Deputy Director, Research and Iearning - MERL

This role was posted on December 19, 2022. While we review all applications on a rolling basis, please note that we will prioritize applications received within the first two weeks of the posting. Thank you.

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 for evidence and data. Do you have experience leading innovative monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) community health programs? If so, you may be our next Liberia Deputy Director of Research and Learning. LMH partners with governments to design and refine community health policies and information systems with strong governance and financing.  We design and implement programs to supervise, salary, supply, and upskill community and frontline health workers. Collectively, these efforts aim to sustain responsive and resilient community health systems.

The Deputy Director, Research and Learning will work with the Liberia team to develop and implement research protocols and MERL plans to measure and understand progress, outcomes, and impacts of program activities. MERL Plans may focus on programming such as routine health information systems, technical assistance, and other topics as needed. To support data use and adaptive management, the Deputy Director, Research and Learning will share findings with country team programs, executive leadership, and identified external stakeholders including but not limited to LMH funders and Ministries of Health.

This position is located in Monrovia, Liberia and is open to both national and international candidates.

What You’ll Do

• Provide technical oversight on the development and implementation of research protocols and MERL plans for Liberia programs and projects, inclusive of learning or evaluation questions, methods, indicators, targets (as applicable), and analytics.
• Contribute to the design of evaluation studies, including household surveys, and oversee their implementation
• Lead engagement with program teams to ensure MERL plans are fit for purpose and responsive to programmatic priorities and learning needs.
• Adapt or develop data collection tools (e.g., surveys, key informant interview guides, focus group guides) and manage the implementation of those tools and analysis of data.

• Share findings with program teams and collaborate to use findings to refine strategies, strengthen programs, and improve activities.
• Support other MERL activities as requested by Liberia Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Director
• Develop strategy for improving programmatic data use and learning for Liberia team
• Lead collaboration between Liberia MERL and Programs teams to ensure data from grant reports and routine M&E is fed back to program teams for adaptive management. 
• Strengthen learning exchanges between the Liberia program team and other LMH programs (i.e., ensure relevant MERL findings are shared across counties within Liberia and all country teams, particularly for similar projects and activities). 
• Engage with the data systems team to ensure that LMH’s data portal facilitates data use.
• Support the Director, LMERL in strategic planning, budget management, and work plan development for research, MERL planning, and learning activities.
• Provide effective coaching, mentorship and professional development related to MERL plan development and implementation among Liberia MERL team members

What You will Bring

• Master’s degree in public health, monitoring and evaluation, epidemiology, health policy, or other related field preferred OR Bachelor’s degree required.
•  Relevant professional experience in public health and/or international development, with strong experience leading MERL activities for health system strengthening, policy, health financing, and advocacy initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative MERL methods.
• Experience developing and implementing MEL/MERL plans  
• Experience developing MERL reports, publications, whitepapers, toolkits, and factsheets.
• Demonstrated experience with stakeholder engagement and ability to collaborate with and provide technical support to internal teams and external partners, government counterparts.
• Experience contributing to grant/proposal writing and reporting to donors.  

• Experience in global health or international development in Liberia or similar country settings.
• Experience managing individual staff members or teams
• Prior experience in a remote setting and willingness to travel to various program sites as needed.
• Experience collaborating with and coaching program/implementing teams to support data use.

You'll Impress US If

• Experience with a range of software tools and platforms, including statistical analysis, databases, data visualization, GIS, mobile data collection tools, etc.

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: LBR 3

For Liberia the range is: $41,725 - $48,679 depending upon experience doing an equivalent role.

For International Staff the range is: $71,725 to $78,679, dependent upon experience doing an equivalent role.

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 based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.