MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning) Advisor job at Jhpiego

Jhpiego is implementing a five-year Urban Health Activity in Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Activity aims to strengthen urban health systems and improve equitable health outcomes among all urban dwellers by working with districts, municipalities, and the Kampala Capital City Authority to provide quality primary healthcare services. It also focuses on optimizing available resources and enhancing private sector capacity to ensure sustainable improvements in health outcomes and a more resilient urban healthcare system. The Activity will address poor quality of care, congestion in public health facilities, uncoordinated referral system, weak community and surveillance structures, limited private sector capacity, and gaps in enabling environment results in poor health outcomes. The project’s key expected results include the following: improved access to and use of quality, maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), family planning/reproductive health (FP/RH), nutrition, and malaria services and improved disease outbreak response.

Position Purpose

The Monitoring Evaluation Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor will provide technical leadership to develop project framework, M&E systems and indicators to capture performance results and provide effective, accurate and timely monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities. The MERL Advisor will supervise and manage the M&E team and oversee the collection, management, analysis and use of project data, ensuring that lessons learned are integrated into project implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes. S/he will  lead documentation and dissemination of project successes, challenges and lessons learned. S/he will also be responsible for designing and conducting assessments, operation research and evaluations to address project needs. He/she will liaise with and support consortium partners and the Ministry of Health to implement monitoring and evaluation activities.

• Provide leadership and direction on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning to ensure the project achieves its targets, objectives and goals

• Oversee the development and implementation of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to efficiently track, use and disseminate results over the life of the project, including routine service delivery data reporting, assessments, and all monitoring for process and outcome evaluations

• Supervise a team of M&E professionals, ensuring high-quality implementation of all monitoring, evaluation and learning activities

• 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

• Ensure alignment of project systems and approaches  with  national monitoring and evaluation guidelines, protocols, information and reporting systems

• Cultivate strategic M&E relationships and alliances with monitoring, evaluation and learning counterparts in other USAID projects, national institutions, and key stakeholders, leading initiatives to learn from project data and adapt intervention strategies as appropriate

• 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

• Oversee and/or conduct targeted assessment, evaluations and operations research, ensuring compliance with Ministry of Health and Institutional review board policies

• Ensure quality of data through data verification procedures including routine data quality audits and that these are routinely carried out during the project lifecycle

• Represent M&E activities in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations

• Ensure relevant data is entered into Jhpiego’s organization-wide performance management system designed to capture, analyze, and disseminate project data

• Provide technical assistance to Ministry of Health to strengthen the country’s HMIS for the optimal use of routine HMIS data

• Ensure project compliance with USAID monitoring, evaluation, research, and open data policies

• 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

• 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
• Support Jhpeigo country office to maintain current certifications including from 1) CITI human subjects ethics course and 2) CITI Good Clinical Practices (GCP) course

• Master’s degree in Public health, epidemiology, demography, statistics, social sciences or related field or equivalent experience
• Minimum eight (8) years of work experience in monitoring and evaluating health sector development projects with minimum four (4) years in supervision of staff.

• Certification as an M&E professional (CMEP) is an added advantage

• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methodologies, implementation research approaches, health management information systems, data visualization and reporting

• Demonstrated 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 the technical domains of RMNCAH, Malaria or GHS. Experience in health systems strengthening is a plus.

• Familiarity with Uganda health management information system and other national M&E systems

• Experience and understanding of the USAID framework and reporting systems

• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyze data using DHIS2 and one or more statistical software packages, including at least one of the following: SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata, R
• Demonstrated knowledge in using and applying Data visualization tools (i.e. Microsoft Power Bi, Tableau, etc.)  in Health Programs

• Experience in impacting skills on personnel to meet evolving project needs
• Excellent diplomacy skills and a proven ability to establish and maintain interpersonal and professional