Director, Monitoring & Evaluation and Learning/USAID/Ethiopia/Supply Chain

Job Description

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is seeking a Director, Monitoring & Evaluation and Learning (MEL) for a potential five-year Supply Chain for Health Improvement Program (SCHIP) in Ethiopia. The purpose of the program is to develop the capacity of local systems, institutions, and individuals to sustainably manage the health supply chain and to strengthen pharmaceutical services at all levels including the community level, thereby ensuring uninterrupted availability of life saving commodities at service delivery points. This will include a focus on a strategic shift in the public sector’s role in supply chain and pharmaceutical management from beyond being simply operators and service providers to becoming stewards of commodity and service availability and security, including strengthening private sector partnerships to provide operational support. In general, the focus of the activity will be supporting the Government of Ethiopia (GOE), specifically the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Services (EPSS) and respective sub-national leadership, private sector, and other local actors to manage and implement the supply chain and pharmaceutical services to support delivery of quality, essential health services for Ethiopian citizens.

This position is subject to project award and funding.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director, MEL will oversee the monitoring and evaluation and learning system for reporting progress and ensuring availability and use of quality data for adaptive management, and maintain reporting procedures and guidelines in compliance with USAID systems. The Director, MEL will be expected to develop a strong monitoring and evaluation and learning system and plan consistent with the USAID results framework, coordinate the collection of data including conducting field visits for data validation, monitor the quality of data sets, contribute to the adaptive management of the program, oversee the development, maintenance and use of the project technical information management system, and document project performance against established outputs and indicators. S/he will also be responsible for building the capacity of the Government of Ethiopia, Ministry of Health (MOH) and other stakeholders in the collection, utilization, and dissemination of data as well as ensuring that all monitoring and data collection activities are harmonized, and information is shared. The Director, MEL will also assist the MOH to monitor programs and assess the robustness of implementing organizations’ data collection and MEL mechanisms.

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITY

• Design and implement the Project’s MEL system, including the development of indicators, setting targets, monitoring project progress, ensuring timely data collection, writing quarterly and annual reports, and liaising with the project financial team to track the budget in relation to all project results and outcomes.

• Provide technical inputs to the technical team in order to assist in developing program goals and objectives as well as MEL tools and strategies and provide monitoring data to strategically inform the decisions on project performance and future direction to the project, for enhanced adaptive management.

• Oversee the development, maintenance and use of the project technical information management system, and its interoperability with the national health information management system. Support the MOH to develop a health sector MEL framework and monitor health system strengthening interventions.

• Provide regularly updated reports on the status of implementation against the project goals and objectives to the Chief of Party, USAID and other program managers as required.

• Collaborate with the project team in identifying project activities, processes and/or outcomes that are worthy of documentation and design a system for capturing lessons learned and best practices.

• Adhere to MSH procurement integrity and institutional standards and procedures in all project management responsibilities.

• Advanced degree in a relevant discipline and at least 8 years of demonstrated experience designing, and implementing monitoring and evaluation activities and special studies for complex programs in developing countries.

• Excellent command of monitoring and evaluation methodologies.

• Knowledge of issues related to integrated health services and support programs.

• Previous experience implementing and managing a rigorous MEL system including developing performance monitoring plans that track performance as sub-results/results and by funding stream.

• Knowledge of data collection protocols to ensure accurate data collection and verification is essential, as well as an ability to identify data trends and communicate this information to allow for changes in program implementation.

• MEL experience in the health sector desired, particularly in health systems strengthening.

• Operations research experience is desired.

• Experience leading and building the capacity of MEL officers, including remote, field-based staff, to meet program needs and deliverables is desired.

• Proven expertise in the management / supervision of health management information systems.

• Extraordinary organizational, verbal and written communication skills to manage project communications and disseminate project information are required.

• Excellent skills in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and DHIS2.

• Experience with USAID programs/projects strongly preferred.

• Strong written and oral presentation skills in Amharic and general professional proficiency in English required.

• Local candidates strongly preferred.

About the Organization

Management Sciences for Health, an international nonprofit organization, is dedicated to closing the gap between what is known and what is done about public health problems. 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 US headquarters, our staff from 65 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health.

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is a nonprofit international health organization composed of more than 2,000 people from 73 nations. Their mission is 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. Together with their partners, they are helping managers and leaders in developing countries to create stronger management systems that improve health services for the greatest health impact.

EXPERTISE

MSH takes an integrated approach to building high-impact sustainable programs that address critical challenges in leadership, health systems management, human resources, and medicines. Simply put, they support stronger health systems for greater health impact.

Their expertise in these areas falls into the broad categories of management functions—for example, leadership and governance or pharmaceutical management—and health areas like tuberculosis or maternal, newborn, and child health. They apply their expertise by

• Partnering with governments, local organizations, and communities in developing nations to build their own capacity for long-term health impact;
• Providing global leadership in critical areas of health management and health care delivery;
• Bringing the best of MSH from around the globe to the people we serve, working as One MSH with a focus on lasting health system improvements.

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Leadership, Governance, & Management

They work with in-country partners to build stronger health systems to improve:

• the management and leadership of priority health programs, health organizations, and multisectoral partnerships such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, developing a critical mass of managers at all levels of the health system who can lead and inspire teams to achieve results;
  
• the management systems of health organizations in the public and private sector, transferring practical approaches and skills to ensure that management structures contribute to sustainable organizational success;
  
• the governance and management of health organizations and multisectoral partnerships, facilitating change and transferring knowledge to enable organizations to administer their resources efficiently and scale up their services.

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Health Service Delivery

MSH combines extensive public health expertise, proven service delivery approaches, and evidence-based interventions in five critical areas:

• HIV & AIDS
• Tuberculosis
• Maternal, newborn, and child health
• Family planning and reproductive health
• Other communicable diseases, including malaria and pandemic and avian influenza

Human Resources for Health

MSH helps governments develop multisectoral strategies and policies to plan and manage their health workforces. We use a comprehensive approach that addresses all the facets of human resources for health needed to achieve an adequate supply of well-trained and motivated health workers. MSH offers capabilities in leadership, human resource management, education, partnerships, policy, and finance to achieve these goals.

Pharmaceutical Management

Vital to our success is a participatory approach to project design and implementation, which cultivates broad-based support from all stakeholders. We also build and improve infrastructure and local capacity to effectively purchase, store, deliver, and use quality essential medicines.

Health Care Financing

MSH helps governments and NGOs assess their current financial situation and systems, understand service costs, and develop initiatives to use existing funds more effectively and generate additional revenue—all with the goal of supporting a nation’s health priorities.

Health Information

MSH has developed proven methods for rapidly strengthening the analysis and use of existing health data—normally at the province, district, and facility levels—without revising existing recording and reporting requirements. With an emphasis on learning through action, district teams undertake assessments of health services, identify gaps in performance, and design solutions to support better decision-making and, therefore, better management of improved services.

MSH has worked closely with the Health Metrics Network of the WHO to develop a comprehensive approach for enhancing the performance of health information systems and data by employing a practical, strategic planning process that can be carried out by national working groups.