RDI - MEL Specialist

Organization: Dubai GovernmentEducational-level Beginning of the main content section.Return to the home pagePrintable Format Job Description - RDI - MEL Specialist (26003083)Job Description RDI - MEL Specialist - (26003083) About Dubai Future Foundation:Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) was established in 2016 to institutionalize future-shaping for Dubai and strengthen the city’s position as a leading global city of the future. The Foundation works in partnership with government and private-sector entities to imagine, design and accelerate Dubai’s future. Its work spans five strategic areas: future foresight, knowledge dissemination, capacity building, future design and future acceleration. At the heart of DFF’s mandate is turning future-focused ideas and opportunities into tangible outcomes. The Foundation embraces risk-taking, agility and foresight as key attributes in navigating emerging opportunities and challenges. DFF is guided by a core belief that leading in the present is not enough; the future must be actively imagined, designed and executed.Job Description LIFE AT DUBAI FUTURE FOUNDATIONDubai Future Foundation (DFF) aims to realize the wise vision of Dubai’s leadership to institutionalize the envisioned future and forward-thinking methodologies, while positioning Dubai as the leading city of the future.In partnership with its local and global partners from governments, companies, startups, and entrepreneurs, DFF drives joint efforts to collectively imagine, design, and execute the best possible future for humanity.Under the supervision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of DFF, the DFF runs and oversees many futureproofing projects and initiatives, such as the Museum of the Future, Area 2071, The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE, Dubai Future Accelerators, One Million Arab Coders, Dubai Future Academy, Dubai Future Solutions, Dubai Future Labs, Dubai Future Forum, etc.DFF’s efforts to share knowledge, adopt innovation, support entrepreneurs and innovative startups, build capacity, and promote forward-thinking and foresight principles contribute to Dubai’s ambitions to be a role model for the cities of the future through the power of unlimited imagination, innovation, foresight and disruptive mindset.For more information on the initiatives, projects, and programs of Dubai Future Foundation, please visit the website: www.dubaifuture.aeWHERE DOES THIS ROLE FIT INTO THE BIGGER PICTURE?The Dubai RDI Grant Programme, established under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is building a portfolio of grant-giving mechanisms that span the full RDI value chain from Talent Discovery through to Industrialisation & Scaling.The MEL Specialist plays a critical role in establishing the measurement, evaluation, and learning infrastructure required to ensure that the programme's investments deliver measurable and verifiable outcomes.The role will build the programme's Theory of Change, logical framework, and real-time impact monitoring infrastructure from the ground up, turning the programme's ambition of being "the most trusted, outcome-driven RDI hub by 2030" into measurable, verifiable reality.MEL SPECIALISTAs the MEL Specialist, you will lead the development and operationalisation of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework for the Dubai RDI Grant Programme.You will establish the systems, frameworks, indicators, and reporting mechanisms required to measure the performance and impact of the programme across its portfolio of grant instruments.The role will work closely with the RDI team and a diverse range of stakeholders to ensure that evidence, learning, and impact measurement are embedded into grant management and programme decision-making.YOUR RESPONSIBILITIESTHEORY OF CHANGE (TOC) DEVELOPMENT• You will co-design a multi-level ToC with the RDI team covering all grant instruments, including project grants, challenge funds, discovery grants, translation grants, and rapid innovation funds.• You will map causal pathways from inputs → activities → outputs → outcomes → impact, aligned to Dubai's four priority sectors: Cognitive Cities, Health & Life Science, Environmental Science, and Space.• You will document assumptions, risks, and external factors affecting the change pathways at each Technology Readiness Level (TRL) stage.LOGICAL FRAMEWORK (LOGFRAME) DESIGN• You will develop a master logframe with SMART indicators at output, outcome, and impact levels for each grant instrument in the portfolio.• You will define baselines, data sources, collection methods, and milestone targets for all indicators.• You will build a supplementary Results Framework to track cross-cutting contributions, including Emirati researcher participation, IP generation, private sector co-investment leverage ratios, publications, and spinout cre

Lead the development and operationalisation of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework for the Dubai RDI Grant Programme. Establish systems, frameworks, indicators, and reporting mechanisms to measure performance and impact across the portfolio of grant instruments. Collaborate with the RDI team and diverse stakeholders to embed evidence, learning, and impact measurement into grant management and programme decision-making. Develop a Theory of Change (TOC) covering all grant instruments, map causal pathways from inputs to impact across priority sectors, document assumptions and risks at each TRL stage. Design a master logframe with SMART indicators, define baselines and data sources, and build a supplementary Results Framework to track cross-cutting contributions such as Emirati researcher participation, IP generation, private sector leverage, publications, and spinouts.