Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning Specialist

This role was posted on November 23, 2021. Please note that we will review applications on a rolling basis and prioritize those received within the first two weeks of posting.

The Role

At Last Mile Health (LMH), we dig evidence and data. Do you have experience leading and supporting innovative and practical monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning  (MERL) community health programs? If so, you may be our next MERL Specialist to work in collaboration with the Liberia MERL team.

With our partner governments LMH designs and implements programs to supervise, salary, supply, and upskill community and frontline health workers. LMH also partners with governments to design and strengthen community health policies and information systems with strong governance and financing. Collectively, these efforts aim to sustain responsive and resilient community health systems.The Global MERL team is building a robust system of measurement, evaluation, and learning to drive improvement of programmatic work at Last Mile Health. 

Reporting into the Managing Director, Global MERL, the MERL Specialist will work with the Liberia team to develop and implement MERL plans to measure and understand progress, outcomes, and impacts of program activities and support program work to address gaps and drive improvement. MERL plans may focus on programming such as routine health information systems, technical assistance, and other topics as needed. The MERL Specialist will collaborate with country and global teams to understand program goals and implementation, bringing responsive methods to evaluate program effectiveness and progress towards goals. Additionally, they will lead quality assurance in routine reporting of program indicators to funders. To support data use and adaptive management, the Specialist will also analyze and share findings in collaboration with the LMERL team with country team programs, executive leadership, and identified external stakeholders including but not limited to LMH funders and Ministries of Health.

This position is open to candidates located on the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Candidates must have work authorization in the United States. 

What You’ll Do

• Provide technical expertise to develop and implement MERL plans for Liberia programs and projects, inclusive of learning or evaluation questions, methods, indicators, targets (as applicable), and analytics.
• Adapt and/or develop data collection tools (e.g., surveys, key informant interview guides, focus group guides) and manage the implementation of  those tools.
• Collaborate with grants and MERL team members to develop and maintain a matrix of indicators used by the Liberia team.
• Collaborate with program teams and grants on data interpretation to explain the context for changes in trends over time 
• Collaborare and share key findings with the advocacy team to inform advocacy work globally and in Liberia.
• Strengthen learning exchanges between the Liberia program team and other LMH programs (i.e. ensure relevant MERL findings are shared across all country teams, particularly for similar projects and activities). 
• Provide effective coaching, mentorship and professional development related to MERL activities (e.g. developing MERL plans, data collection tools, and data analyses)  across all countries with MERL team members 
• Strengthen organizational-wide knowledge of MERL through individual meetings and group learning sessions across LMH. 
• Ability and willingness to travel (approximately 15-30% of time allocation), dependent upon travel restrictions due to COVID-19. 

  What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Health Economics or other related field
• Several years of professional experience in public health and/or international development, with at least 5 years leading MERL activities for health system strengthening, policy, health financing, and advocacy initiatives. 
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative MERL methods.
• Demonstrated experience applying equity principles to MERL activities.
• Experience developing MERL reports, publications, whitepapers, toolkits, and factsheets.
• Demonstrated experience with stakeholder engagement and ability to collaborate with and provide technical support to internal teams and external partners, government counterparts.
• Experience in facilitation of inclusive and culturally appropriate conversations with a range of stakeholders across geographies and cultural contexts.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex technical information to a wide variety of audiences 
• Experience contributing to grant/proposal writing and reporting to donors

You’ll Impress Us If

• You have a Masters degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Health Economics or other related field
• You have experience collaborating with and coaching program/implementing teams to support data use
• You have experience in global health or international development, specifically on the continent of Africa is preferred
• You have demonstrated commitment to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion

Compensation Information

At Last Mile Health, we strive to reward our employees equitably and transparently. This means that we pay our employees based on a clear and consistent methodology and without regard to identity or personal relationships. We have made this model fully transparent, so that everyone has access to all information related to compensation. We hope this helps you better understand Last Mile Health’s values and commitments to our employees. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the hiring process.

Before applying to this role, please take a moment to learn more about our approach to compensation and how compensation works in each of the countries where we operate. Please find the link to our compensation model and benefits overview below:

OVERVIEW OF LAST MILE HEALTH’S COMPENSATION MODEL

Compensation for this position:

The Band for this position: Band 3

In the United States, the base salary range for this position is: $65,000 - $79,000dependent upon experience doing an equivalent role

About Last Mile Health

Last Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world’s most remote communities. LMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visitwww.lastmilehealth.org.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at LMH. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status