Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Specialist

This role was posted on May 8, 2022, and is open until May 22, 2022. Please note that we will review applications on a rolling basis but prioritize those who applied within the deadline.

As of March 1, 2022, Last Mile Health is requiring staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 wherever legally allowable and adhere to COVID-19 vaccination requirements to perform core work activities in all locations. To learn more, review our policy.

The Role

At Last Mile Health (LMH), we dig data. Do you have experience leading innovative monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) for global community health programs? If so, you may be our next Senior MERL Specialist.

LMH has partnered with the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Ethiopia to develop a cost-effective and learner-focused blended learning design to the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (RMNCH) module of the in-service training for Health Extension Workers (HEWs).  The Senior MERL Specialist will strengthen and streamline a robust measurement, evaluation, research, and learning system to drive quality improvement  for RMNCH Blended Learning and other programs at LMH in Ethiopia aligned with the Country Strategy. 

The Senior MERL Specialist is responsible for the development and implementation of MERL plans that measure progress, outcomes, and impacts of the Ethiopia country program. They will ensure design data collection tools, process management systems, data quality assurance processes, lead qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and create data visualizations to promote data use for decision making. Working collaboratively with the Global MERL team, the Senior MERL Specialist will also support the synthesis and dissemination of results to ensure effective feedback and use by the range of stakeholders supporting LMH in the global arena.

This position is only open to candidates who are located in and authorized to work in Ethiopia. 

What You'll Do

• Support the development and implementation of MERL plans for projects inclusive of evaluation questions, methods, data collection tools, data collection plans,  indicators, targets (as applicable), analytics, reporting, and dissemination
• Design and perform quantitative and qualitative analyses for projects; specifically mobile applications for clinical education of health workers
• Lead implementation of data management, quality assurance, and data cleaning procedures 
• Create accessible, relevant, and timely data dashboards and visualizations to be used internally and externally for strategic decision-making. Support results dissemination through data presentations, evaluation reports, and manuscripts as needed. 
• Share evaluation findings with the Ethiopia team, MOH and collaborate to use findings to refine strategies, strengthen programs, and improve activities
• Lead grant development and reporting for Ethiopia Program data
• Manage Institutional Review Board proposal submission and compliance for research studies
• Support the program team in continuous monitoring of Ethiopia Country Program KPIs including putting together and leading the quarterly data reviews for the Ethiopia team
• Support the recruitment and training of MERL related consultants, data collectors and other external contractors
• Organize and participate in program monitoring field visits and put in place systems for data quality checks for field level data collection

What You'll Bring

• Several years of professional experience in public health and/or international development, with at least 2 years leading MERL activities
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative MERL methods and applying equity principles to MERL activities
• Demonstrated experience working to promote a learning/data use culture at previous places of work
• Experience developing MERL reports, publications, whitepapers, toolkits, and factsheets
• Ability to independently select and perform the analyses for complex data sets,  including, but not limited to: descriptive statistics, multivariate logistic regression, difference-in-differences analysis, appropriate weighting of samples, etc. 
• Expertise with a statistical software package (Stata preferred) and relational databases (SQL preferred)
• Experience in data visualization (strongly prefer experience with Tableau, Power BI or other data visualization platforms) and with data quality audits
• Expertise designing and implementing process management (or field work) plans and adapting those plans based on field experiences
• Demonstrated experience with stakeholder engagement and ability to collaborate with and provide technical support to internal teams
• Facilitation of inclusive and culturally appropriate conversations with a range of stakeholders across geographies and cultural contexts

You'll Impress Us If

• You have experience collaborating with and coaching program/implementing teams to support data use
• You have experience in global health, digital health, health worker training
• You have experience and knowledge on Ethiopia's Health Extension program
• You have experience and knowledge on eCHIS (Electronic Community Health Information System) 

Compensation Information

At Last Mile Health, we strive to reward our employees equitably and transparently. This means that we pay our employees based on a clear and consistent methodology and without regard to identity or personal relationships. We have made this model fully transparent so that everyone has access to all information related to compensation. We hope this helps you better understand Last Mile Health’s values and commitments to our employees. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the hiring process.

Before applying to this role, please take a moment to learn more about our approach to compensation and how compensation works in each of the countries where we operate. Please find the link to our compensation model and benefits overview below:

OVERVIEW OF LAST MILE HEALTH’S COMPENSATION MODEL

Compensation for this position:

The Band for this position: Ethiopia Band 3

About Last Mile Health

Last Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world’s most remote communities. LMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.lastmilehealth.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at LMH. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.