Senior Technical Advisor, Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning (Data.FI) at Palladium International

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

The primary responsibilities of this position are to provide technical leadership and guidance in planning and implementing monitoring, evaluation and research/learning activities in the PEPFAR and COVID-19 / emerging pandemics space. Specifically, the Senior Technical Advisor will:

Technical Leadership

• Lead / contribute to the design, implementation and use of national and USAID M&E systems, including:
• Lead collaborative processes to develop MEL frameworks, logic models, theories of change, indicators, and indicator reference sheets
• Support country processes to review, compare, and align MOH indicators/requirements with PEPFAR/USAID indicators
• Lead data quality assessments including leading the development of protocols, standard operating procedures and data collection forms for data quality assessment activities
• Provide technical leadership in the design and implementation of assessments, evaluations and research activities related to digital health, informatics, data analytics, and data use for the global COVID-19 and HIV response. This may include:
• Leading and contributing to the development and refinement of research questions
• Leading and contributing to the development of study protocols and terms of reference for case studies, data quality/data use assessments, M&E and health information system (HIS) assessments, etc.
• Participate in data collection efforts, including supervising and/or conducting key informant and/or focus group interviews
• Lead analysis of quantitative and qualitative data
• Synthesize findings and prepare case studies and presentations as requested
• Serve as a point of contact and technical expert in Data.FI custom indicators and learning questions and participate in processes to refine and improve upon the custom indicators and execute activities related to answering key Data.FI learning questions
• Contribute to new business development, strategy, and other corporate initiatives, as required

Capacity Development

• Conceptualize, design, and lead efforts to build capacity of MOH counterparts, USAID and local implementing partners on MEL, digital systems for data capture and research
• Support and guide capacity building of internal teams and partners through formal trainings, mentorship, coaching and supervision

Management

• Maintain strong, positive working relationships with country teams, partners, government counterparts, USAID Washington, and USAID Mission staff as primary point of contact for specific project activities
• Negotiate workplans with USAID, including building consensus around benchmarks, products, timelines, and developing budgets
• Liaise with Data.FI partners to determine partner’s scopes of work and budgets, and input into contracting
• Manage workplan completion, working in partnership with Data.FI partners and the Data.FI management team
• Participate in communities of practice and develop strategies to improve MEL and research practices within Project and partner activities
• Coordinate meetings and liaise with US government, country collaborators, and other program staff across organizations to carry out activities, as required
• Support timely, accurate and appropriate reporting of project activities and results to USAID, including narrative progress reports and weekly, monthly quarterly, semi-annual and annual quantitative results

Key Competencies Required: 

• Strong familiarity and demonstrated professional experience in monitoring, evaluation, learning and research, with a preference for global experience in HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, or other global health programs
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing PMPs or other results frameworks, with strong familiarity with development and use of USAID global health indicators
• Advanced knowledge of PEPFAR data reporting streams and an understanding of how PEPFAR data and indicators relate and/or align to country health M&E and information systems, including clinical (EMR) and community-based information systems
• Strong research skills, with demonstrated competencies in mixed-methods design, qualitative and case study methodologies; and strong background in technical writing for both technical and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated skills in capacity building through technical assistance and coaching both face-to-face and at a distance. This includes strong skills in public speaking and delivering trainings and workshops
• Familiarity or past experience working with data from country health management information systems (e.g., DHIS2, HIV electronic medical records, LMIS, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience working with USAID, CDC, and PEPFAR partners in the field, to improve program performance and build analytical capability
• Experience analyzing qualitative data using Atlas.ti, NVivo, or other qualitative analysis software is an asset
• Experience coordinating teams, and coaching, mentoring, and training internal staff, partners, and country government counterparts through a variety of methods
• Willingness to travel and work abroad 25-30% of the time in developing countries and elsewhere
• Excellent oral and communication skills in English. French and/or Spanish language proficiency is strongly preferred

Professional Expertise/Competencies Preferred:

• Experience in public health programming in a LMIC context, and in particular HIV care and treatment, prevention, and community-based programs
• Detail-oriented and deadline-driven with strong organizational skills
• Able to work in a dynamic and agile environment with changing requirements and priorities
• Highly self-motivated and able to work independently as well as in team settings
• Well-honed active listening skills, combined with a desire to actively coach, mentor, and provide thoughtful feedback to colleagues, peers, and direct reports
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a member of a fast-moving and multicultural and cross-functional team while maintaining a client-centered focus
• Ability to work independently and to manage a wide range of activities on a daily basis with limited supervision
• Proven capacity to take initiative and willingness to learn new skills as needed
• Ability to work cross-culturally with flexibility to work across time zones, occasionally accommodating meeting times outside of the regular workday