Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Director – USAID Healthcare Financing and Human Resources for Health Activity at ABT Associates

The Opportunity

• Abt seeks a qualified Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Director for the anticipated five-year USAID-funded Healthcare Financing and Human Resources for Health Activity in Nigeria.
• The MERL Director’s responsibilities will be to lead and manage all aspects of project Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Research; provide substantial technical expertise to both project and local government MERL activities; manage any operations research or results analyses and related dissemination; ensure synergistic and positive relationships between the MERL team and technical teams including on technical activities and training; facilitate continuous integration of Activity MERL findings and recommendations into programmatic activities; and serve as a member of the senior management team.
• You will be based in Abuja, Nigeria and will report to the Chief of Party (COP).
• The position is contingent upon project award to the Abt consortium.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of the project Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) and learning agenda, including identifying and adapting relevant indicators for measuring program performance.
• Design methodologies and tools to monitor the progress of project activities and expected outcomes.
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures for data collection and quality assurance.
• Lead the data verification process and quality assurance of the data, product and deliverables reported to the Government of Nigeria and donors.
• Collect, analyze, and report Activity performance data and indicators for submission to USAID, in close coordination with the technical team and the Home Office MEL Specialist.
• Regularly update the Activity team on workplan implementation progress in terms of timely achievements of project objectives, deliverables and products.
• Develop mechanisms to establish feedback loops between activity implementation, data collection, communications, and learning.
• Lead the development and implementation of evaluations and assessments, including creating a methodology and data security plan, in coordination with the technical team and subcontractors/consultants.
• Lead development and use of documentation systems for programmatic activities, best practices and lessons learned across the Activity consortium, Government of Nigeria, and donors.
• Develop presentations and training materials on MERL, program results, operations research, and learning sessions.
• Contribute to the development of informational materials, focusing on progress against targets, results achieved, and lessons learned.
• Lead the development and implementation of the Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Plan in coordination with technical teams and donor, including learning questions and the overall learning agenda of the Activity.
• Create data visualizations, PowerPoint presentations, and additional products to demonstrate Activity progress, achievements and/or impact.
• Lead the development of tools and best practices for data integrity and security.
• Implement other duties required by the COP or DCOP.

What We Value

• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, social sciences, economics, or related field and minimum of 9 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation and/or data management or Master’s degree and minimum of 7 years’ experience in the same fields.
• Demonstrable experience leading the design, development, and implementation of AMELPs, performance monitoring plans, research agendas, and/or learning agendas, preferably for USAID-funded projects.
• Experience developing and managing learning and adaptation activities, including experience in leading CLA and complexity-aware monitoring activities for adaptive management is highly preferred.
• Demonstrable experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods (e.g., data collection, analysis, etc.).
• Previous direct supervisory experience and demonstrated support of career growth of professional and/or support staff across project teams.
• Experience with statistical analysis packages, qualitative analysis packages, and data visualization tools.
• Experience with data information systems, electronic data capture (including mobile technologies and solutions) and related data management processes.
• Experience strengthening the capacity of programmatic staff and stakeholders in MERL highly desirable.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken.
• Experience with international development and donor-funded programs is desirable. Prior experience with USAID programs strongly preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is required.
• Careful and precise, with excellent attention-to-detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to meet deadlines.