Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor (Contract until June 2023) At Ipas

Ipas is a nonprofit organization that works with local, national, and global partners, to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a focus on ensuring that high-quality safe abortion and contraceptive information and services are available, accessible, and acceptable to women and girls.

Based in the Southern Africa Region, either in Malawi, South Africa or Zambia, Ipas seeks to appoint a

MONITORING, EVALUATION, RESEARCH AND LEARNING (MERL) ADVISOR

(CONTRACT UNTIL JUNE 2023)

The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Advisor is responsible for providing technical, managerial leadership and strategic insights to the regional program in general and country level interventions specifically in the areas of project monitoring, evaluation, research and learning. The MERL Advisor manages the MERL team and works with technical and program staff to design and implement a monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MLE) plan for each project in their portfolio. S/he is responsible for ensuring high quality M&E systems and deliverables using best practices and following Ipas standard operating procedures. The MERL Advisor ensures accurate evidence is provided for reporting and decision making, and promotes knowledge sharing internally and externally through dissemination, global conferences, and peer reviewed articles. Additionally, this position manages a research portfolio, collaborating with other Ipas researchers to produce high quality evidence that contributes to the abortion field and program objectives.

Key responsibilities of this position include but are not limited to:

Organizational Leadership and Strategy

  • Leads the process of developing and implementing the ASR strategic plan.
  • Initiates, promotes and facilitates collaboration across country programmes and units
  • Provides supportive supervision at MERL unit level
  • Responsible for unit performance and results
  • Engages with Ipas service nodes and other implementing nodes to promote and contribute to global learning

Financial & Risk Management

  • Develops MERL workplans and budgets that are cost effective
  • Leads workplan implementation and budget monitoring at the project level
  • Implements risk reduction plans
  • Ensures MERL unit compliance with Ipas policies, procedures, and standards
  • Supports processes that ensures compliance with specific donor contracts for assigned projects

Technical or Functional Area

  • Oversees the development, implementation and monitoring of the regional strategic plan
  • Contributes to project design, including the development of log frames and MERL plans for proposals.
  • Oversees the development and implementation of strong monitoring, learning, and evaluation plans for all projects ensuring adherence to donor deliverable and reporting timelines
  • Collaborates with other Ipas researchers on research design, protocol development, managing ethical approvals, management of research staff and data collection, data analysis, and dissemination.
  • Ensures quality data collection and analysis for donor reporting and program decision making
  • Supports country-based MERL staff in assisting project leaders, project teams and country leadership to monitor and understand programmatic progress and resolve problems, through regular data reviews and user-friendly analysis

Resource mobilization

  • Leads in the preparation of donor reports and externally facing documents; Ensures quality
  • Contributes to project proposal design and development of related log frames

Exchange Learning

  • Leads the collating and preparing of data/evidence/case stories from project implementation
  • Coordinates the sharing of lessons learned and success stories across the region and within the global Ipas network

The MERL Advisor must meet the following criteria:

  • Master’s degree in relevant field (statistics, demography, public health or other), or equivalent work experience
  • Five or more years of MER experience
  • Experience supervising MER staff and conducting high-level data analysis
  • Experienced in research and evaluation design and management
  • Excellent skills in Microsoft Office, including Excel
  • Experience using statistical software, preferably Stata
  • Experience managing databases
  • Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment, including through supportive supervision, strong communication, non-hierarchical leadership approaches, and modelling the Ipas core values.
  • Demonstrated capacity and commitment to good stewardship of funds, including strong skills in work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem solving.
  • Deep commitment to women’s reproductive health and rights, including abortion
  • Ability to travel up to 15 – 25 % domestically (with occasional regional or global trips if applicable

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

  • Master’s degree in relevant field preferred
  • Experience with qualitative analysis software such as Dedoose or MAXQDA
  • Experience managing mobile data collection (e.g. ODK) projects
  • Experience with data visualization tools (PowerBI, Tableau, etc)
  • Experience with GIS tools (ArcGIS, etc)
  • Experience managing or contributing to MER of SRHR programs
  • Experience in applying research findings to community-based and other health interventions.

How to apply

View the full job description and application instructions on the Vacancies page at www.actionappointments.co.za and email your application by Monday 06th February 2023 to melissa@actionappointments.co.za

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