canada and in Social Impact Division central team; inform/advise on knowledge management practices for processes linked to planning and evaluation.
5) Management, Operations and Leadership

Manage and track expenses related to planning and evaluation in Canada.
Collaborate with GTB colleagues in the development and maintenance of annual work plans, strategic plans, and reporting.
Coordinate with GTB teams and other WES teams (e.g., social impact teams, communications, marketing, IT) as well as external consultants, as needed.
Other duties and responsibilities may be assigned as required.
Requirements:

Education and Experience Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience/training in fields such as research and evaluation or equivalent experience.
5+ years or more of relevant experience. While in-house evaluation experience in social enterprises/non-profits is a major asset, you might bring relevant experience in roles such as: human centered design, applied research, learning and development, philanthropy or policy/program management.
Strong grounding in research ethics and an understanding of the role that research / evaluation can play in contributing to and addressing inequities.
Experience supporting collaborative design and evaluation – including developing logic models, evaluation frameworks and plans.
Experience in data planning, collection, and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data in the social sciences or related fields and supporting others to make use of the data in a social impact environment.
Competencies

Strong political acuity and ability to navigate internal relationships and complex organizational structures.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
Able to convey complex or detailed information in simple accessible formats, including visualizations.
Experience using and promoting the use among others of digital tools for collaboration and impact, including: MS Office (including Sharepoint, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), survey software (SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics), collaboration tools (Jamboard, Miro, Loom), Salesforce, Marketo, Tableau, Cision.
Ability to work on a diverse team and with a diverse range of partners
Assets

Experience working in a large, complex organization or network, with demonstrated ability to manage and progress projects with matrixed teams
Significant experience in group facilitation, including supporting teams to analyze or make sense of data
Experience and subject matter expertise in workforce development and/or the economic inclusion of immigrants
Detailed knowledge of data analysis software is not required but could be an asset.

AODA Statement:

WES values diversity in all its forms and recruits qualified individuals at all occupational levels that reflect the diversity of our clients and our community. We strive to foster a workplace in which all individuals maximize their potential, regardless of their differences. We are committed to providing accommodations for person with disabilities. If you require an accommodation to complete this application, we will work with you to meet your needs. Please contact Human Resources. Accommodation may be provided at all stages of the hiring process.

Read More