Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist job at Pathfinder International: career opportunity in Uganda

Job Title:  Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Organisation: Pathfinder International
About Pathfinder International
Pathfinder International is a global leader in sexual and reproductive health. We place reproductive health care at the center of all that we do—believing that it is not only a fundamental human right, but is critical for expanding life opportunities for women, families, communities, and nations, and paving the way for transformations in environmental stewardship, decreases in population pressures, and innovations in poverty reduction. Pathfinder provides women, men, and adolescents with a range of quality health services—from contraception and maternal care to HIV prevention and AIDS care and treatment. Pathfinder strives to strengthen access to family planning, ensure availability of safe abortion services and post-abortion care, advocate for sound reproductive health policies, and, through all of our work, improve the rights and lives of the people we serve.

Program Overview

Pathfinder is seeking a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist to provide strategic leadership, management and direction for the monitoring and evaluation of the Advocacy for Better Health program in Uganda. The goal of the Advocacy for Better Health program is to contribute to improvement in quality, availability and accessibility of health services. The purpose of the program is to increase the citizens’ voice for quality service delivery. The program shall also facilitate community input in developing and delivering better services. It shall lay the foundation for increasing citizen participation in the health sector and foster cooperation among civil society actors on issues of common benefit which shall strengthen the sector over the long term.

Position Purpose

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist will provide leadership and oversight of the design and implementation of the Project’s M&E plan and data collection system to measure the overall project performance against established goals and objectives. S/he develops a cost-effective, results-oriented monitoring system to provide USAID with the necessary information to assess the progress, effectiveness and impact of activities. The M&E Specialist coordinates the preparation of reports for USAID and develops policy and standard procedures for evaluation guidelines. S/he ensures the timely collection and processing of data for making program decisions and for identifying and solving problems with RH/FP services. Additionally, the M&E Specialist strengthens and builds institutional and individual capacity in M&E. S/he supervises all M&E related staff.

Duties and Responsibilities Work closely with USAID to develop and implement performance monitoring plans, including identification of project outputs, performance indicators, and targets as well as establishing a baseline; designs and implements data-collection and performance reporting systems; provides field-based technical assistance and monitoring of M&E systems; and reporting.
    Consults with USAID and other stakeholders to establish a transparent, reliable, and valid M&E system that can easily be tracked and verified.
    Ensures that the M&E system is a cost-effective, results-orientated system that provides USAID and the program with necessary information to assess the progress, effectiveness, and outcome of activities.
    Collaborates with partners to develop individual and M&E work and training plans as appropriate.
    Develops/adapts tools for data collection; designs and implements surveys and other data collection tasks.
    Designs/adapts project performance monitoring database to report national and global indicators and performance indicator data quarterly to project managers, COP, and Pathfinder headquarters.
    Ensures that the findings of service-oriented, strategic analysis and research (e.g., cost studies, client-segmentation studies, unmet need studies, client-satisfaction studies) are used to inform program strategies and to refine performance monitoring plans and planning frameworks.
    Ensures that the performance monitoring plans and strategic implementation frameworks are complementary and consistent.
    Maintains effective working relationships with all government agencies, donors, and international partners.
    Oversees implementation of the project’s baseline and end-of-project surveys.
    Documents project achievements against targets using monitoring data and works with project staff to document the factors behind gaps and over achievements.
    Institutes regular use of performance monitoring data among project staff.
    Identifies best practices and state-of-the art approaches to the program activities and evaluates them.
    Plans for and selects qualified consultants and critically assesses consultant reports and other deliverables, if necessary.
    Disseminates information on project evaluations through written reports, conference presentations, and publications, and assists project staff to do likewise.
    Uses data to systematically and consistently document achievements, success stories, and best practices.
    Supervises M&E team members to:
        Manage production of data to meet all reporting requirements including quarterly and annual reports, research, technical reports, presentations, etc.
        Ensure that all data are up to date and ready for immediate use.
        Review quarterly reports prior to submission to donors and headquarters.
        Assist project technical staff with preparation of reports as appropriate.
    Builds capacity of project staff and subgrantee organizations, on the use of data for decision making and performance improvement.
    Conducts field-based monitoring, technical assistance and training to program teams, partner organizations, and subgrantees as necessary.
    Provides overall guidance and manages all the M&E related efforts, communicating and coordinating as needed with headquarters M&E and other staff.
    Carries out other duties and special assignments, as required.

Qualifications and Skills Master’s Degree in Development Studies or any relevant discipline.
    Minimum of eight (8) years’ experience and demonstrated practical skills in monitoring and evaluation of voice and accountability programs.  At least 5 years M&E experience with USAID-funded projects is required.
    Experience in successfully managing and implementing the monitoring and evaluation of developing country health programs, including; report writing and data analyses, as well as overseeing data collection at various levels to ensure accuracy and clarity of data interpretations and definitions.
    Excellent knowledge and significant experience in the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation frameworks and systems required for voice and accountability programs.
    Experience leading a project team in M&E activity design and implementation.
    Proven ability to manage, motivate and mentor staff at all levels and create a positive team environment.
    Thorough knowledge of family planning and reproductive health issues related to effective M&E including solid knowledge of key indicators related to institutional capacity building, citizen participation, and advocacy/policy.
    Demonstrated ability to work effectively with various constituencies including headquarters, donor agencies, international and local partners, host country government agencies, and other stakeholders.
    Strong problem-solving skills, capacity to analyze data, evaluate progress, and recommend necessary recourse for maximizing program progress and impact.
    Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of USAID reporting requirements.
    Experienced user of software packages, including ACCESS, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and at least one statistical software package (SPSS, STATA, SAS or similar).
    Experience working with complex programs involving short deadlines, multiple tasks, in coordination with multiple partners, to achieve expected results.
    Excellent representational and communication skills, written and oral proficiency in English, and verbal communication skills in one or more local languages.
    Ability to travel throughout Uganda; occasional travel to the US Headquarters may also be necessary.

Basic Qualifications
 Work experience as well as comprehensive knowledge of the heath context and structural issues in Uganda including socioeconomic, institutional and policy issues that are related to essential services in population preferred.

Application procedure
http://www.candidatemanager.net/cm/Micro/JobDetails.aspx?&mid=YDUB&jid=UCXDDUAZ
Closing date: Not provided