DEPUTY DIRECTOR NEEDED AT JOHN SNOW INC.
Deputy Director – Monitoring , Evaluation and Research
John Snow, Inc. (JSI), a Boston-based public health management firm dedicated to providing high quality technical and managerial assistance to public health programs throughout the United States and the developing world, is currently recruiting for a Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (ME&R) for the USAID-funded project, Supporting an AIDS Free Era (SAFE) in Zambia.
The USAID SAFE: Supporting an AIDS-Free Era Program directly supports the Government of Zambia’s (GRZ) long-term vision of becoming a nation free from the threat of HIV and AIDS by 2030. Over the next five years (2017-2022), the program will work to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity, and transmission, while improving nutrition outcomes and family planning integration in three provinces: Central, Copperbelt, and North-Western. The USAID-funded initiative is implemented by John Snow, Inc., in collaboration with Abt Associates, mothers2mothers, and the Catholic Medical Mission Board.
We are looking for someone that is passionate about numbers and using data to drive the project agenda and achieve results; a strong leader that has great interpersonal/people skills, can build relationships, and is results focused; and someone with a very strong foundation in M&E and have the ability to coach, mentor, and build local M&E capacity.
Position Purpose:
The Deputy Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (ME&R) is a full-time position based in Lusaka and will work closely with the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (ME&R) in overseeing the monitoring, evaluation, and research (M&ER) and knowledge management activities under USAID/SAFE. The Deputy Director ME&R’s primary responsibilities are to (1) organize and coordinate routine data collection and analysis, interpret, and report on project results to stakeholders at all levels of the project; (2) develop and implement a learning agenda related to the projects service delivery innovations and process.
ME&R activities will be designed to enable program managers in the field to identify problems and their causes, and improve overall program performance. The ideal candidate will be an effective people-centered, results-oriented leader.
ME&R activities will assess and report on project outputs and life-of-program effects and results, providing USAID and the host government with a record of progress, effectiveness and lessons learned. The overall approach is expected to provide decision-makers with accurate, practical and useful information (both quantitative and qualitative) in a consistent, timely, and cost-effective manner.
Overall duties and responsibilities:
- Provide technical leadership to develop project frameworks, plans and indicators to capture performance results and provide effective, accurate and timely monitoring, evaluation and reporting of all project activities.
- Develop monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER) systems that include appropriate indicators, baseline data, targets and a plan to evaluate performance and produce timely, accurate and complete reporting.
- Technically supervise and manage the provincial Strategic Information Officers to design and implement project M&E activities, ensuring that lessons learned are integrated into project implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes.
- Work closely with the Director in designing and conducting operations research. Liaise with consortium partners and the Ministry of Health to implement monitoring and evaluation activities.
- Assist in Providing leadership and direction on M&E to ensure the project achieves its goals and corresponding objectives and targets
- Assist in the development and implementation of the Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) to capture project performance and results, including routine service delivery data reporting, baseline and end line assessments, and all monitoring for process and outcome evaluations
- Develop and oversee data flow pattern for the project that will ensure timely data collection and reporting
- Participate in results reporting to USG by providing written documentation on M&E activities and indicator results for progress and annual reports, as appropriate
- Lead strategic collaboration activities with key stakeholders to learn from project data and adapt interventions as appropriate
- Use data to contribute towards strategic decision-making and project planning with project leadership
- Oversee and/or conduct targeted evaluations and operations research, including design, data collection, management and analysis
- Ensure quality of data through data verification procedures including routine data quality audits and that these are routinely carried out during the project lifecycle
- Cultivate strategic M&E relationships and alliances with other USG projects and represent M&E activities in public and professional circles through meetings, conferences, and presentations
- Ensure relevant data is entered into DHIS2, USAID SAFE’s organization performance management system designed to capture, analyze, and disseminate project data
- Support the project to provide Ministry of Health technical assistance to strengthen the country’s HMIS for the optimal use of routine HMIS data
- 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
- Coordinate all M&E capacity-building activities with project staff, implementing partners and facility staff
- 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
- Ensure protection of participant data and confidentiality during IRB process and implementation of study
- Conduct supportive supervisory visits to sub grantees to observe, monitor and provide guidance and quality feedback on the use of project data for management decision-making
Desired qualifications:
- A Master’s degree or higher in public health, social sciences, or other related discipline
- Minimum 10 years of ME&R senior level leadership experience in international health projects in a technical capacity; preferably including several years with USAID-funded projects
- Demonstrated applied skills in ME&R methods and innovations, data analysis, and use of data for systems strengthening projects/programs
- Experience in the ME&R of HIV projects, PEPFAR experience required
- Experience in the routine ME&R of family planning, MNCH, and nutrition programs
- Demonstrated leadership working with other technical experts in ME&R in the international community and at the host country level
- Open mindset and a history of using innovative approaches, with excellent critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills
- Demonstrated expertise in rigorous quantitative and qualitative research and analytical methods
- Proven experience in research/study design and implementation, including design and data analysis of quantitative and qualitative studies and rapid appraisals
- Demonstrated hands-on practical experience setting up and managing ME&R systems for
- health programs
- Excellent report writing, analytical and communication skills, including oral presentation skills
- Ability to work in diverse settings with public, private and NGO sectors
- Ability to tailor data collection approaches to local needs, interests, and capabilities
- Ability to convey ME&R results to non-technical stakeholders and generate interest in the use of ME&R data/results for programmatic improvements
- Demonstrated capacity to oversee development/implementation of work plans, reports and presentations
- Excellent interpersonal, teamwork, supervisory, communications and mentoring skills
- Regional experience in Africa; experience in Zambia is desirable
- Strong communication skills in English.
Method of Application
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