Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Director

Jhpiego seeks a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director / M&E Specialist to provide technical leadership and strategic direction for MEL activities for an upcoming USAID integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and malaria, adolescent and family planning project. The project aims to reduce child and maternal mortality through improved utilization of quality reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health as well as malaria control and prevention services in Rwanda. The project will operate over a five-year period.

The MEL Director will provide technical leadership to develop project framework, plans and indicators to capture project performance results and provide effective, accurate and timely monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities.  The MEL Director will supervise and manage the MEL team to design and implement the project’s MEL activities, ensuring that lessons learned are integrated into program implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes. The MEL Director is responsible for documenting and disseminating program successes and challenges to USAID. The MEL Director will also be responsible for designing and conducting operations research. The MEL Director will liaise with consortium partners and the Ministry of Health to implement monitoring and evaluation activities.

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

• Provide leadership and direction on MEL to ensure the project achieves the 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 the Development and overseeing data flow pattern for the project that will ensure timely data collection and reporting

• Lead results reporting to USAID by providing written documentation on M&E activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports, as appropriate.
• Ensure high-quality implementation, consistent with Rwanda national monitoring and evaluation guidelines, protocols, information and reporting systems
• Champion holistic approaches to collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA), including design and implementation of an action-oriented project research and learning agenda, routine analysis of available health sector data sources, and application of best practices in research and knowledge management

• Lead strategic collaboration activities with key stakeholders to learn from project data and adapt interventions as appropriate
• Lead efforts to utilize training monitoring systems to track and monitor trainers and participants at training events to facilitate follow-up and recordkeeping
• Ensure data quality assurance: quality of data through data verification procedures, including routine data quality audits and that these are routinely carried out during the project lifecycle
• Ensure data use for driven decision-making and project planning at all levels
• Oversee and/or conduct targeted evaluations and operations research, including design, data collection, management and analysis
• Cultivate strategic MEL relationships and alliances with other USAID projects and represent MEL activities in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations

• Ensure relevant data is entered into USAID reporting system and well documented internal reporting system to capture, analyze, and disseminate project data

• Lead project activities providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health in strengthening the national HMIS at all levels, including community level, as well as optimizing use of routine HMIS data for decision-making and program improvements
• 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 MEL professionals
• Coordinate all MEL capacity-building activities with project staff, implementing partners and facility staff ( Consortium and sub grantees)
• Support the designated  national  and international Internal Review Boards (IRB)  requirements are fulfilled Ensure data security and sharing policies are followed

• Master’s degree in public health, demography, statistics, social sciences or related field or equivalent experience
• Minimum seven years of work experience in monitoring and evaluating large, multi-year international health sector development programs (approximately $5 - 10M per year)
• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative methodologies, operational 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 private sectors
• MEL experience in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, adolescent, family planning and/or malaria
• Familiarity with Rwanda health management information system and other national M&E systems
• Experience and understanding of USAID’s framework and reporting system
• 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
• Experience supervising personnel and ensuring they acquire the necessary training and skills to meet evolving program needs
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USAID, MOH, RBC counterparts and representatives from other key stakeholders such as NGOs, CSOs, Professional Associations 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 programs and technical staff
• Proficiency in word processing and Microsoft Office 365
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally 40 % of time

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.

EEO is the Law”

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