Operations Research Advisor at Marie Stopes

Duration of contract: 2 years
Probationary period: 6 months

Responsibilities
Lead MSION Operations Researches:

• Represent MSION technical expertise in professional circles through meetings, conferences and presentations
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with colleagues and donors in country, region or worldwide networks
• Guide the design, implementation and continual refinement of all operational researches in MSION in consultation with the RME Manager
• Contribute to the development of knowledge management processes to ensure that the M&E system, tools and methods provide statistical and analytical validation of PRISM.
• Provide input into the development of a web-based M&E management system that supports M&E data entry, management, analysis and reporting; facilitates M&E knowledge management and knowledge sharing; and improves communications.
• Identify opportunities for and provide technical assistance in design and implementation of Operations Research studies.

Participate in Research Activities:

• Strengthen organizational capacity in application of state of the art M&E methods and techniques, including program/project/study design
• Closely collaborate with staff and/or facilitate the design of programs, projects, and studies, including review and provision of feedback on selected program/project/study designs, survey methodology and findings; performance monitoring plans, evaluation methodology and findings.
• Assist in the coordination, design and implementation of selected project mid-term and final evaluations
• Assist in writing, developing, and/or reviewing project proposals, detailed implementation plans, and abstracts for submission to conferences and publications.

Support monitoring and evaluation activities:

• Technical and experiential knowledge of the range of applied research and monitoring and evaluation techniques, including the relationship of information systems to program, field, and global initiatives
• Ability to program in SPSS, Epi-info, STATA, Microsoft Access, and other research related applications
• Support on-going indicator monitoring.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, or related Social Science
• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyse data using one or more statistical software packages, including at least one of the following: SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata, MS Access
• In-depth understanding of evolving international health funding priorities, technical state-of-the-art thinking and priorities, and program development roles and opportunities
• Superior verbal, written and presentation skills (English); strong verbal, written, and presentation skills
• Excellent management and organizational skills
• Ability and willingness to travel locally and internationally as require by work.

Experience & Skills:

• 5-6 years of experience working with international or local donor, aid, or development agencies in program Monitoring and Evaluation
• A proven positive track record working in M&E with NGOs, government or research institutions, and/or bi-lateral/multi-lateral organizations.
• A proven ability to develop, implement, analyse M&E data using statistical analysis software, regression analysis and other relevant forms of analysis.
• Computer expertise in MS Office, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SPSS, and other statistical analysis software.
• Fluent in in both written and spoken English
• Experience in public speaking and professional presentations
• Experience of conducting primary qualitative and quantitative research
• Experience with management of different sources of data and multiple indicators with proven ability to interpret verbal, written and numerical data
• Experience of data collation, entry, processing and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data sets
• Willingness and ability to undertake regular visits to facilities and support data reporting and documentation
• Must have excellent communication/interactive skills and must function well independently, as well as part of a team
• Experience with public and private health sectors in Nigeria
• Experience working on USAID, DFID and Gates funded programmes is an added advantage.
• At least 4-5 years of applied evaluation or research; design and implementation of information systems including but not limited to GPS, GIS (Essential);
• Development, field-testing and implementation of computer-based information systems (Desirable);
• Timely data analysis, synthesis, and communication of results (desirable);
• Design and implementation of evaluation protocols (Essential);
• Development and field-testing of data collection instruments for M&E indicators;
• Data collection planning and implementation (routine or survey) (Essential);
• Ability to Translate complex data systems and results to understandable lessons learned and action priorities for programmatic and other technical staff (Essential);
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform;
• Ability to interact professionally with established networks of senior-level international health professionals.
• Proficiency in MS Office particularly in DHIS2, SPSS/STATA/SAS, Epdata, and Ms Excel (Essential), MS Projects and ATLAS Ti/Nvivo, ArcGIS (Essential)
• Excellent technical report writing skills with evidence of publishing in revered journals (Essential)
• Excellent oral presentation skills including abstract presentations at conferences and to stakeholders (Essential)
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisations.

Attitude/Motivation:

• Proactive
• Coach/Mentor
• Team player
• Pro-Choice
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast-paced professional environment.