Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning at Society for Family Health (SFH)

The Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning will be responsible for the overall monitoring, evaluation, research, accountability and learning in SFH. The MERL Director will develop monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems, research studies and accurate strategic reports based on SFH's MERL Standards and Government and donor systems.  
The MERL Director will lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive M&E plan that monitors the progress of projects, evaluates the effectiveness and impact of programmatic activities, actively lead in promoting a learning organisation that fosters research and data analysis, dissemination of results for operational and programmatic improvements and showcase lessons learned. 

Job-role:  

• Develop the SFH workplan based on SFH’s Strategic Plan, review the SFH MERL System annually and develop activities for continual improvement.
• Work with Project leads to ensure that MERL frameworks (including Theories of Change and indicators) are included in project  designs, and that these frameworks are ‘nested’ within the overarching SFH MERL framework. 
• Provide MERL expertise to Government and project stakeholders, and quality assure MERL results from SFH projects. 
• Ensure consistent, constructive and professional learning advice to projects to improve their MERL systems and results. 
• Lead MERL New Business Development support. 
• Strengthen the SFH MERL and Knowledge Management Units and ensure that key products, results, success stories etc. are  available and shared through knowledge management platforms. 
• Develop and implement a reporting and dissemination plan that provides monthly, quarterly and annual reports and workplan for evidence-based decision making. 
• Lead project data flow into the SFH MERL system and coordinate collaboration with third-party evaluators and external monitoring designates.
• Review and update project monitoring and evaluation tools, develop new tools as required, in consultation with internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead the MERL team to analyze monitoring and evaluation data and make recommendations to the Senior Management Team for necessary learning and adaptation.
• Identify MERL training needs and facilitate capacity building interventions that address such needs.
• Undertake verification visits to assess monitoring and evaluation data received from SFH projects and partners.
• Support staff with MERL functions and supervise MERL staff.
• Lead the design and execution of corporate research and learning activities.
• Lead MERL events and professional development opportunities to ensure that SFH projects benefit from new developments in  MERL field.

Qualifications:

• A university degree in a relevant discipline i.e. Public Health, Medicine, Statistics, Global Development or related field. A master’s degree in research methods, public health, statistics or other relevant science or social science field of study is required.
• A minimum of 10 years of core monitoring and evaluation work experience, particularly establishing, implementing and updating an M&E Plan, including Theory of Change and Results Frameworks. 
• A minimum of 8 years of experience and expertise in formulating and implementing, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), MNCH, Health policy research in Nigeria. 
• A minimum of 3 years of practical experience with monitoring and evaluation of capacity development initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience in setting up and managing MERL systems that track performance as per the performance management plan of the project.
• Proven experience working with government and other partners within the context of health and social protection in Nigeria.
• Demonstrated technical depth and understanding of the health policy environment and governance in Nigeria

Skills:

• Expertise in quantitative and qualitative research and knowledge of relevant statistical software (e.g., SPSS, Stata or other statistical software).
• Ability to translate MERL results into concrete recommendations for project/activity adjustments based on the data.
• Demonstrable skills and expertise in documentation, and developing knowledge management products
• Demonstrable experience developing and implementing communication/dissemination plans, publishing lessons learned documents and policy briefs and presenting findings and lessons learned to broad and diverse audiences. 
• Demonstrable experience in strategic communication planning for development, behaviour development and change, and social mobilisation. 
• Demonstrable experience working on Government or donor-funded projects, developing and delivering M&E reports. 
• Attention to detail and ability to perform multiple tasks and balance competing priorities effectively and efficiently within required timeframes
• Demonstrable problem solving, analytical, financial, and evaluative skills, database management and knowledge of MERL  frameworks

Compensation & Benefits:

The compensation package for this position is attractive and designed to attract, motivate and retain talented professionals.