Position: Consultant - MEL Strategy

Employment type: Contract

Location: Bangalore/ Gurgaon/ Mumbai

Business Unit: Foundations Advisory

The Opportunity

As a Consultant in the Foundations team, you will bring deep MEL expertise to engagements that help our clients design, measure, and strengthen high-impact programs, while extending well beyond measurement into program strategy, design, and implementation. You will work alongside diverse teams across MEL, program strategy, delivery, and business development, shaping solutions that create measurable, lasting impact for the foundations we partner with.

Key Responsibilities Project Management

Independently build project plans for MEL engagements while contributing to broader program design and implementation roadmaps.
Actively track project milestones, manage multiple workstreams, and coordinate across program teams to ensure execution as per timelines.
Demonstrate strong time management and prioritisation skills, focusing effort on activities directly linked to program outcomes and impact.
Proactively identify and surface project and program-level risks, working with the project lead to design mitigation approaches.
Maintain comprehensive documentation of MEL frameworks, program knowledge assets, and learnings, ensuring critical information is well-documented and easily accessible.

Problem solving Study design

Frame complex development problems accurately and translate them into clear, actionable lines of enquiry for the team and client.
Design MEL frameworks, theories of change, and results frameworks aligned to client outcomes, while contributing to the underlying program design where relevant.
Develop research and evaluation designs, finalise data collection tools, and define indicators across outcome and output levels, drawing on established sectoral frameworks.
Structure and lead analysis, synthesise information into clear insights, and form and test hypotheses that inform both measurement and program strategy.
Conduct rigorous secondary and primary research, developing insights and recommendations that strengthen assessments, program design choices, and course-correction decisions.
Translate data into informative insights and actionable recommendations, communicating these effectively to internal teams and external clients.
Go beyond the MEL brief where useful, identify program design gaps, strategic questions, or implementation risks surfaced through measurement work and recommend as well as deliver relevant solutions.

Team Collaboration

Lead a team of 2-3 Associates/Analysts to deliver high-quality project outputs on time, across MEL, research, strategy and delivery workstreams.
Collaborate with senior stakeholders within Sattva, contributing innovative ideas, frameworks, and approaches to support business growth and practice-building.
Give and receive constructive feedback respectfully, and coach junior team members on both technical MEL skills and broader consulting craft. Manage conflicts within the team openly and respectfully.

Strategic Thinking Sector knowledge

Stay abreast of new trends in MEL practice as well as the broader sector or ecosystem the program operates in (e.g. education, health, livelihoods, climate).
Gather diverse perspectives, frameworks, and mental models across measurement, program strategy, and systems thinking, to sharpen design and solutioning.

Key qualifications and experiences

5-6 years of experience across consulting, social sector program management, research, or philanthropic advisory, with meaningful exposure to both measurement and program delivery.
Minimum 4 years of hands-on MEL experience in the social impact sector is essential, with a strong technical foundation in theories of change, results frameworks, indicator design, mixed-methods research, and data analytics.
An MBA or postgraduate degree in economics, development studies, public policy, social sciences, data sciences, etc., from a reputed institution is preferred.
Demonstrated ability to go beyond measurement shaping program strategy, informing design choices, and translating evidence into decisions funders and implementers can act on.
On-ground implementation and field work experience is essential directly managing delivery, conducting field-based data collection and stakeholder consultations, tracking progress against milestones, and reporting outcomes to funders, boards, or government stakeholders.
Prior experience working with or within foundations, CSR teams, or large funders, and familiarity with one or more priority sectors (e.g. education, livelihoods, health, climate, gender), is an added advantage.
Comfort and willingness to travel to remote locations for field work, often in challenging conditions.
Experience leading small teams of 2-3 members is essential.
Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to engage credibly with middle and senior management at client organisations.
Humility, a genuine willingness to listen and learn, and comfort operating in ambiguity.

Disclaimer : This job posting has been aggregated from external source. Role details, content, and availability are subject to change. Applicants are advised to confirm the latest information directly on the company website before applying.

Consultant - MEL & Strategy

Job Description

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