Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director – USAID Better Health

Options is a global team of experts and innovators tackling some of the world’s most pressing health challenges. We work with leaders and change makers around the globe to bring health strategies to life. We provide ideas, advice and technical know-how that enable our partners to build a path to lasting change. We have offices in the United Kingdom, Nepal, Nigeria and Kenya and have delivered client-funded projects in over 50 countries worldwide.

Options has worked alongside the health system in Nepal for over 25 years, with longstanding relationships with government and a deep and nuanced understanding of health sector structures and the current challenges and opportunities of transition to a devolved system. Our work has focused on strengthening the health system and enabling women and children to access the healthcare they need by overcoming financial, geographic, and social barriers and facilitating long term systems change. We have worked in partnership with government at all levels from national to district and palika, and through local communities, supporting the delivery of successive Nepal Health Sector Programs.

Options is seeking a MEL Director for the anticipated USAID Better Health Activity in Nepal. The Activity will support the three tiers of government (municipal, provincial and federal) to strengthen health systems, focusing on improved governance, quality of health care services, and community accountability. The Activity will focus on improving quality of care for maternal, newborn and family planning services, prioritizing marginalized communities.

Summary Purpose and Objective of Role

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Director is a senior member of the leadership team for the Better Health Activity in Nepal who will be responsible for leading the design and delivery of comprehensive and robust, monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems for the program. The MEL Director will:

• Lead the MEL team and their delivery of a MEL strategy that reflects the diverse components of this complex, integrated health systems program, facilitates adaptive delivery and learning, and enables highest quality reporting in line with USAID requirements.
• Oversee a comprehensive Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) approach that ensures lessons are informing project adaptation and improvement and are shared widely with stakeholders across Nepal and globally.
• Ensure overarching, inclusive, and participatory approaches to data collection, validation, and utilization which builds MEL capacity and skills across the program partners and informs program implementation, adaptation, and learning.
• Ensure a knowledge management system is designed and maintained which captures and share best practices, lessons learned, and success stories and fosters knowledge sharing within the consortium and with external partners to maximize the project’s impact.

Key responsibilities

• MEL system design and management: Lead the design, implementation and regular reviews of all monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems across the consortium, ensuring these reflect national and global best practice, and that partners align around a joint Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan (AMELP), theory of change, and performance monitoring plan. Manage and quality assure development of data collection tools and data management systems to ensure accurate and comprehensive reporting. Provide support to strengthening government reporting systems (including HMIS, LMIS, etc.), where needed. Track and report on program efficiencies from a value for money of perspective and enable annual program plans and delivery to improve efficiency. Work in collaboration with the planned USAID Health Learning activity, as well as other USAID efforts to build and standardize municipal health systems capacity assessment tools for use within provinces, municipalities, USAID Nepal and the Government of Nepal. Lead monthly, quarterly, annual, and final reporting data collection and analysis processes.
• CLA design and implementation: Develop, manage, and quality assure comprehensive Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting processes, working closely with program teams, local partners, and stakeholders. Ensure regular learning and reflection sessions and periodic performance reviews to share MEL findings and encourage open, data-driven discussions to jointly decide on program strategy adjustments, improvements, and innovations. Foster a culture of learning and work with program teams and partners (including government) to identify emerging challenges and opportunities and proactively adapt program activities to address them.
• Knowledge management and sharing: Develop and manage systems to ensure knowledge generated by the program is managed, shared, and leveraged to enhance performance and contribute to broader learning in the health sector. Create and manage platforms for regular knowledge sharing sessions among program teams, local partners, and stakeholders to promote collaboration and knowledge sharing and utilization within the consortium. Lead development and dissemination of learning and knowledge products on a sub-national, national, and global scale to inform thought leadership and best practice on integrated health services across the global health sector.
• Safeguarding: To act as a champion for safeguarding within Options, seeking to improve and drive the organisational culture such that a safeguarding mindset becomes embedded. Ensure that the name and contact details of the Safeguarding Focal Point are made available so that people know how to raise a concern/where to seek advice. To act as one of a number of points of contact for concerns regarding safeguarding incidents at country and/or programmatic level, and to raise those concerns to the Director of Global Health and the Assistant HR Director. To support the implementation and monitoring of the Child and Adult at Risk Safeguarding Policy.

• Minimum of 12-15 years working on monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning, of which at least 3 years should be in a senior management position. Experience in the field of public health, reproductive, maternal, newborn child and adolescent health, family planning, social accountability, behaviour change communication, as well as knowledge of monitoring of results-based financing programs is important.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in collecting, analyzing, and managing donor-funded project data for health projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing M&E systems consistent with USAID protocols for data collection and reporting.
• At least 3 years of experience with USAID’s CLA approach, including developing and integrating the CLA approach within project frameworks and leading CLA approaches across partners and technical focus areas to yield successful collaboration and integration.
• Familiarity with USG administrative, management, and reporting procedures and systems. Excellent English oral and written communication and presentations skills.
• Experience living or working in Nepal is preferred.
• Commitment to equal opportunities.
• Commitment to the project’s and Options’ principles of Safeguarding, Do No Harm, and to creating an enabling policy environment for voluntary family planning.
• Awareness and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Fluency in written and spoken Nepali is preferred.
• An advanced degree in research methods, statistics, biostatistics, quantitative/qualitative data analysis, public health, social/behavioural sciences, or other relevant medical or health discipline

Options offers a competitive benefits package.

Application Process

• To apply, please fill in the form here.
• Closing date for applications is: Wednesday 05 June 2024, with applications being reviewed on a rolling basis.
• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview.
• Please note that this role will be subject to full pre-employment background checks including criminal record check, identification check, employment references and right to work verification (where appropriate).

Other Information

• Options is dedicated to equal opportunity for all and recognises that every individual is unique. Whilst we always seek to embrace individual differences and celebrate the diversity of our workforce, we also want to ensure that every team member is suited to their role and that they are given the best opportunity to succeed.
• Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and post holders to share this commitment.