The MEL Director will provide leadership to the technical and programmatic implementation of the program. This position will oversee overall management and technical oversight of the monitoring, evaluation, and learning support and research efforts for the project. S/he will 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. The MEL Director is responsible for designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems, information analysis, capacity strengthening, and development of program management plans and project monitoring. The position will be based in Freetown. S/he will report directly to the Team Leader.

Actual hiring is contingent upon successful activity award and FCDO approval. Sierra Leonean nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities:

Coordinate with the Team Leader and the headquarters-based MERL Advisor in the design and management of the MEL components, ensuring strategic planning of activities is informed by project and relevant HMIS data sets.

Lead the design and implementation of all monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities, including the development of the project’s performance monitoring plan; development and monitoring of project indicators; implementation of project evaluation, quality assurance, and auditing of data.

Design and implement mechanisms for continuous collaboration, learning, and adapting (CLA) for project staff, partners, donors, host country government counterparts, and other stakeholders.

Oversee a project team of monitoring, evaluation, and learning staff and ensure clear roles and responsibilities and lines of communication are maintained amongst the team members.

Ensure that lessons learned are integrated into project implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes.

Lead the design and implementation of operations research.

Responsible for documenting and disseminating project successes and challenges to FCDO.

Qualifications:

An advanced degree in research methods, statistics, biostatistics, quantitative/qualitative data analysis, public health, social/behavioral sciences, or other relevant medical or health discipline.

Minimum of 8 years working on monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning in the field of public health, maternal and child health, family planning, and/or other infectious disease programs, as well as knowledge of monitoring of results-based financing programs.

Minimum of 5 years of experience in collecting, analyzing, and managing donor-funded project data for health projects including use of country-specific HMIS (DHIS-2)

Demonstrated experience managing M&E systems consistent with FCDO protocols for data collection and reporting.

Experience developing and integrating CLA approaches within project frameworks and leading CLA approaches across partners and technical focus areas to yield successful collaboration and integration.

Familiarity with FCDO administrative, management, and reporting procedures and systems.

Excellent English oral and written communication and presentations skills.

Experience living or working in Sierra Leone is preferred.