Job ID

2023-5181

Location

LR-Monrovia

Category

International Positions

Employment Status

Contingent Upon Award

The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Director will provide technical leadership, oversight and strategic direction for the design and implementation of MERL activities for an upcoming USAID-funded Health System Strengthening project which aims to improve and promote access to quality health services for Liberians. The project will operate over a two-year period with an additional 3 years depending on performance.

The MERL Director will provide technical leadership to strengthen health information systems, develop project framework, plans and indicators to capture performance results and provide effective, accurate and timely monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities. The MERL Director will supervise and manage the MERL team’s efforts to strengthen data systems, improve data quality, do analysis, report, and design and implement project MERL activities, ensuring that lessons learned are integrated into project implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes. The MERL Director is responsible for documenting and disseminating project successes and challenges to USAID. The MERL will manage donor relations on MER issues, liaise with consortium partners and the Ministry of Health to strengthen national HMIS capacity and implement monitoring and evaluation activities. This position will also supervise digital health staff, including managing the Information Systems team member, which requires a strong understanding of data integration and interoperability concepts.

This position is contingent upon award from USAID. Liberian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

• Provide leadership and direction on MERL to ensure the project achieves its goals and corresponding objectives and targets
• Oversee the development and implementation of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to capture project performance and results, including routine service delivery data reporting, baseline and end line assessments, and all monitoring for process and outcome evaluations
• Lead tools development and/or revisions, and develop and oversee data flow pattern for the project that will ensure efficient and timely data collection and reporting
• Lead results reporting to USAID by providing written documentation on MERL activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports
• Ensure high-quality implementation, consistent with Liberian national monitoring and evaluation guidelines, protocols, information and reporting systems
• Lead strategic collaboration activities with key stakeholders to learn from project data and adapt interventions as appropriate
• Lead the adaptation management design and coordinate implementation required under this award to ensure adaptation measurements and course correction are put into place
• Lead efforts to utilize training monitoring systems to track and monitor trainers and participants at training events to facilitate follow-up and recordkeeping
• Use data to contribute towards strategic decision-making and project planning with project leadership
• Oversee and/or conduct targeted evaluations and operations research, including design, data collection, management and analysis
• Ensure quality of data through data verification procedures including routine data quality audits and that these are routinely carried out during the project lifecycle
• Cultivate strategic MERL relationships and alliances with other USAID projects and represent MERL activities in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations
• Ensure project’s MERL systems are aligned with Jhpiego MER Standards
• Ensure relevant data is entered into JADE, Jhpiego’s organization-wide performance management system designed to capture, analyze, and disseminate project data
• Support the project to provide MOH technical assistance to strengthen the country’s HMIS and HR information systems (iHRIS) for the optimal use of routine data
• Support project data integration and interoperability activities
• Promote and support the dissemination of project information among the project team
• Work with project and financial staff to prepare and track progress of project and activity budgets
• Supervise a team of MERL and Digital Health professionals
• Coordinate all MERL capacity-building activities with project staff, implementing partners and facility staff
• Support the designated Internal Review Board (IRB) focal point in-country including maintaining current certification from 1) CITI human subjects ethics course and 2) CITI Good Clinical Practices (GCP) course
• Ensure protection of participant data and confidentiality during IRB process and implementation of study

• Master’s degree in public health, demography, statistics, social sciences or related field or equivalent experience
• Minimum 9 to 10 years of work experience in monitoring and evaluating large, multi-year international health sector development projects (approximately $5 -10M per year)
• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies, operations research, health management information systems, reporting, data quality assessments, data analysis and presentation
• Demonstrated strong management, coordination, teamwork and planning skills with proven ability to function effectively with multiple host-country counterparts in both the public and NGO sectors
• Familiarity with Liberian health management information system and other national M&E systems (proficiency in DHIS2, familiarity with iHRIS preferred)
• Experience with and understanding of relevant USAID and MOH frameworks and reporting systems
• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyze data using one or more statistical software packages, including at least one of the following: SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata, MS Access
• Familiarity with mobile data collection tools, health informatics and digital health solutions.
• Experience hiring and supervising personnel and ensuring they acquire the necessary training and skills to meet evolving project needs
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USAID, host-country counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, and the private sector
• Demonstrated outstanding leadership, strategic thinking, organizational, team-building, and representational skills
• Expertise in research to practice—identifying and adapting best practices to specific project contexts
• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building, and coordination
• Excellent verbal, written interpersonal and presentation skills in English
• Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in regional and national projects and technical staff
• Proficiency in word processing and Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook)
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally up to 40% of the time

• Familiarity with iHRIS preferred

Jhpiego offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefits package.

Please apply at www.jhpiego.org/careers

Applicants must submit a single document for upload to include: cover letter, resume, and references.

For further information about Jhpiego, visit our website at www.jhpiego.org

Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Jhpiego promotes Affirmative Action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled, and veterans.

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