Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning

Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning

Jhpiego – John Hopkins University

Multiple Locations

Overview

The Director of Monitoring, Evaluation Research and Learning will support an upcoming global health security project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The contract, valued at up to $300 million, will support in-country counterparts in up to 50 focus countries to enhance the capacity of national and sub-national laboratory networks and surveillance systems; develop and strengthen data collection, analysis, and reporting relating to surveillance and detection systems; and provide targeted technical assistance during outbreaks for detection, surveillance, and data analysis and management.

The MERL Director, through its position within the project’s senior management team, will play a role in thought leadership and strategic oversight of the project’s monitoring, evaluation, research and learning portfolio. The MERL director will provide technical oversight, quality assurance and supervision to the project’s global MERL team. They will 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 and ensuring compliance with donor, US, and host country laws and policies concerning the ethical collection and use of data. The Director will ensure that project activities, country-based MERL teams, and consortium partners contribute to improving learning and data and evidence generation, synthesis, and utilization. The MERL Director will also represent the project in external forums to share and promote project learning. The MERL Director will be based either in Baltimore or one of Jhpiego’s country-based offices and international travel will be required.

This position is contingent upon award and annual funding from USAID.

Responsibilities

• Design and oversee the project’s global and country-level MERL strategy and implementation approaches
• Provide leadership and direction on monitoring, evaluation and learning for the project, to ensure the project meets its targets, achieves its objectives, and establishes learning for the project across countries and technical domains
• 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 service delivery data reporting, baseline and end line 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 performance metrics that align with globally recognized frameworks and metrics for Global Health Security capacity, such as the IHR (2005) JEE scores and others and support countries to track improvements across technical areas and domains.
• Supervise country-based M&E professionals, ensuring high-quality implementation of all monitoring, evaluation and learning activities
• 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
• Lead efforts to utilize training monitoring systems to track and monitor trainers and participants at training events to facilitate follow-up and recordkeeping
• Support the project to use data, including visualization strategies, to contribute towards strategic decision-making and project planning with project leadership
• 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 Johns Hopkins University 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
• 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
• 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.
• 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
• Contribute to Jhpiego’s global thought leadership on measurement for GHS activities

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public health, demography, statistics, social sciences or related field or equivalent experience
• 10 years of work experience in monitoring and evaluating multi-year, multi-country international health sector development projects (approximately $5M per year), including 5 years in senior management roles
• Proven expertise in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methodologies, health management information systems, data visualization and reporting
• Experience developing and implementing implementation science, surveillance and research agendas
• 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
• In-depth experience with USAID Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning approaches
• Experience with approaches to measurement in Global Health Security, such as the International Health Regulations, JEE framework, and others
• 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.
• 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 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
• 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
• Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in regional and national projects and technical staff
• Proficiency in word processing and Microsoft Office
• Ability to travel nationally and internationally as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficient in additional language (French, Portuguese)

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