M&E Director , Neno, Malawi

Title: M&E Director

Reports to: Country Director 

Location: Neno, Malawi

Organizational Profile:

Partners In Health is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, whose mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Through service delivery, training, research, and advocacy, PIH works globally to bring the benefits of modern science to those most in need, and to serve as an antidote to despair. PIH currently has programs in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Burundi, Liberia, Mali, Nepal and Boston.

Job Description Overview:

The M&E DiRector oversees the implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and quality improvement of core PIH activities working with the APZU M&E and Medical Informatics teams. This diverse position involves components of program management, monitoring and evaluation, and provides oversight of content and goals of medical informatics projects. S/he will work side-by-side with colleagues from the Ministry of Health (MOH) to support the delivery of comprehensive, high-quality health care services and socio-economic accompaniment to vulnerable people living in Neno.

The ideal candidate for this position will have a background in monitoring and evaluation, team supervision as well as familiarity with medical informatics and health research. Experience with project management will be helpful. S/he will be flexible, have excellent leadership and mentoring skills, be able to adapt to a fast-paced work environment, and prioritize and manage multiple tasks. S/he should be comfortable living in a resource-poor setting and working with culturally diverse colleagues. S/he should be committed to the movement for social justice and global health.

Responsibilities and Duties:

1. Program Management
   1. Lead and supervise the M&E and Medical Informatics teams 
   2. Mentor staff, visiting students, medical residents, and volunteers in data literacy and analytic skills
   3. Advise the Country Director and update the Boston-based MEQ Team on all aspects of APZU monitoring and evaluation activities
   4. Represent the M&E Department on the APZU Management Team
   5. Participate in the development of the annual work plan and budget
   6. Represent PIH/APZU at relevant meetings at the local, district, and national level

1. Monitoring & Evaluation and Quality Improvement
   1. Lead data collection, cleaning, management, and analysis activities across clinical, community health, and MOH programs
   2. Design and implement performance monitoring plans (PMPs), including the development of indicators, monitoring tools, and results frameworks
   3. Collaboratively design, implement, and communicate programmatic evaluations
   4. Coordinate quality improvement (QI) projects across departments, including: identifying potential quality gaps, supporting QI trainings, and providing data to drive continuous QI
   5. Respond to interdepartmental and Boston-based requests for programmatic data
   6. Support the production of monthly, quarterly, and annual program reports 
   7. Write or provide substantive input into monitoring and evaluation components of grant proposal development 
   8. Collaborate with Boston MEQ on targeted priorities including strategic data collection, cross-country initiatives and other specific projects

1. Medical Informatics & Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
   1. Provide overall content supervision for Medical Informatics team’s data collection, reporting, and quality initiatives
   2. Manage the scope and utility of data collected in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) with support from the Boston-based informatics team
   3. Identify uses for EMR data that improve clinical care and generate data sets and analyses to support program evaluations and operational research
   4. Determine needs for other databases (ex. Access and Excel databases) for a variety of programmatic data and coordinate development through support from the Boston MEQ team 
   5. Provide overall supervision of GIS activities with support from the Boston MEQ team the collection, analysis, and dissemination of GIS data for program evaluation and operational research

1. Operational Research
   1. Support research-related activities including: protocol development, Institutional Review Board applications, data analysis, and preparation of publications 
   2. Work to harmonize operational research efforts within PIH’s broader research platform
   3. Provide technical scientific and research support to clinical and community health teams

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• Master or other advanced degree in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, or related field
• Two or more years experience with program monitoring and evaluation related to health systems strengthening, HIV/AIDS, and TB
• Demonstrated skills in quantitative methods and statistics. 
• Knowledge of a statistical package such as STATA, SPSS or SAS
• Two or more years experience managing teams
• Ability to mentor and manage individuals with diverse educational and cultural backgrounds
• Highly detail oriented with experience designing M&E tracking tools and instruments
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, work under pressure, and meet deadlines
• Comfort working in teams as well as acting independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the English language
• Willingness to live in a remote area and travel to field offices regularly

Preferred Qualifications and Experience:

• One or more years field experience in low resource setting, particularly sub-Saharan Africa
• Knowledge of GIS concepts and familiarity with ArcMap 
• Demonstrated ability to conduct operational research, including protocol design, data analysis and dissemination findings
• Familiarity with database design, analysis, and maintenance, particularly using the Microsoft Office suite
• Qualitative analysis skills
• Chichewa language skills

http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=PIH&cws=1&rid=562

Volunteer Operational Research and Program Evaluation Assistant, Neno, Malawi

Reports to: APZU Director of Monitoring and Evaluation

Location: Neno, Malawi

Start Date: August 2013

Duration: One year (with option to extend)

Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU) is the Malawi-based sister organization of Partners In Health. APZU is transforming healthcare delivery in Neno District, one of the poorest and most remote districts in Malawi. Through 11 health centers and two hospitals, APZU and the Malawi Ministry of Health work shoulder-to-shoulder to provide free health care to a population of 130,000.

