Monitoring, Evaluation, and Adaptive Learning (MEAL) Manager | New Delhi, India | 2023

Chemonics seeks a MEAL manager for the ongoing USAID Frontier Health Markets Engage project in India. Building on over 30 years of USAID investment, FHM Engage focuses on strengthening local health markets by addressing the root causes of market failures in the core market functions to create the necessary behavior change that catalyzes supply and demand and supports sustainable change. This is a long-term position, contingent upon annual funding, based in New Delhi, India. The assignment will require the ability to work remotely (from a personal home/office) at the onset and for an indefinite period of time. This position requires the ability to travel within India, up to 50%. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

As the MEAL Manager on the FHM Engage activity in India, you will provide in-country monitoring, evaluation, research and learning technical leadership, support data collection and reporting for monitoring and evaluation activities, and contribute to effective activity communications on activities in India. As part of this work, you will work closely with local and global stakeholders to achieve the program’s objectives around engaging private sector (including for-profit and commercial sector) for improving health outcomes. The FHM Engage technical approach – the Market Development Approach (MDA) – has as two key features: applying a function-based approach to facilitate market development and delivering through the local partner ecosystem, to achieve the healthy market vision of growth, equity, and sustainability. This position will support the Market Facilitation technical teams in analyzing critical functions – such as financing, capacity, policy and regulatory issues, and market intelligence – that inhibit the broader market ecosystem from delivering products and services to its full potential.

The MEAL Manager will collaborate with the Market Dynamics STA, the India Market Facilitation Team, Sub-award recipients, USAID, and other market stakeholders as necessary to develop, refine, and test a theory of change that reflects FHM Engage’s market development approach. The MEAL Manager will also be responsible for finalizing and overseeing implementation of the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning plan and designing and populating the project’s MEAL system, ensuring that the system incorporates metrics that reflect core market functions, supporting functions, and changes in market outputs. S/he will work with technical staff to develop and oversee tools for data collection, storage, and analysis, under the market development approach. S/he will train staff and partners on MEAL system operations, collection methods, and tools. S/he will perform data analyses, generate reports of findings, and create graphics to contribute to reporting requirements and project communications products. S/he will contribute to FHM Engage India communications by leading the production of key program deliverables including quarterly and annual reports and other deliverables that convey program data. S/he will also, collect and disseminate lessons learned, share successes during project implementation, and plan for and manage performance evaluations as required. In conjunction with the Market Dynamics STA, s/he will lead the development and implementation of a learning plan to support the project team in learning from its data.

Responsibilities include:

Set up the MEL system

• Work closely with India-based team as well as colleagues based in the US, including the FHM Engage global MEAL team
• Collaborate with the Market Dynamics STA and global MEAL team to lead the co-design and development of the Activity MEL plan – ensuring that it aligns with cooperative agreement requirements, client objectives, and program approaches – including defining indicators, setting targets, and drafting indicator reference sheets
• Support the India team in refining and finalizing the project’s results framework and theory of change, based on strategic logic model under Market Development Approach
• In coordination with global FHM Engage MEAL team, design, develop and roll out Management Information System (using the DevResults monitoring and evaluation software) to capture inputs, process, and output data to capture both demonstration (model and innovation) and Technical Assistance support.
• Develop a detailed system and process of Data Quality Assurance (DQA) protocol at both partners and Project level
• Ensure that activity leadership, technical staff, and operations staff understand the importance of monitoring and evaluation and the use of information for learning purposes
• Ensure the activity staff understand their roles and responsibilities in the collection of data for the monitoring and evaluation system
• Develop budget estimates for MEL tasks
• Ensure that all Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), service agreements, or other contractual arrangements with partners stipulate their responsibilities for data collection and monitoring
• Develop data collection tools necessary for capturing and reporting on project indicator data

Implement the project’s approved AMELP

• Organize and conduct collection of data in accordance with the AMELP
• Enter and maintain project data in the project MIS
• Coordinate with consortium partners and technical staff to ensure smooth functioning of MIS and DQA and fulfill project MEAL requirements at national and state levels.
• Coordinate different sources of information, including online data systems based on DHIS-2 platform
• Train project staff on general MEL concepts and terms, data collection, and reporting procedures
• Perform data quality and integrity assessments of program data (including routine monitoring data, data from research and assessments, etc.), including periodically conducting field visits and spot checks to verify data and investigate any data anomalies.
• Conduct observation visits, qualitative interviews, collect and share field insights in project level reviews.
• Identify and track reliable secondary (external) sources of data, from market research agencies, qualitative sources and large-scale survey data sets obtained from other agencies
• Identify necessary information required for the research and learning plan and work with the Market Dynamics STA and other relevant activity staff to address
• Conduct periodic training for project staff, stakeholders, and/or partners. Share information to help them monitor the progress of their work and use the data for strategic decision-making.
• Support implementation of in-country workshops and lead discussions around the project’s theory of change, including pause and reflect sessions and other collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) methodologies as necessary
• Review MEL system periodically to evaluate its effectiveness, and adjust tools and procedures as necessary to provide the project with accurate and useful data
• Contribute to the development of annual work plans and review the relevance of the AMELP against these work plans

Communicate MEL information

• Compile and analyze relevant data on project indicators for contractual reports
• Contribute to deliverables and knowledge products related to market assessment and research
• Support development of the activity communications strategy along with activity leadership and technical staff
• Lead development of key project deliverables identified in the communications strategy, including quarterly and annual reports
• Provide as-requested MEL data to the client in a timely manner
• Regularly communicate progress against targets to project staff
• Engage with the global MEAL team and other FHM Engage MEAL managers to share learning across the program
• Ensure that staff are considering and applying data to maximize learning from data and using data in making decisions
• Collect and disseminate lessons learned and best practices to internal and external stakeholders, as appropriate.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree and at least seven years of private sector relevant experience

• Strong understanding of monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive learning on private sector projects, such as those monitoring TMA, and ability to effectively communicate the purpose and work to a diverse set of stakeholders required

• Experience with developing and managing results frameworks, logic models, and policy projection tools including IMPACT tool, Private Sector Counts, LiST, FamPlan, and OneHealth

• Experience with DHS indicators related to family planning, contraceptive discontinuation, and other population-based surveys, with ability and willingness-to-pay studies and market segmentation analysis a plus

• Demonstrated ability to convey results to non-technical stakeholders and facilitate the use of MEL results to make programmatic improvements

• Demonstrated expertise deriving strategic insights from data analysis and primary research preferred, including delivering customized research reports, triangulating qualitative and quantitative data, and generating actionable insights with recommendations.

• Knowledge of and previous experience working with USAID required

• Strong analytical skills

• Computer skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office apps required. Familiarity with relational databases, advanced analysis software (e.g. Python, R, Stata, VBA, etc.), and data visualization software (e.g. Tableau, Power BI) preferred.

• Excellent verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complicated and detailed data to team leads and project stakeholders

• High level of organization, attention to detail, professionalism, and reliability

• