Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Lead at DAI

Project Title: Youth-powered Ecosystem to Advance Urban Adolescent Health Activity
Reports to: Chief of Party
Project Duration: 5 years: 2020-2025
Level of Effort:  Full Time

Program Overview:
The Youth-powered Ecosystem to Advance Urban Adolescent Health activity is a five-year USAID funded program in Nigeria, beginning in May 2020. The program, in partnership with select local NGOs will foster, develop and support an ecosystem of safe spaces for youth to gain life-skills, access voluntary family planning and reproductive health information as well as referrals to local facilities. The primary goal of the program is to improve the health and well-being of unmarried, out of school, urban adolescents; ages 15–19, by increasing voluntary family planning (FP) uptake and continued use—within a broader more holistic context. The program will focus on urban slums in Lagos and Kano states which are the two largest urban cities in the country and reflect diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts, providing an opportunity to inform adaptation to different zones and scale-up for greater impact.
YPE4AH’s success is measured directly by its key components which includes:

• Enhance youth life skills for healthy living and future planning
• Foster leadership and an enabling social and policy environment for adolescent health and development; and Increase youth workforce readiness, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship to address
• socioeconomic determinants of adolescent health Job Summary:
• The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Lead will act as the lead for all project related
• monitoring and evaluation, including implementation of the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
• Plan. The lead will also direct the overall learning agenda and knowledge management plan with project leadership, local implementing partners, and USAID and will oversee all field research.

Other key responsibilities include;

• With the Chief of Party, guide collaboration, learning, and adaptation and ensure the project continually uses evidence-based learning to inform implementation and adaptation.
• Update the annual YPE4AH MERL plan, ToC and log frame indicators and ensure compliance with
• programme needs and donor requirements.
• Lead formative research in target cities, including participatory action research with vulnerable youth, healthcare provider mapping, private sector and youth labor market analysis, and gender and social
• inclusion assessment.
• Provide mentorship and ensure compliance with ethical research and personal identifiable information guidelines.
• Lead the design and implementation of baseline, mid-term, and end line assessments, including a longitudinal study, in target and non-target areas to demonstrate impact.
• Create and implement data collection tools, surveys and guides to ensure accurate and compliant data collection.
• Apply qualitative and quantitative methods to gather and analyze data from local partner activity reporting, including mechanisms to monitor referral linkages outside the project’s direct activities
• (e.g., youth-friendly services, livelihoods, GBV, substance abuse, and mental health referrals).
• Serve as the lead for data collection, analysis, and data quality assessment.
• Work with the project team to gather and apply feedback from beneficiaries and key stakeholders to improve project activities.
• Work with project team to periodically review project performance data and integrate recommendations to ensure adaptive management.
• Supervise the MEL Manager (YEDI) and mentor all project staff and local implementing partners in MEL, data analysis and use, and data quality assurance.
• Continually monitor MERL capacity gaps and advise consortium partners on strategies to address them.
• Review and update the YPE4AH knowledge management plan
• Serve as a central point for data requests during review missions (e.g. baselines, assessments, annual reviews).
• Facilitate regular external learning forums and knowledge sharing through multiple channels, including in person learning showcases, publications, and online.
• Responsible for monthly, quarterly, annual, and final progress reporting.

Other duties as assigned by the Chief of Party
Requirements:

• Prior experience in a Senior MERL position, preferably for a USAID - or other donor-funded health program; experience managing multisectoral programs (e.g., livelihoods, education, substance abuse, GBV) required.
• Familiarity with USAID ADS 201 including reporting requirements and systems
• Familiarity with Nigeria’s health sector reporting systems and data sources preferred
• Prior experience strengthening the MEL, data analysis, and data use capacity of staff and local partners
• Prior experience conducting MEL across states
• Experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods, statistical analysis, and data analysis software
• Experience leading development of large qualitative and quantitative assessments in multiple geographies.
• Experience working on activities which support Youth development and access to services preferred.
• Advanced degree in relevant social sciences