DEPUTY DIRECTOR EVALUATION AND LEARNING: JOBS FUND REF NO: G18/2026 Term: 24 Months Fixed-Term Contract

This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to South Africa’s public employment agenda as a Deputy Director for Evaluation and Learning within the Jobs Fund, based in Pretoria. The role is a 24-month fixed-term contract, graded at an executive management level within the public service, and sits at the heart of the Fund’s efforts to measure, understand, and amplify the impact of its project portfolio. The Jobs Fund is a catalytic funding mechanism that supports innovative projects aimed at job creation, and this role ensures that those projects are rigorously evaluated, that lessons are captured and shared, and that evidence informs both current implementation and future funding decisions. The successful candidate will work closely with project partners, service providers, and internal business units to embed a culture of learning and results-based management across the Fund.

Applicants must hold a degree at NQF level 7 in monitoring and evaluation, development, public administration, economics, or a related field. An Honours or Master’s degree in M&E, social sciences, or equivalent experience and education will be advantageous, as will training or certification in statistics and quantitative measurement. The role requires a minimum of six to eight years of experience in monitoring, measurement, and evaluation of development programmes or projects, including conducting evaluations and writing evaluation reports, with at least two years at a management level. Candidates should also demonstrate experience in capturing good practices and lessons learned using a variety of approaches, such as end-of-project evaluations and special studies; experience in project design and evaluation; and experience in research, policy analysis, and evaluation of donor-funded projects. Familiarity with donor communities and the development of enterprise standards is expected, along with the ability to prepare evaluation reports for diverse audiences including technical teams, management, government, donors, and other stakeholders. Strong skills in applying qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and reporting tools are essential, as is experience managing projects with multiple stakeholders and excellent report-writing ability.

The duties are broad and strategic. The Deputy Director will execute the Jobs Fund Evaluation Framework and Learning Agenda, support the evaluation of projects, and extract learnings from the portfolio. This includes providing inputs to terms of reference for evaluations, managing the service provider selection process, and overseeing service providers conducting project-level evaluations. The role also involves contributing to the design of baseline, formative, mid-term, and summative evaluations, supporting partners in developing results chains, and planning and conducting evaluations. A key focus is promoting learning: analysing and synthesising evaluation findings, supporting awareness sessions with partners on evaluations and results-based management, benchmarking on job creation and sustainability, and documenting feedback from case studies and close-out reports. The post holder will engage with stakeholders at project and Fund level, support partners to ensure post-Jobs Fund success, appraise project implementation monitoring plans and theories of change, and advise on the use of job proxies. Additionally, the role supports the development of learning frameworks with each business unit, provides technical support to project managers and the Communications Unit for success stories, and contributes to training on evaluation methodologies. Data management is another pillar, including identifying opportunities to optimise data collection and use, training staff on systems and data visualisation, simplifying complex processes, and collaborating with the grants management system team. The role also involves managing and analysing large data sets, responding to data requests, synthesising knowledge, and supporting the systematic recording of social impact. Finally, the Deputy Director will execute the overall M&E framework, assess data validity, draft and revise tools and data collection procedures, and support the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning Lead in defining and monitoring key performance indicators.

Only South African citizens and permanent residents may apply, in line with Public Service Regulations. Shortlisted candidates will be required to submit certified copies of qualifications and other documents on or before the day of the interview, and all shortlisted candidates will be subject to security vetting and personnel suitability checks. This is a demanding but rewarding role for an experienced evaluation professional who is passionate about using evidence to drive meaningful social and economic change through the Jobs Fund.