Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning - MERLD - (Global Project)

The Director of Monitoring, Evaluation Research and Learning will support to support an anticipated five-year, multi-country, USAID-funded health system strengthening (HSS) project that will accelerate country efforts to achieve sustainable, equitable, and resilient health systems through locally-led, evidence-driven, and context-specific approaches to HSS. The primary goals of the project are to advance primary health care (PHC), accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC), and improve health outcomes.

The MERL Director will lead the project’s learning agenda, monitoring, and evaluation requirements within and across countries, and support the design and implementation of adaptive management, M&E and learning strategies.  The MERL Director will ensure the project reflects state of the art in HSS MERL to strengthen the global HSS evidence base and strengthen country HSS programming.

The MERL Director will supervise and manage the project’s M&E team and oversee the collection, management, analysis, and use of project data, ensuring that lessons learned are integrated into project implementations to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes. They will ensure a coordinated MERL approach across the project, including country buy ins.

The MERL Director will be based within one of Jhpiego’s country-based offices in Africa, Asia or the US, and international travel will be required. This position is contingent upon award and annual funding from USAID.

• Design and oversee the project’s global and country-level MERL strategy and implementation approaches
• Provide leadership and strategic direction to ensure that the project builds an understanding of how health systems and relevant multi-sectoral components interact and impact one another to produce health outcomes, health system changes, and how these changes can be sustained.
• Provide leadership and strategic direction on M&E to ensure the project achieves its goals and corresponding objectives and targets.
• Oversee the development and implementation of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to efficiently track, use and disseminate performance indicators and results over the life of the project, including routine health systems data , assessments, and all monitoring for process and outcome evaluations
• Oversee the development of the project’s Learning Agenda, working collaboratively with global technical staff and local stakeholders to identify priority learning questions, plan and execute learning activities such as studies or assessments, and disseminate findings of learning activities in targeted and appropriate settings.
• Develop and oversee implementation of robust context-appropriate systems for data collection, quality assurance, analysis and reporting on activity outputs/outcomes and program quality.
• Lead results reporting to USAID by providing written documentation on M&E activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports, as appropriate.
• Cultivate strategic M&E relationships and alliance with monitoring, evaluation and learning counterparts in other USAID projects, national and international institutions, and key stakeholders, leading initiatives to learn from project data and influence decision making, resource allocation, and adaptation.
• Support project leadership to champion holistic approaches to collaboration, learning and adapting (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 knowledge management and adaptive management.
• Oversee and/or conduct targeted assessment, evaluations and operations research, ensuring compliance with Johns Hopkins University institutional review board policies.
• Represent M&E activities in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations.
• Ensure project compliance with USAID, Jhpiego, and national monitoring, evaluation, research and data policies.
• Train and mentor project staff and implementing partners in monitoring and evaluation methods, tools, and systems
• Ensure protection of participant data and confidentiality during all monitoring, evaluation and research implementation and dissemination processes
• Ensure project compliance with local laws, regulations, and policies surrounding the ethical collection, storage, use, and sharing of data, including close coordination with local IRBs.
• Contribute to Jhpiego's global thought leadership on measurement for GHS activities

• Master’s degree in public health, demography, statistics, social sciences or related field or equivalent experience
• 10 years’ experience in monitoring, evaluation, research and learning of global health programs
• Experience in incorporating systems practice and systems approaches into complex MERL
• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methodologies, health management information systems, data visualization and reporting
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and quantitative research skills, including but not limited to study design, survey instrument design and use, sampling, data analysis plans, data cleaning, statistical analysis, qualitative data analysis, and presentation and reporting and communication of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods results
• In-depth experience with USAID Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning approaches
• Knowledge and experience establishing and measuring health indicators, as well as associated capacity building with partner governments and local organizations
• Demonstrated experience in utilizing data and evidence to facilitate program adaptation and innovation, and in facilitating timely knowledge synthesis and/or generation, dissemination, use, and sharing
• Demonstrated experience and strong management, coordination, teamwork and planning skills with proven ability to function effectively with multiple host-country counterparts in both the public, NGO and private sectors
• M&E experience in HSS programming
• In-depth experience with USAID MER guidelines and indicators
• Experience with USAID reporting requirements and timelines
• Familiarity with the health management information system and other M&E systems in target countries
• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyze data using DHIS2 and one or more statistical software packages, e.g., SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata, MS Excel
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional relationships with USAID Bureau of Global Health, USAID Missions, 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
• Excellent verbal, written interpersonal and presentation skills in English
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as needed.

• Proficient in additional language (French, Portuguese)

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

#LI-DM1