Transportation of necessities – Dominican Republic

Grain merchant in Wholesale Market – Afghanistan

Children near church in foothills of Mount Kenya

Cutting the Lawn – Afghanistan

Shepherds relaxing on ancient stones - Armenia

Teaching business to Greenhouse owners – Dom Republic

Typical Ag Business - Kenya

JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc., the non-profit branch of John Snow, Inc. (JSI) is a public health management consulting and research organization dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities throughout the world over the last forty years. JSI is currently seeking a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Director for a possible award of the USAID Bureau of Global Health-funded activity, MOMENTUM (Moving Integrated, Quality Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services to Scale) Round 2C.

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

Project Proposed: JSI MOMENTUM Round 2C. MOMENTUM is the Moving Integrated, Quality Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services to Scale Project funded by USAID

Location: Washington DC metro area (with 20% travel to international project sites);

Expected Start Date and Duration of Project: Mid-late November 2019; 5-year project

This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding from USAID.

 

 

OVERVIEW:

The MOMENTUM awards seek to contribute to global technical leadership and evidence generation and dissemination around maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH), family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) services. Round 2C focuses on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and knowledge management and translation of learning across the suite of MOMENTUM awards.

A MEL leader and collaborator, the 2C Senior MEL Director will work with M&E advisors across the portfolio of MOMENTUM awards to bring together monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, and translation of learning. The ideal candidate will be an astute leader who is both technically and politically adept at promoting strong working relationships between key stakeholders, including other MOMENTUM awardees, USAID, and governments. S/he will foster team inclusiveness, collaboration, and communication to achieve project goals. The Senior MEL Director will shape a diverse and dynamic team of MEL and KM practitioners, leverage their skills and experiences, and encourage continuous learning and improvement to ensure 2C’s success.

S/he will have experience designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for MNCH/FP/RH programming at a global scale, as well as measuring program results, including coverage, quality, self-reliance, and gender and youth. The Director will have extensive experience overseeing the coordination of MEL across large awards and a record of successfully coordinating with knowledge management and communications experts to ensure global and country uptake of evidence. S/he will also bring expertise in designing, introducing, and advancing Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) practices across the MOMENTUM portfolio to facilitate regular review of evidence to inform programs at the country level and global policies. S/he will report to the MOMENTUM Project Director and work alongside the Senior Strategic Communication Director to ensure MOMENTUM’s progress, achievements, and results are communicated regularly and accurately to relevant stakeholders.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The MEL Director will have the following roles and responsibilities:

  1. Lead the design and implementation of a MOMENTUM-wide monitoring and evaluation plan to guide collection, management, and dissemination of performance monitoring and evaluation data, and establish a common framework for indicators, data collection and reporting across MOMENTUM awards;
  2. Support the development and implementation of a MOMENTUM-wide learning agenda that identifies evidence gaps and prioritizes learning questions across the MNCH/FP/RH spectrum;
  3. Contribute to the design and implementation of capacity strengthening on a variety of MEL topics, including data for decision-making, adaptation, and learning, at both the country level and across MOMENTUM awards;
  4. Oversee the planning, collection, analysis, synthesis, translation, and dissemination of data and learning from across MOMENTUM awards;
  5. Lead the development or use of M&E collection and reporting systems through training, site visits, manuals, and other technical support to staff and stakeholders as needed.
  6. Manage MEL team staff, ensuring the technical capacity of team members and technical excellence and efficacy of MEL approaches;
  7. Promote coordination, effectiveness, and efficiency of project activities through networking, linkages to other MOMENTUM awards, capacity building of project staff, and institutional strengthening in support of the Journey to Self-Reliance;
  8. Ensure MEL activities are aligned with USAID guidelines and frameworks, including the Evaluation Policy and Journey to Self-Reliance;
  9. Establish and maintain close working relationships with other MOMENTUM awardees, USAID Washington, USAID Missions, and country-level stakeholders, designing and promoting user-centered information and KM system development and collaborative and respectful production of learning products;
  10. Collaborate with digital health technologists to accelerate improvements in MNCH/FP/RH outcomes and streamline and improve data collection, management, and use;
  11. Collaborate with other MOMENTUM awards to tell the collective story of MOMENTUM’s impact in MNCH/FP/RH at the global and country levels; and
  12. Ensure documentation and dissemination of findings, impact, innovations, and lessons learned to inform both internal programmatic decision-making and the global evidence base for MNCH/FP/RH.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The MEL Director should have the following skills and experience:

  • Master’s or Ph.D. degree in public health, monitoring and evaluation, social science research, knowledge management, or a related field;
  • At least fifteen (15) years’ experience in health programming in the international development sector;
  • At least eight (8) years’ experience in senior management positions on multi-million dollar projects focused on MNCH/FP/RH;  
  • At least five (5) years’ experience in effectively engaging partners and in managing M&E activities in multi-partner consortia (can be included in the fifteen years above);
  • At least five (5) years’ experience in providing technical assistance in MNCH/FP/RH monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptive management skills and has utilized innovation in technical practice (can be included in the fifteen years above);
  • Experience interacting with U.S. government agencies including overseas offices;
  • Demonstrated technical excellence, leadership, and a record of accomplishments in his/her chosen field;
  • Experience building monitoring, evaluation and learning capacities of national-level staff, preferably governmental staff, implementing partners, and their counterparts;
  • A thorough understanding of collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA), adaptive management and USAID evaluation policy and reporting guidelines required;
  • A history of using innovative approaches, with excellent critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills;
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cohesive and collaborative teams, supervise staff, including mentoring and capacity building, and strong communications and interpersonal skills;
  • Minimum five (5) years’ experience with USAID required, including familiarity with USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance;
  • Fluency in written and spoken English required; fluency/proficiency with another language highly desirable; and
  • Ability to travel up to 20%;
  • Citizenship or authorization to work in the US required.

How to Apply: Please send application documents to recruit@internationalink.net that clearly show you match all qualifications requirements. Documents requested: 1) CV in chronological format, that clearly show you match requirements and experience of the job; and 2) cover letter, detailing how you meet qualifications requirements, and a list of at least three professional referees; that includes name, contact information, and work relationship to the referee and, 3) a USAID Biodata form 1420*, 4) add “Senior MEL Director -MOMENTUM 2, USA” in the subject line.

 

Deadline for Application: September 13, 2019 or until filled

This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.