Youth Skills MEAL Consultant

British Council•, SD

About The Position

The British Council's Youth Skills Sudan Programme is a pilot initiative implemented between April 2026 and March 2027 that combines Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Non-Formal Education (NFE) into a single integrated skills offer. The programme aims to improve employment opportunities, enterprise development and formal skills recognition for young people across ten target states in Sudan while contributing to the implementation of Sudan's Transitional Education Plan (TEP) 2025–2027. The programme consists of five integrated interventions: Inclusive Economic Empowerment (Employment and Enterprise pathways), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Curriculum Development with NCCER, Regional and International TVET Engagement, and a TVET+ Behaviour Change Campaign. Following completion of the Youth Skills Model Report, the programme is entering its implementation phase. To ensure effective programme management, adaptive learning and evidence generation, the British Council seeks to recruit a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Consultant to establish and operationalise the programme's MEL system. The consultant will work under the approved Project Management Plan (PMP), ensuring that all monitoring systems align with the programme logic, outputs, outcomes, governance arrangements and reporting requirements. The British Council is seeking a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Consultant to accompany the implementation of the Youth Skills Sudan pilot throughout FY26/27. The primary purpose of this consultancy is to systematically capture evidence, learning and impact generated throughout the pilot year, enabling the British Council to assess the effectiveness of the integrated Youth Skills model, document what works in Sudan's conflict-affected context, and produce a robust end-of-pilot report that will inform future programme design, policy engagement and resource mobilisation. Rather than undertaking a traditional end-line evaluation, the consultant will embed learning throughout programme implementation by establishing practical monitoring systems, collecting quantitative and qualitative evidence, documenting lessons learned, and translating programme results into compelling evidence products for government, partners and donors. The consultancy will ensure that by March 2027 the British Council has a comprehensive evidence base demonstrating the programme's achievements, challenges, lessons and recommendations for scaling the Youth Skills model beyond the pilot phase.

Requirements

Advanced degree in Monitoring & Evaluation, Statistics, Development Studies, Social Sciences or related discipline.
Minimum seven years' experience designing MEL systems for international development programmes.
Experience designing MEL frameworks for education, TVET, youth employment or livelihoods programmes.
Experience developing digital and offline data collection systems.
Experience conducting qualitative and quantitative evaluations.
Strong analytical and report writing skills.
Experience working with donor-funded programmes.
Experience operating in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.
Excellent English writing and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in Sudan or the Horn of Africa.
Knowledge of TVET systems.
Experience with Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
Experience supporting programmes funded by FCDO, EU, GPE or the World Bank.
Familiarity with British Council project management approaches.

Responsibilities

Review the Project Management Plan, Theory of Change and programme documentation.
Develop a practical MEL framework that measures programme outputs, outcomes and emerging impact across all five programme interventions.
Define indicators, baselines, targets and learning questions that will test the effectiveness of the Youth Skills model.
Develop data collection tools, reporting templates and quality assurance processes suitable for implementation in conflict-affected settings.
Monitor progress against programme indicators.
Analyse programme data and identifying emerging trends.
Document implementation challenges and adaptations.
Capture beneficiary feedback and stakeholder perspectives.
Collect qualitative evidence through case studies, Most Significant Change stories and learning interviews.
Document policy influence, institutional strengthening and systems change.
Support periodic reflection and learning sessions with programme staff and partners.
Produce periodic learning briefs.
Present findings to the programme team.
Identify emerging good practices and innovations.
Recommend programme adaptations where necessary.
Document lessons relevant to youth skills programming in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
Synthesize all evidence collected throughout the year into a comprehensive suite of knowledge products, including: Final Pilot Learning and Impact Report; Executive Summary for senior leadership; Donor-ready Impact Report; Success Story Compendium; Evidence Brief highlighting the effectiveness of the integrated TVET and Non-Formal Education model; Recommendations for Phase II design and future scale-up.