Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager Project Concern Zambia

About PCZ

Project Concern Zambia is a local Zambian NGO that was established in 2019.  PCZ work focuses on contributing to the achievement and sustenance of HIV epidemic control and addressing the upstream vulnerabilities that impede progress towards this achievement such as poverty and inadequate access to education particularly among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). PCZ work also focuses on strengthening community health systems to sustainably address co-morbidities in children and adolescents that might further hinder progress towards HIV epidemic control and sustenance such as Tuberculosis (TB)/HIV, COVID-19/HIV, malnutrition/HIV, and other common child and adolescent health issues.  PCZ leverages the existing community ecosystem and collaborates with grassroot community-led organizations, the local government, and the private sector to serve targeted populations.

PCZ is looking for a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager for the upcoming USAID Stop GBV now grant, to be implemented in target districts. The position is contingent upon award, and approval of the candidate by the donor.

Position Summary:
The Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager is responsible for leading the Stop GBV Now consortium to generate accurate and timely strategic information and drive data use to effectively enhance the GBV program in line with the national strategic framework and relevant donor guidance.  The MEL Manager will oversee the design and implementation of effective and efficient data collection systems, quality improvement and data analysis, including information dissemination to relevant stakeholders and capacity building for strategic information use at all levels. The MEL Manager’s role also includes ensuring program knowledge and technical evidence is effectively generated, packaged and disseminated for program learning and information, decision making and policy improvement/adaptation.

Duties And Responsibilities

–Strategic leadership to the consortium on monitoring, evaluation, and learning

• Lead the consortium in the development of Performance Monitoring Plans (PMP) and cascade the same to partners in order to enhance quality strategic information in line with the national GBV frameworks and PEPFAR/USAID guidance.
• Lead the consortium in the conceptualization and development of all MEL systems to support and strengthen program implementation.
• Lead the consortium in developing the MEL budget for all activities in the PMP and monitor the consortium budget to ensure delivery of outputs in a cost-efficient manner.
• Participate in program management strategic meetings, data review meetings, implementation visits and internal and external SIMS visits.
• Develop and implement performance standards and performance management/monitoring tools for consortium MEL staff and efficiently manage the MEL function to deliver the required outputs.
• Represent the consortium on all MEL activities when collaborating with other partners and line ministries to ensure the Stop GBV Now program is adequately presented.
• Identify areas of capacity gaps among partners through partner evaluations of MEL systems, SIMS visits and RDQAs, and oversee implementation of recommendations to build capacity.

– Mornitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems development and support

• Data Systems: Lead the Stop GBV Now consortium in the review, development and implementation of all Mornitoring, Evaluation and Learning systems and processes to strengthen program implementation at all levels.
• Electronic systems: Lead the consortium in developing and deploying internal electronic MEL systems and developing the support package for electronic systems deployed within the line ministries to ensure efficient collection, aggregation, analysis, use and dissemination of information.
• Data Quality: Develop and implement efficient and effective data collection processes, and ensure data is always accurate through routine data quality assessments, and participatory data collection methods and protocols.

– Program reporting, monitoring, and evaluation

• Reports: Lead the production of all MEL reports on program performance, and on data processes, systems, and quality to support implementation at all levels, and for other stakeholders including line ministries, partners, and donors.
• Timeliness: Ensure the timely and complete submission of routine reports, all data requests from the donor requests for performance and success stories through setting internal consortium deadlines.
• Data analysis: Lead the development and implementation of the data analysis plan and drive continuous critical sub-analyses, and ‘data mining’, of routine program indicators at all levels to identify key trends and bottlenecks in programs.
• Data visualization and reporting: Lead the development and implementation of tools to synthesize and visualize performance trends and key conclusions for audiences at all levels of the GBV system, including PCZ senior management, line ministries and USAID.

– Provide strategic and technical assistance to line ministries.

• Participate in line ministry Technical Working Groups: Participate in M&E and other Working Groups to provide technical support to line ministries on GBV program.
• Support GBV System Strengthening: Collaborate with line ministries and partners to optimize GBV information systems through developing tools to support site-level accurate documentation, aggregation entry, and reporting of data from primary data sources.
• Data Analysis and Use: Collaborate with the line ministries in developing systems for routine use of program data for quality improvement, including target setting, target monitoring, and prioritising the collection of key performance indicators.
• Data Sharing: Manage the preparation and timely submission of strategic information reports and other documents for sharing with the line ministries.

– Knowledge Management, Learning and Adaptation

• Knowledge Management and Learning: initiate and support packaging of evidence for a range of stakeholders and showcasing of knowledge outputs at PEPFAR/USAID, line ministries, partner, and technical working group forums to promote learning amongst stakeholders, including the dissemination of lessons and best practices.
• Author and/or co-author evidence, policy, and advocacy publications for national and international audiences.
• Evidence-generation: Develop a sustainable in-house program of operations research that will leverage, complement, and inform Stop GBV Now program activities.
• Networking: Contribute to the continuous improvement of the Stop GBV Now program strategy by developing institutional linkages and contacts and participation in local, regional and international networks.

Qualifications and Experience required
At a minimum, the MEL Manager must have the following qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, monitoring and evaluation, operations research, health sciences or any other quantitative social sciences, AND
• A masters degree in public health, social sciences, demography, epidemiology, statistics, or any other related field, with applied training in monitoring and evaluation.
• At least 7 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation of large donor funded health programs, including the use of data to inform decision making, planning, resource allocation and other strategic initiatives; and
• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyse data using one or more statistical software packages such as SPSS, R, Epi-Info, Stata, or SAS.
• Demonstrate knowledge of management information systems such as DHIS2 and DATIM.
• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders in international and government settings including civil society organisations at different levels.
• Strong staff management skills, especially to manage and motivate staff remotely, ability to communicate effectively from a distance.
• Ability to work independently whilst achieving results, setting own and team goals to achieve strict deadlines.