Monitoring, Evaluation and Data Management Director

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) saves lives and improves health by helping public and private organizations throughout the world to effectively manage people, medicines, money, and information. Working from more than 30 country offices and our Arlington, Virginia and Cambridge, Massachusetts, US home office, our staff from 65 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health.  We live our mission to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health.  

MSH seeks a senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Data Management Director to build and strengthen M&E, communication and information sharing practices for the DRC Integrated Health Project (IHP) or PROjet de SANté Intégré (PROSANI) in French.  The DRC-IHP supports the National Health Development Program of the DRC.  The project’s two components – Component 1, “Services” and component 2, “Other Health Systems” – are designed to create better conditions for, and increase the availability and use of, high-impact health services, products, and practices in 80 target health zones in four provinces of DRC (Western Kasaï, Eastern Kasaï, Katanga and South Kivu). The project’s goal, purpose and objective is to improve the enabling environment for, and increase the availability and use of, high-impact services, products, and practices for family planning; maternal, newborn, and child health; nutrition, malaria, and tuberculosis; neglected tropical diseases; HIV; and water/sanitation/hygiene in the target health zones.  Component 1 supports the first strategic focus of the DRC’s National Health Plan (French acronym: PNDS) and the revised Health Systems Strengthening Strategy (French acronym: SRSS):  health zone strengthening. Activities under Component 1 strengthen health zones’ capacity to deliver services by addressing both the supply and demand sides of services.  Under Component 1, there are three Intermediary Results (IRs): IR 1: Access to and availability of Minimum Package of Activities/Complementary Package of Activities plus (MPA/CPA-plus) services in targeted health zones increased; IR 2: Quality of MPA/CPA-plus services in target health zones increased; IR 3: Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) to support health-seeking behaviors increased in target health zones.  Component 2 corresponds to the plan’s second strategic pillar, support for health zone strengthening in six priority areas: human resource development; pharmaceutical management; health finance; construction/rehabilitation of infrastructure; equipment and new technologies; and improved health system management. Activities under Component 2 create an enabling environment for strong health zones, with particular emphasis on leadership and governance and the provision of resources. The DRC-IHP’s fourth Intermediary Result is found under component 2: IR 4 : Health sector leadership and governance in target provinces improved.  The implementing partners are Management Sciences for Health, the International Rescue Committee and Overseas Strategic Consulting (hereafter referred to, respectively, as MSH, the IRC, and OSC, Ltd.

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Data Management Director will develop and implement country- and award-specific monitoring and evaluation strategies and frameworks that will ensure timely information and feedback to project stakeholders; develop the ability of key decision makers to communicate and manage information effectively; and develop systems, forums, protocols, and policies that facilitate communications between the response team and other concerned parties.  With the program team, s/he will plan for and conduct monitoring activities and ensure accurate and timely reporting to USAID and other donors. S/he oversees the work of and provides technical support to IHP Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist. 

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Monitoring, Evaluation and Data Management (ME&DM) Director is responsible for the development of and implementing the Monitoring and Evaluation framework and Performance Management Plan (PMP).  This includes working closely with the team to translate the results framework into measurable results with their corresponding outcomes and outputs.  S/he guides the process of designing the applying the instruments for collecting monitoring and evaluation data and works with the project team to analyze and share the data.

• The ME&DM Director works closely with the PROSANI management team to prepare the quarterly monitoring and evaluation exercise in which the whole team pauses to review progress against the plan, identify lessons learned, make adjustments, and move forward.

• The ME&DM Director works closely with the PROSANI management team to provide assistance to strengthening the National Health Information System (French acronym: SNIS) in DRC.

• The ME&DM Director works with the Monitoring and Evaluation Director in the Center for Leadership and Management at MSH/HO in the design and implementation of rigorous operational research to assess and document the impact of IHP activities as identified through project implementation.

• The ME&DM Director documents the achievements and accomplishments of the implementation plan indicators against set performance targets, including mid-term milestones/ benchmarks, annual and expected end-of-project results targets.   S/he aids project staff in the preparation and submission of journal and conference abstracts that contribute to knowledge on health systems strengthening.]

• The ME&DM Director provides technical inputs to the technical team in order to assist in developing program goals and objectives as well as M&E tools and strategies. S/he provides monitoring data to strategically inform management decisions on project performance and future direction to the project towards achievement of intended results. S/he also documents programmatic best practices and success stories; prepares documentation for potential program users and public relations purposes; submits timely, high quality quarterly reports to USAID; and assist in timely responses to requests from PMI, PEPFAR, and GHI as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Masters degree in public health, demography, statistics, or social sciences plus a minimum of 5 years experience in monitoring and evaluation of large health and/or programs preferably related to primary health care interventions in DRC or the region, including the use of data to inform decision making, communication, planning, resource allocation and other strategic initiatives.
• Demonstrated understanding of and familiarity with a range of applied research and monitoring and evaluation approaches including health information and data management systems.
• Experience designing strategic information and communication plans. Good working knowledge of descriptive, inferential and advanced statistics, and ability to obtain, analyze and interpret data and present findings in oral and written form.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills and ability to communicate technical information clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical colleagues.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills for regular interaction with senior management team and technical teams.
• Strong skills in MS Excel Word, PowerPoint and Access, and at least one data management software program (SAS, SPSS).
• Fluency in English and French, including speaking, writing, and reading.

To apply for this position, please visit the Employment Opportunities section of our website at