Job Details of Measurement Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Manager

Job description

Seed Global Health (Seed) envisions a world in which every country is strengthened by a robust health workforce that can meet the health needs of its population. We partner to train nurses, midwives, and physicians, building health teams that can provide high-quality care and save lives. We do this by strengthening clinical care delivery, improving health workforce education, and supporting policies that enable health professionals to succeed. Seed is dedicated to creating lasting change in the health systems of our partner countries: Malawi, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia. To ensure these changes are durable, we form deep local partnerships that inform our work at the individual and systems levels. Together, we are creating a multi-generational impact to not only treat today’s problems but solve for tomorrow’s.

Position Summary

The MEL Manager plays a crucial role in driving evidence-based decision-making, fostering continuous improvement, and evaluating the overall impact of activities within the Seed program in the Seed country team. The position reports to the Country Director and dotted-line reports to the Global MEL Director. The MEL Manager closely works with the country team, MEL Global team and Seed’s partners to lead the development and implementation of MEL systems and processes, ensuring alignment with the organization’s strategic goals and objectives.

The MEL Manager provides technical leadership, oversight, and strategic management for MEL initiatives for the country team. They lead the design and execution of the country team Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Plans that contribute to achieving Seed Global’s MEL Strategic Plan and Seed Country Program plans. The MEL Manager works closely with Seed staff and local partners to establish robust MEL systems that facilitate quality data collection and support analysis, reporting, and effective communication with key stakeholders. Conducting data assurance and ensuring the quality and integrity of collected, analyzed, and reported data is a key responsibility of the MEL Manager. The MEL Manager leads learning initiatives and technical leadership on data review platforms to promote a culture of data use for learning and adaptation among Seed teams and partnerships. This position also oversees and manages operational research, assessments, and program evaluations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall MEL Management

• Develop,update, and manage the Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Plans in collaboration Collaborate with the Seed country team and Global MEL team.
• Ensure the country’s measurement systems produce rigorous, timely, and relevant information to understand Seed’s global impact.
• Collaborate with the country team and partners to design and implement core partnership measurement activities.
• Develop and oversee strong systems for data collection, quality assurance, analysis, and reporting of program results.
• Align data collection and reporting systems with the institutional data requirements and national Health Management Information System (HMIS) data and tools.
• Report indicator results to Seed Global Health team, donors, partners, and stakeholders to track progress against targets as per the MEL plan.
• Support preparing donor reports and other communication materials, ensuring accurate reporting on program data and progress.
• Ensure timely reporting of country program data into Seed’s organization-wide performance management system.
• Execute the day-to-day MEL activities outlined in the Seed country’s partnership work plans with Seed staff and in-country partners.

Data Management

• Collaborate closely with the Seed team, Ministry of Health, and Seed partners to develop and update tools and templates for data collection, including survey design and customization of validated tools.
• Lead data collection efforts and implement data quality assurance and validation systems.
• Ensure MEL practices meet or surpass clinical good practices (GCP) and ethics standards, including obtaining and maintaining valid certification of GCP in human subject ethics.
• Ensure protection of participant data and confidentiality during the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process and study implementation.
• Work closely with the Global MEL team to design and manage training data management systems to track and monitor trainers and students at training institutions and facilities and use data program review, learning and adapting.

Collaborating, Learning and Adapting

• Utilize insights from regular monitoring and data collection systems to inform planning and decision-making and provide constructive feedback at all organizational levels.
• Lead the creation of data visualization tools and dashboards to improve data accessibility and facilitate informed decision-making, in collaboration with the Global MEL team.
• Foster a collaborative learning and adaptation culture through partnership review meetings, conferences, cross-partnership visits, and international exchanges.
• Facilitate learning at the partnership and cross-country levels to promote a learning culture.
• Collaborate with the MEL, Development, and Communication teams to support timely and accurate
• reporting on program data and progress.
• Coordinate the country’s Community of Practice and contribute to the Global MEL Community of Practice.
• Represent the organization in local and global forums to share updates on MEL activities.
• Document and compile knowledge management products such as success stories, best practices, lessons learned, blogs, abstracts, etc.
• Monitor and evaluate QI activities to assess their effectiveness and impact on project outcomes and performance.

Partner Engagement & Technical Capacity Development

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with partners and stakeholders at national, sub-national, and institutional levels.
• Identify MEL capacity needs within the country team and the partnerships.
• Provide technical MEL capacity building to partner academic and health institutions regarding indicators, data capture, reporting tools, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for data collection, verification, and quality assurance.
• Work closely with the Global MEL team to provide leadership on the development and execution of training programs for Seed staff and partners, including creating MEL training materials, presentations, workshops, and other educational resources.
• Manage and supervise MEL team members and provide mentorship to ensure the high quality implementation of measurement, evaluation, and learning activities.
• Where necessary, recruit, manage, and train data consultants or research assistants as needed for MEL activities in collaboration with the Seed Country team.

Qualifications, Experience, and Competencies

• At least a master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, health informatics, statistics, or a related field.
• At least five years of experience in project monitoring, evaluation, and research in public health or similar programs, preferably with international organizations.
• Successful track record in collaborating with and strengthening Ministry of Health (MOH) systems.
• Familiarity with various monitoring and evaluation tools and methodologies.
• Proficient in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Ability to design paper-based and mobile data collection tools and effectively manage tablet-based data entry, storage, and extraction.
• Strong writing skills for producing clear and concise reports and presentations.
• Competency in developing progress visualization dashboards to aid data interpretation and decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience managing monitoring and evaluation systems, including data collection, cleaning, validation, and training.
• Proficiency in program monitoring, database design, data analytics, and MOH Health Management Information System (DHIS2), including knowledge of subsystems like LMIS and iHRIS.
• Strong skills in database management and proficiency in software such as Microsoft Office,
• Power BI, and statistical packages like SPSS and Stata.
• Ability to design paper-based and mobile data collection tools and effectively manage tablet-based data entry, storage, and extraction.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, proven to collaborate effectively in high pressure environments.
• Keen attention to detail, exceptional organizational skills, and strong time management abilities.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• Available and willing to travel both domestically and internationally as needed.

Working Conditions

• Full-time position- required to work at least 40 hours a week.
• Fast-paced environment with tight deadlines.
• Collaborative team setting
• 50%of local travel required.
• Must be able to travel internationally as needed.
• Will be required to sit/stand for up to eight hours per day.

Compensation

Competitive base salary commensurate with experience, as well as health/dental/eye insurance, retirement and vacation, sick time, birthday day off, annual pay increase, and professional development benefits.

Use the link  to submit your cover letter, CV/Resume and referees addressed to the Hiring Manager, Seed Global Health not later than May 23, 2024.

Seed is an equal opportunity employer that prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type, including without limitation on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristics protected by federal, state, and local law.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

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