The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to conducting high quality and policy relevant research on population, health, education, urbanization and broader development issues facing sub-Saharan Africa. The APHRC seeks to fill the following vacancies within its Data Measurement & Evaluation Research Unit.

Major responsibilities

The primary Role of the MEL Specialist is to develop and lead the monitoring, evaluation, and learning functions within the Data Measurement & Evaluation Unit and the rest of the APHRC. The Experts will ensure that the implementation of APHRC projects and programmes is underpinned by systematic attention to MEL principles and procedures. This includes the development of clear M & E plans and impact pathways for most projects; monitoring and tracking implementation of projects to ensure that they remain on course as planned; evaluating project impacts and documenting relevant lessons of experience for future programming; actively contributing to the design and implementation of external programme evaluation assignments that the APHRC may be commissioned to undertake; and sharing of lessons learnt from our projects and programmes with relevant internal and external audiences. The MEL Specialist will also drive accurate, timely and effective reporting on the results and achievements of the Centre’s Programmes as well as facilitate evidence-based improvements to program effectiveness and performance through monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the work completed. The holder of this position will work closely with all the APHRC Divisions and Research Units to ensure synergy.

Specific responsibilities

The specific responsibilities of the MEL Specialist will include but not be limited to the following:

1. Lead the development and implementation of project level and organization wide M&E plans;
2. Provide M&E targeted technical assistance to research Units such as designing and/ reviewing M&E tools, plans and methods, and ensuring quality control of M&E outputs;
3. Supporting the development of M&E frameworks for the APHRC as well as guiding M&E related activities in the Data Measurement & Evaluation Unit;
4. Lead project implementation, including data collection, analysis, report writing, synthesis of knowledge, and monitoring and evaluation of the impact of projects implemented;
5. Lead activities related to knowledge generation and sharing, documentation and dissemination of best-practices;
6. Support proposal writing and other fundraising activities geared towards leveraging funds to broaden the current scope of the Data Measurement & Evaluation Unit;
7. Actively collaborate with and contribute to the work of other Divisions and Research Units in the APHRC to achieve the Centre’s objectives;
8. Carry out any other functions that may be assigned to you from time to time by Senior Management and the Executive Leadership of the Centre.

 Qualifications and work experience

1. A Masters’ degree (PhD preferred) in monitoring and evaluation, public health, statistics, or any other relevant discipline that has an applied social science and/ or monitoring and evaluation component as course-work, e.g. epidemiology, biostatistics, demography, and development studies;
2. A minimum of 5 years of practical experience in designing and implementing M&E systems for donor-funded development programs in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world;
3. Experience in: Impact and performance evaluations; baseline assessments and feasibility studies; cost effectiveness analysis; monitoring plans, strategies and indicators; M&E-related policies and programs; technical training on M&E skills and tools; and applied research methods;
4. Proven experience in conducting large, national quantitative surveys at the household and facility levels, with a high level of confidence in using both quantitative and qualitative research methods;
5. Experience in capacity building to undertake measurement and evaluation of research programs in developing countries;
6. Well-developed writing skills and demonstrated ability to analyze and synthesize complex information leading to the production of different knowledge products;
7. Ability to work effectively with a variety of partners, including funding agencies, government departments, local communities, NGOs, and other key actors in the development sector;
8. Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team;
9. Strong ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) with a wide range of audiences;
10. Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with extensive familiarity with Statistical Packages (e.g. STATA or SPSS);
11. Demonstrated expertise in qualitative analysis methods, with familiarity with common qualitative analysis software package (e.g. NVivo).
12. Familiarity with impact evaluation and major donor (USAID, DFID, EU, etc.) regulations is desirable;
13. Familiarity with the African population health and wellbeing research and development landscape will be a distinct added advantage.

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to send via email their letter of application (1 page); and their CV with contact details of three referees to jobs@aphrc.org. Application letters should be addressed to:

The Human Resources Officer
African Population and Health Research Center
P.O. Box 10787 – 00100 GPO, Nairobi

Website: www.aphrc.org

The positions will remain open until suitable candidates are identified.

Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of children