Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Requisition ID: req51459

Job Title: Monitoring and Evaluation Manager

Sector: Monitoring & Evaluation

Employment Category: Fixed Term

Employment Type: Full-Time

Open to Expatriates: No

Location: Monrovia, Liberia

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

Over 80 years ago, Albert Einstein helped create the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Today, we are a leading humanitarian and development organization working in more than 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The IRC has been present in Liberia since 1996 serving as a lead partner in the health sector. The country program supports the Ministry of Health (MOH) in strengthening the health care systems and service delivery at all levels in accordance with the MOH national standards. 

In recent years, IRC Liberia has deepened its commitment to supporting both local civil society organizations and community groups in their recovery efforts - first from the devastating civil war and now from the Ebola crisis.  The Scaling Up Health Services Project presents an opportunity to bring these two critical elements together by strengthening civil society engagement in the delivery of health services and the rebuilding of health systems in Liberia.

Job Overview

The IRC has entered into a four-year cooperative agreement with USAID to implement the Scaling Up Community Health Services project in Liberia.  This project will strengthen the Liberian community health system to provide health care services in hard-to-reach areas while supporting sustainable country ownership of community-based health services, through technical assistance and capacity building of Ministry of Health (MOH)/County Health Teams (CHTs). This project will increase the coverage of service providers in underserved districts and improve their capacity to deliver quality health services while strengthening CHTs and communities’ capacity to plan, manage, and monitor health services.  In addition, the project will work directly with local civil society organizations (CSOs) at the county and community level, providing them with funding opportunities and strengthening their technical and operational capacity to play a key role in service delivery.

This new award is designed to build on the gains achieved under the previous USAID community health grant; “Partnership for Advancing Community-based Services (PACS)”, implemented by the IRC and partners. PACS supported the government to strengthen health systems, improve reproductive maternal and child health, as well as restore public confidence in health facilities and health staff. PACS also provided support to build the government of Liberia’s capacity to control infectious diseases and efforts to rebuild the health system.

This project is USAID’s flagship community health services activity and will be implemented in Bong and Lofa Counties with support from the Community Health Program Unit at the Ministry of Health.  The IRC and partners will assist in the decentralization process and ensure that county and community-level systems are equipped to deliver high-quality community-based services in line with key MOH strategies. Project staff will work in close collaboration with MOH staff of the relevant units, and county offices in strengthening their capacity to effectively supervise and coordinate community-based health activities. 

This M&E Manager position will be based in Monrovia and will require frequent travel to the counties to lead the development of the AMELP and AIP with the CHTs. The Manager will directly report to the M&E Coordinator. He/She will be supervised by the M&E Coordinator and will work closely with the PD, Grants, and partnership. 

Main Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Assist in the development of the annual implementation plan and activity monitoring, evaluation, and learning plan for the project.
• Have a thorough understanding of the operating context, the NCHAP indicators plus project ALMEP indicators, and the USAID reporting requirements. 
• Work closely with the M&E Coordinator, Grants Manager, and PD to develop the plans for engaging with CHTs and stakeholders at the county level.
• Ensure that iCCM and other relevant project indicators are incorporated.
• Facilitate the alignment and integration of the project AIP activities with that of the CHSD and CHTs operational plans for 2023/2024.

Reporting

• Work with the M&E Coordinator and Grants Manager to finalize the matrixes for the AIP and AMELP and the narratives for submission to USAID
• Share final approved documents with all field teams to guide implementation
• Develop a simple indicator tracking matrix for the county teams and orientate the Q&A/Sr. M&E officers on its use
• Contribute to the preparation of presentations required for meetings of USAID, MOH & CHTs
• Provide weekly/monthly M&E updates of activities covered on the project
• Assist the M&E Coordinator with the preparation of project reports by drafting or reviewing narratives, Success Stories, and preparing graphs, etc.
• Attend and participate in NCHAP coordination meetings and other related TWG meetings at the national level – either alone or together with other relevant team members
• Ensure that approved copies of the AIP and AMELP are loaded onto PIDS.

 Other duties

Perform other tasks as requested by the M&E Coordinator, PD, and DPD.

• Support the M&E Coordinator to develop/design proposals and plans for quarterly and annual surveys/ studies.
• Recruit and train enumerators during quarterly, and annual data collection exercises.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned for decision-making and adaptation.
• Plan and lead small studies or internal surveys.
• Collaborate with the project team and external consultants in preparation for baseline studies, evaluations, and special studies. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, or a related field; equivalent experience may be substituted for a graduate degree.
• Demonstrated knowledge tracking and analyzing project indicators and captured best practices and lessons learned to incorporate into project activities
• Significant experience working with MOH, partners, and CHTs at the county level
• Knowledge and familiarity with clients with low literacy
• Strong negotiation skills and ability to develop relations with local counterparts, donors, and other stakeholders.
• Demonstrated innovation and success in gender-sensitive programming and implementation. 
• Strong communication skills, both oral and written; and interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving, multi-tasking, independent judgment, and time management, particularly in a multicultural environment.
• Able to respond rapidly to changing environments, yet remain productive, and focused.
• Computer skills with knowledge of basic software Scaling up Health Services activities such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.