MEL Program Officer at Pathfinder International

Job Purpose

• The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer plays a central role in ensuring that the grant-funded RMNCNH project delivers measurable, high-quality, and equitable results for displaced mothers and host communities in Nigeria and Mali.
• The position exists to generate credible evidence on what works, for whom, and under what conditions, while strengthening accountability, learning, and adaptive management across the consortium.
• The M&E Officer is responsible for coordinating and operationalizing a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) system that tracks progress against the project’s Theory of Change and Results Framework, ensures alignment with national health information systems (including DHIS2), and meets donor reporting and compliance requirements.
• Through timely and accurate data collection, analysis, and use, the role supports evidence-based decision-making at the facility, sub-national and consortium levels.
• Beyond compliance and reporting, the role's purpose is to embed a culture of learning and continuous quality improvement within health system. The M&E Officer will translate routine service delivery data, community feedback, and evaluation findings into actionable insights that improve the quality, reach, and effectiveness of the Safe Pregnancy Package across the continuum of care, Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Delivery, Healthy Baby, and Strong Systems.
• The role also serves a strategic function within the consortium by ensuring that results and learning are packaged for multiple audiences, including donors, government stakeholders, technical working groups, and advocacy and fundraising platforms. By strengthening data quality, promoting data use, and facilitating cross-country learning between Nigeria and Mali, the M&E Officer contributes to sustainability, scale-up, and policy influence beyond the life of the grant.

Key Performance Areas / Major Activities / Responsibilities and Percentage Worked
Routine Monitoring, Data Collection and Quality Assurance / 20%:

• Coordinate routine data collection at community, facility, and LGA levels, with emphasis on community-generated data.
• Conduct Quarterly data quality assessments (DQAs) and provide feedback to implementing teams and community structures.
• Support integration of project data into DHIS2, MAMII, and other relevant government systems to ensure displaced populations are visible.
• Strengthen referral documentation across hub and spoke facilities.
• Develop and deploy data collection tools (paper-based and digital) in collaboration with implementing partners.

MEL Systems Design and Coordination / 30%:

• Co-design and operationalize the project MEL framework in collaboration with consortium partners and government stakeholders.
• Develop and adapt indicators, tools, and reporting flows that capture both service delivery and community accountability dimensions.
• Ensure MEL systems are practical, participatory, and aligned with donor and national requirements.

Evaluation, Learning and Adaptive Programming / 20%:

• Support baseline assessments, periodic reviews, and endline evaluations across supported states.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends, barriers, and emerging lessons from communities and facilities.
• Facilitate quarterly reflection and learning sessions with program teams, community representatives, and stakeholders.
• Promote adaptive programming based on evidence and community feedback.
• Document community stories, success cases, barriers, and lessons learned.
• Develop learning products including briefs, case studies, dashboards, and stories of change highlighting community-level progress.
• Support visibility of community engagement outcomes and learning.

Reporting and Donor Accountability / 20%:

• Lead the preparation of high-quality donor reports (quarterly, annual, and final), including results narratives and data tables.
• Contribute MEL inputs to fundraising, advocacy, and communication materials led by Every Pregnancy.
• Support reporting on lives saved, service coverage, and system-strengthening outcomes.
• Ensure timely submission of reports in line with grant agreements.

Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Alignment / 10%:

• Participate in stakeholder meetings, consortium coordination sessions, and technical working groups.
• Support alignment of project MEL outputs with state RMNCH priorities and planning processes.
• Build the capacity of relevant stakeholders, including facility staff, on data documentation to improve data quality.
• Strengthen coordination between community structures, hub-and-spoke facilities, and government stakeholders through shared data use.

Minimum Education and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health, Monitoring & Evaluation, Statistics, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or related field (master’s degree preferred).
• 5–7 years’ experience in monitoring, evaluation, and learning within health or humanitarian settings.
• Experience working in displacement-affected or humanitarian settings is a strong advantage.
• Experience in providing coaching and mentoring to facility staff on data management.
• Experience and working knowledge of NHMIS

Minimally Required Job-Specific Competencies:

• Routine Data Collection and Data Quality Assurance – Practical experience coordinating community- and facility-level data collection, conducting data quality assessments, and ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of program data.
• Community Accountability and Feedback Mechanisms – Ability to design, manage, and monitor community feedback, complaint-response, and accountability mechanisms, ensuring community voices inform program decisions.
• Strong experience working with DHIS2, routine health information systems, and donor-funded projects.
• Data Analysis, Interpretation, and Use for Decision-Making – Strong analytical skills to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data, identify trends and barriers, and translate findings into actionable program adaptations.
• Evaluation, Learning, and Adaptive Programming – Experience supporting baseline, periodic reviews, and evaluations, facilitating reflection and learning sessions, and promoting evidence- and community-informed adaptive programming.
• Health Systems and Stakeholder Coordination – Demonstrated capacity to work with government systems, support data integration into national health information platforms, and coordinate effectively with consortium partners and local stakeholders.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Systems Design – Strong technical capacity to support MEL framework development, indicator selection, tool design, and alignment with donor and national reporting requirements.
• Program and Project Planning and Management- Foundational skills in program and project management and planning to fulfill performance objectives, including the timely implementation and reporting of donor-funded program activities.
• Report Writing - Ability to write reports for diverse audiences 

Minimally Required Organizational Competencies:

• PC Applications: Advanced knowledge of MS Office products, including MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint, and skilled in any statistical package.
• Languages: Advanced writing and speaking skills using the local language and English.
• Communication: Advanced oral and written communication skills
• Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Right and Services : Foundational knowledge of interventions to ensure health pregnancy, healthy delivery and new-born care.
• Passion for Maternal and Child health : Demonstrated commitment to family planning, reproductive health services, gender, maternal, child health services, and eradication of harmful traditional practices
• Influencing and Customer Service: Advanced influencing and diplomacy skills. Advanced customer service skills.
• Organization, Planning and Multi-tasking: Advanced organizational and planning skills, project planning and management skills. Proven ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and multitask with minimal supervision.
• Self-Management and Teamwork: Ability to work independently or as a member of the team, ability to be detail-oriented, and ability to manage stress effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Matrix Management: Ability to thrive in a matrixed organization.
• Confidentiality: Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information in a discreet and professional manner