The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) Officer at DRASA Health Trust will play a pivotal role in the design, implementation, and management of monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the progress, effectiveness, and impact across the organization and within four program areas - IPC, AMR, Health Security and Community Health and Hygiene. The MERL Officer will work closely with project teams to collect, analyze, and report data that inform program strategies and ensure the best practice standards. This role requires expertise in MERL methodologies, a passion for data, and the ability to translate findings into actionable insights.
Tasks
- Strengthen and support implementation of organizational MERL policy and framework.
- Support MERL capacity building activities including training programs and design and implementation of capacity building evaluations.
- Develop MERL frameworks and processes for new programs and update existing ones in collaboration with project managers.
- Oversee the development of data collection tools (e.g., surveys, interview guides, observation checklists) to gather quantitative and qualitative data.
- Train project staff and partners on MERL processes and tools to ensure accurate and reliable data collection, research, and learning.
- Provide technical support in the generation of project progress reports.
- Conduct internal data quality audits for quality assurance purposes.
- Analyze data, ensuring lessons learned are integrated into project implementation to continuously improve quality of interventions and outcomes.
- Prepare comprehensive MERL reports for internal and external stakeholders, including funders, partners, and government bodies, highlighting actionable recommendations and documenting and disseminating project successes, challenges and lessons learned.
- Lead program evaluations, including baseline, midline, and endline studies and support research studies and program evaluations.
- Support program learning including development and dissemination of learning products (presentations, abstracts, manuscripts, policy briefs, etc).
- Support the development of new projects and proposals, in conjunction with the Partnerships team
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Public Health, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Statistics, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5-8 years of experience in MERL or M&E, preferably within the public health or development sectors.
- Strong knowledge of M&E methodologies, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
- Proficiency with data analysis software (e.g., Advanced Excel, SPSS, STATA, R, Nvivo) and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
- Extensive knowledge in collaboration, learning, and adapting concepts for health projects.
- Demonstrated experience with donor reporting and familiarity with funding agencies’ MERL requirements.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team, managing multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Experience in at least two of the following program areas - IPC, AMR, Health Security and Community Health & Hygiene