JOB PROFILE:

APZU has made great achievements in healthcare in Neno and is looking to capitalize on this success by documenting our work broadly. Our Monitoring and Evaluation team is tasked with carrying out APZU's operational research platform by carefully documenting and analyzing our clinical and nonclinical outcomes and communicating the results broadly. A volunteer position, the Operational Research & Program Evaluation Assistant is an integral member of this team who provides research and evaluation support to a variety of clinical and non-clinical programs.

The ideal candidate for this position will have a background in monitoring and evaluation and/or research. Experience with project management will be helpful. S/he will be flexible, have excellent leadership skills, adapt to a fast-paced work environment, and prioritize and manage multiple tasks. S/he should be comfortable living in a resource-poor setting and working with culturally diverse colleagues. S/he should be committed to the movement for social justice and global health. As a volunteer position, a small stipend, housing and one round trip ticket will be provided with a one-year commitment.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The position will continue to build APZU's capacity to engage in operational research, rigorous program evaluations and support for a variety of other data-related activities, including but not limited to the following:

1. Provide technical and programmatic support to program evaluations and operational research projects, including:

a. Assist with research and evaluation design and development of proposals

b. Coordinate institutional review/ethics board application processes

c. Supervise and manage data collection, data cleaning, and databases for ongoing research projects

d. Conduct data analysis with guidance from M&E teams in Neno and Boston

e. Mentor colleagues in APZU and at Ministry of Health in research and evaluation practices

f. Provide regular updates to M&E team and collaborators

2. Support a wide range of APZU data-related activities, including:

a. Support core indicator development and routine reporting

b. Monitor and assist in data collection, cleaning, management, and analysis

c. Create tools to strengthen use and feedback of data across APZU programs

d. Assist with the production of monthly, quarterly, and annual APZU program reports

e. Liaise with Medical Informatics, other program teams, and the Ministry of Health to support ongoing data quality improvement efforts

f. Support M&E training activities across departments

g. Assist with M&E and data-related requests for grant proposals and reporting

3. Selected ongoing and planned APZU research and evaluation projects and topics include:

a. HIV patient cohort analyses

b. Cluster-randomized study of household chart as an active case-finding tool

c. Decentralization of HIV services, geographic patient coverage, and treatment outcomes

d. Performance-based financing for health center quality of care

e. Randomized study of village health worker effect on HIV patient clinical and socio-economic outcomes

f. Linkages between socio-economic support and HIV care outcomes

g. Non-communicable disease clinic quality improvement and patient outcomes

h. HIV patient visit adherence and retention in care

4. Prepare conference, journal, and other scholarly works, including:

a. Assume responsibility for scholarly communication and manuscript preparation (conceptualizing, planning, researching, writing, editing, and submission)

b. Take lead on establishing and meeting deadlines; facilitate communication among co-authors, editors, and publishers

c. Gather and disseminate relevant information from a variety of sources that inform Partners In Health and APZU's work

5. Provide general PIH support, including:

a. Work closely and collaboratively with relevant members of APZU senior management and Boston-based MEQ staff on specific projects as assigned

b. Maintain a thorough understanding of PIH's comprehensive approach to health and poverty, and serve as an advocate for its work within the organization, in Malawi, and abroad

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Bachelor's Degree required and relevant Masters degree (public health, statistics, health science) preferred

2. Two or more years work experience in a clinical, social science or public health setting preferred

3. Demonstrated competence to assess priorities, manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment, and meet deadlines with attention to detail

4. Strong communication, organizational, and writing skills

5. Adept using Microsoft Office Suite and data management/analysis software (Access, SPSS, SAS, Epi Info, or Stata)

6. Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact professionally and mentor diverse staff

7. Willingness to live in a remote area and travel to field offices regularly

All interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume to Dr. James Keck (APZUmeq@pih.org)