Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director

Vacancy Announcement

Position Title: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director

Based in: Addis Ababa

Duration of contract: Contingent upon funding

Remuneration: As per the organization pay scale plus other PSI/Ethiopia staff benefits

Application Deadline: September 27, 2021

Who we are?

We’re Population Services International (PSI), the world’s leading non‐profit social marketing organization. We work to make it easier for people in the developing world to lead healthier lives and plan the families they desire by marketing affordable products and services that range from mosquito nets to contraceptives to HIV testing. We are a $560m enterprise based in Washington, DC, operating in the private and public sectors in more than 65 countries.

Join us!

There are over 9,000 “PSI’ers” around the world. It’s a diverse group of entrepreneurs and professionals with an unusually wide range of backgrounds – from the medical industry to the music business – all with unique skills we bring to the job.

PSI/Ethiopia wants reimagine healthcare, put the consumer at the center, and whenever possible, bring quality care to the front door.  We achieve health impact in Ethiopia by working with both government and private partners and harvesting technology innovation to bring quality care closer to communities, schools, and homes.   We empower consumers by including them in the design of healthcare solutions, offering them more healthcare choices, and helping them to have a voice in influencing national priorities.  We work with all market actors in the health system to understand their needs, designing and delivering solutions so that market systems can sustainably serve consumers for the long term, helping to support the Government of Ethiopia in achieving Universal Health Coverage.

Project Description

PSI Ethiopia is currently accepting applications for a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director for an anticipated USAID-funded Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) in Ethiopia. The purpose of the (PHEM) activity is to strengthen public health emergency management to mitigate the impact of disasters on the health system and primary care and, strengthen the capacity of Ethiopia’s institutions and communities to effectively manage disaster risks.

This activity is expected to be a five-year program in the $10-25M range. The solicitation is expected to be released in October 2021 and awarded in May 2022.

We are looking for qualified Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director to lead major activities within the USAID Ethiopia PHEM project. The MEL Director will work closely with the COP, DCOP, and other staff to provide technical leadership, oversight, and strategic direction for MEL framework, systems, and activities. The Director will provide overall leadership and guidance on project design, activity monitoring, evaluation, and learning on PHEM and will ensure timely information and feedback to stakeholders. The position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and is contingent upon program award and USAID approval.

Your contribution

• Provide technical leadership in the development and implementation of overall monitoring and evaluation framework for project implementation.
• Support activity monitoring, evaluation, learning, and reporting, including the management of appropriate systems to track progress against targets, document lessons learned, and produce timely, accurate, and complete reports in compliance with USAID requirements.
• Develop monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems that include appropriate indicators, baseline data, targets, and a plan to evaluate performance.
• Support the development and implementation of a project wide learning agenda in line with USAID’s Collaborating, Learning and Adapting framework and approaches.
• Oversee the development and submission of timely, accurate, and complete reporting and the use of innovative technology for documentation.
• Regularly review and update the project’s MEL plan.
• Work closely with government counterparts and local implementing partners (LIPs) to strengthen capacity in data collection, reporting and use of data for decision making.
• Institute regular use of performance monitoring data, project to harmonize and streamline collection and use of data for program activities and learning, among project managers, stake holders, and other relevant PSI staff.
• Liaise with USAID, government partners, policy makers, and other key stakeholders to coordinate dissemination and application of results.
• Supervise MEL team members to: manage production of data to meet all reporting requirements including quarterly and annual reports, research, technical reports, presentations, etc.; ensure that all data is up to date and ready for immediate use; review quarterly reports prior to submission to donors and headquarters; assist project technical staff with preparation of reports as appropriate.
• Build capacity of project staff, on the use of data for decision making and performance improvement.
• Provide technical assistance and training to program teams and partner organizations as necessary.

• Provide technical support to strengthen MEL systems at national and community level.

What are we looking for?

The basics

• Master’s Degree in Statistics, Public Health, Social Sciences, demography or other relevant discipline.

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience relevant experience in MEL for USAID-funded large-scale health programs of a similar size; including scaling up digital integration and dashboards for immediate and actionable updates for rapid follow up and resolution.

What would get us excited?

• Demonstrated experience working in partnership with host governments, international donors, and implementing partners.

• Experience using health data management software, such as DHIS2

• Experience using statistical software packages, such as SPSS, STATA, EpiInfo, etc.

• Experience working in complex environments and with adaptive management.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, including for reports, conference presentations and peer-reviewed journal articles.

• Strong interpersonal and supervisory skills.

• Ability to work independently and with team members and partners at all levels.

• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically.