Job vacancy : Senior Associate, Field Operations, Monitoring, Learning & Evaluation (MLE) - Evidence Action

JOB DESCRIPTION
       
Job Title:    Senior Associate, Field Operations, Monitoring, Learning & Evaluation (MLE)    Salary range:    Click here to enter text.
Job level:    4    Travel required:    Yes

About Evidence Action
Evidence Action is a global nonprofit organization with an approach distinctive in international development – we exclusively scale interventions that are backed by strong evidence and can be delivered with exceptional cost-effectiveness. Since our founding in 2013, we have reached over 515 million people globally with our interventions. We deliver high impact for every dollar spent, as recognized by GiveWell, The Life You Can Save, and Charity Navigator.

We do development differently. We take a data-driven approach to identifying, scaling, and continuously improving programs which deliver immense impact, ensuring these solutions measurably improve the lives of millions. Our Deworm the World Program has helped governments in Africa and Asia deliver over 1.8 billion childhood deworming treatments, improving health, education, and incomes. Safe Water Now provides sustained safe water access to over 10 million people in Africa, preventing childhood illness and deaths.

We drive innovation: Our Accelerator builds the next generation of exceptional programs, taking an approach most similar to a venture capital model. We are ruthless in exiting programs which do not meet our criteria; those that advance deliver outsized impact for millions of people.

We are global. Across nine countries in Africa and Asia, our 700+ people are united by a tremendous passion for our mission and impact. We are strong because of our diversity of experience, geography, and background – with over 90% of our people in the countries where our impact is focused.

We have big ambitions. Over the next decade, we’re setting our sights higher: We aim to reach over 600 million people globally to fulfill our vision of a world where hundreds of millions of people in the poorest places have better opportunities and their lives are measurably improved. We believe in bold and urgent action – because poverty doesn’t wait, and neither should we.

We need great people. Our success to date is due to the collective work of our amazing staff. To achieve our ambitious goals, we are looking for people who share our passion for evidence, cost-effectiveness, and scale. We seek individuals who take an entrepreneurial approach, enjoy tackling hard problems, and have a bias to action and results. If our vision and approach excite you as much as it does us, we invite you to join us.
Program and Position Background
One of Evidence Action’s newest initiatives is the Syphilis-Free Start Program in which we partner with Ministries of Health to increase syphilis screening and treatment among pregnant women in an effort to prevent mother-to-child transmission of syphilis. Without effective and timely treatment, syphilis infections in pregnancy carry a significant risk of stillbirth, neonatal death, and cognitive and physical disability. Across the globe, syphilis infection in pregnancy leads to over 200,000 stillbirths and neonatal deaths - more than is attributed to mother-to-child transmission of HIV - and over 100,000 instances of disability in newborns. Our aim is to close syphilis screening gaps via introduction of HIV/syphilis dual testing and to close treatment gaps by implementing strategies to address context-specific treatment barriers for women who test positive for syphilis. We launched our maternal syphilis program in Liberia in 2020 and have now expanded the program to Zambia and Cameroon.

In Cameroon, maternal syphilis has long plagued pregnant women and their unborn children. Our ambitious program aims to support the government to scale the HIV/syphilis dual test nationwide across all ANC facilities and simultaneously close gaps in syphilis treatment, thereby enabling pregnant women to finally get the care they need.

Job purpose

The Senior Associate, Field Operations, MLE is responsible for supporting all of Evidence Action’s Monitoring and Evaluation activities in Cameroon. This is an exciting position that involves supporting: program research, monitoring, and learning activities; implementation of health facility surveying; data entry and management; and development and maintenance of program data tools. This individual will  coordinate between the Regional MLE Lead, the MLE Strategy team, the program teams (global and in Cameroon), government and other implementing partners as needed.

Role reports to: Manager, Field Operations, MLE-D with dotted line to the Cameroon Country Director

This position is only open to citizens or permanent residents of Cameroon.

Duties and Responsibilities
Research and Learning
●    Lead the development and maintenance of relevant databases for tracking and managing information for the Cameroon Maternal Syphilis Screening and Treatment program.
●    Routine monitoring and reporting of program progress against a series of Key Performance Indicators.
●    Capture and disseminate lessons learnt from implementation rounds as well as tracking improvements in those significant areas over time to ensure that learnings are translated to program improvements.
●    Support MLE and Program teams with implementing operations research activities, as needed, for the Cameroon program.
●    Support data analysis and interpretation efforts for program decision making.

Implementation of Facility Surveying
●    Collaborate with the MLE Strategy and Program teams to develop, iterate, and improve upon the Comprehensive Facility Survey ahead of its first implementation and then between implementation rounds.
●    Vendor Management:
●    Support drafting and/or reviewing of the Terms of Reference (ToR) and Scope of Work for data collection vendors.
●    Support the Manager in tracking timelines and deliverables by vendors contracted to perform data collection on behalf of Evidence Action.
●    Review enumerator training materials and protocols and participate in the training of monitors from the enumeration firm.
●    Verify and validate data collected by data collection vendors and/or other partners through data reviews, quality checks and field visits
●    Take the lead on developing and implementing field data quality checks e.g. infield supervision and back checks
●    Support the analysis of data collected during the facility surveying.

Data entry
●    Enter Maternal Syphilis program data into databases, where needed
●    Collate government data available via the Health Management Information System (otherwise called the DHIS2), the electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) and any other available systems.
○    Work together with government partners to identify and investigate any data discrepancies identified in these data systems as pertaining to the maternal syphilis program indicators.
●    Develop strategies for capturing and utilising qualitative feedback provided by trainers and those implementing the program in the course of their interaction with health facilities.

Coordination between MLE and Program, Government and Partners
●    Represent MLE in program meetings with partners and government where MLE presence is needed, and record meeting notes for team dissemination.
●    Communicate program requests and/or needs for data and translating that back to the necessary MLE Strategy and delivery team/members for action when required.
●    Active participation in stakeholder engagement in terms of representing the Cameroon program at meetings that require Evidence Action’s M&E inputs and actions, making presentation, review meetings, support in terms of training and other capacity building activities.

Development of Program Data Tools
●    Work together with the Program teams to develop and iterate upon tools utilised by trainers and government partners in the course of their implementation of program training and supportive supervision activities.
●    Identify and create data-informed decision making tools whose ownership can be transferred to our government partners. Examples may include a commodity quantification tool, facility monitoring tools, etc.

Data Management
●    Collaborate with Evidence Action’s MLE data team department to ensure that the data entry templates are updated.
●    Coordinate with MLE-D teams to develop internal dashboard for program data collation and management
●    Routine update and review of the internal dashboard and share findings with the program team
●    Ensure any program data collected by Evidence Action is stored according to organisation policies and any identifying data is kept confidential.
●    Ensure that program data, particularly data collected during the Comprehensive Facility Survey, is shared with government partners per the terms of Evidence Action’s MOU.
●    Support other ad hoc data related tasks made by programs.

Other
●    Train government officials on monitoring and evaluation, including how to better utilise data in decision making, with a focus on maternal syphilis data.
●    Support budget development and management for MLE activities in-country as needed.
●    Provide data inputs to the global Maternal Syphilis program team and the global Cost-Effectiveness Analysis team as requested for donor reporting.
●    Perform any other monitoring, evaluation and learning duties as may be required and assigned by the supervisor.
Qualifications
▪    Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field with strong economics, statistics, or mathematics and related background; a higher degree will be an added advantage.
▪    3+ years of experience of M&E programs in Cameroon, with preference given to those who have experience with health data and in particular, the DHIS2;
▪    Strong M&E technical skills and capacity, with at least 2 years of practical experience managing and working directly with large teams and data;
▪    Good knowledge of, and practical experience working with large data on, Excel.
▪    Data collection and data management skills; including field supervision, back checking and data review and validation
▪    Capacity building skills including designing and implementing training materials, protocols and tool and training enumerators for field data collection
▪    Experience programming and using electronic data collection platforms, specifically SurveyCTO;
▪    Excellent communication (writing and verbal), presentation and interpersonal skills; with ability to translate documents from English to French and vice versa.
▪    Willing to travel on short notice to support M&E activities across Cameroon.
▪    Excellent time management skills, ability to organise personal/ team’s workflow and work with minimal supervision;
▪    Inspired by Evidence Action’s mission to bring proven interventions to scale, improving the lives of millions.

Position Location
The position will be based in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Evidence Action does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

The closing date is May 3, 2024.

All applications must be submitted ONLINE at : https://apply.workable.com/evidence-action/j/3A26ECCCDE/