Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Innovation
Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Organization: Management Sciences for Health (MSH)
Job Description
The Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning (MEL) and Innovation provides senior technical and operational leadership for the Americal First Global Health Strategy Global Health Security Division (AFGHS GHSD) and the Supply Chain Strengthening (SCS) projects in project in Ethiopia MEL and Innovation strategy into practical systems, routines, tools, workplans, deliverables, and decision-making processes across the Supply Chain and Tuberculosis work streams. In this role, innovation includes identifying, testing, adapting, and scaling new MEL-related tools, systems, ideas, methods, and approaches that strengthen data quality, analysis, and project performance.
Reporting to the Senior Director, the Director is accountable for operationalizing strategic priorities by coordinating day-to-day implementation of the MEL and Innovation system, ensuring that performance monitoring, milestone tracking and verification, data quality, digital data flows, analytics, evaluation and implementation research, learning, and innovation are sequenced, staffed, quality assured, and used to support timely project management, corrective action, adaptation, and results achievement.
SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITY:
MEL system implementation and coordination
- Lead day-to-day implementation and continuous improvement of the integrated MEL and Innovation work plan across Supply Chain and TB.
- Translate the results framework, MEL and milestone plans, learning and research agendas, and innovation priorities into assignments, schedules, standards, and deliverables.
- Coordinate indicator reference sheets, tools, reporting calendars, SOPs, and review and approval workflows.
- Act for the Senior Director as delegated and elevate strategic, compliance, data-quality, or performance risks.
Milestones, performance monitoring, and reporting
- Manage the end-to-end milestone and indicator cycle from definitions and targets through evidence, validation, analysis, and submission readiness.
- Coordinate evidence packages and cross-source verification for Supply Chain and TB milestones.
- Lead dashboards, routine analyses, performance reviews, donor reports, government updates, and management products.
- Ensure reviews, mentorship, training, and technical assistance are assessed for performance improvement and corrective-action completion.
Data quality, digital systems, and analytics
- Operationalize the DQA framework through routine checks, reviews, spot verification, reconciliation, issue logs, corrective actions, and capacity strengthening.
- Coordinate integrated, documented, secure, interoperable, and user-centered data flows that prioritize approved government systems.
- Lead quantitative, qualitative, geospatial, and mixed-method analyses on TB services, commodity security, supply chain maturity, transition, and performance.
- Identify, pilot, adapt, and support responsible use of new MEL-related tools, systems, ideas, methods, and approaches, including AI-assisted MEL workflows with human review, reproducibility, data protection, and quality assurance.
Evaluation, learning, transition, and evidence use
- Manage evaluations, operational research, assessments, learning activities, and dissemination plans under the Senior Director’s technical direction.
- Coordinate HSR screening and ethical review and maintain required study, consent, data-management, and dissemination documentation.
- Facilitate pause-and-reflect sessions, after-action reviews, learning exchanges, and performance-improvement cycles.
- Monitor institutionalization, capacity, handover readiness, domestic ownership, and sustainability with the Senior Transition Manager and government counterparts.
Team management and capacity strengthening
- Directly supervise assigned managers, advisors, officers, or specialists and provide matrix leadership across the approximately 14-person team.
- Establish team routines, workload plans, quality reviews, coaching, and performance feedback.
- Strengthen staff, partner, government, and facility capacity in results-based management, data quality, analysis, visualization, learning, and evidence use.
- Maintain productive relationships with government, donor, partner, technical, operational, and MSH home office stakeholders.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Required: Master’s degree in MEL, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, data science, health informatics, social sciences, implementation science, health systems, supply chain management, or a closely related field.
- At least 12 years of progressively responsible experience in MEL, research, analytics, digital health, innovation, or related health-systems work.
- Experience independently operationalizing MEL strategies and managing complex MEL systems, workflows, and deliverables for large donor-funded health programs.
- Demonstrated experience translating MEL strategies, results frameworks, milestone plans, and learning agendas into operational workplans, tools, SOPs, reporting routines, team assignments, quality assurance processes, and management-use products.
- Experience managing or matrix-leading multidisciplinary technical staff, consultants, and partners and assuring output quality.
- Expertise in multiple MEL methods and relevant experience in TB, public health supply chains, health information systems, or health systems strengthening.
- USG-funded project experience required; Department of State, fixed amount award, milestone-based, or performance-based financing experience preferred.
- Experience in Ethiopia or comparable decentralized health systems strongly preferred.
- Advanced command of performance monitoring, mixed methods, data management, indicator and target design, DQA, evaluation, implementation research, learning, and reporting.
- Experience managing milestones, tiered thresholds, verification evidence, audit trails, cross-system reconciliation, and donor review comments.
- Ability to integrate evidence across TB and supply chain work streams and embed findings into routine project management processes, performance reviews, adaptive management decisions, corrective action tracking, and donor reporting.
- Knowledge of TB surveillance, screening, diagnosis, treatment outcomes, TPT, TB/HIV, DR-TB, laboratory systems, mentorship, stock monitoring, and data quality.
- Knowledge of forecasting, supply planning, product availability, inventory, warehousing, last-mile delivery, traceability, regulation, emergency logistics, maturity, and transition.
- Advanced Excel and data visualization skills; knowledge of DHIS2, e-LMIS/DAGU, Power BI, GIS, statistical and qualitative analysis tools.
- Strong project management, supervision, facilitation, writing, presentation, and relationship-management skills, including the ability to sequence activities, manage timelines, coordinate cross-functional inputs, monitor follow-through, resolve implementation bottlenecks, and ensure timely, high-quality delivery.
- Professional fluency in English required; Amharic or another Ethiopian working language strongly preferred.
- Integrity, ethics, respect, and responsible data stewardship.
- Client and partner focus and collaborative leadership.
- Results orientation, adaptability, innovation, problem solving, quality, and timely delivery.
- Inclusive people leadership, coaching, and constructive feedback.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND TRAVEL:
- Regular keyboard and computer use.
- Ability to travel domestically, including to project regions and implementation sites, and internationally as needed. Reasonable accommodations may be made for qualified individuals.
Other duties as assigned.
MSH is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.
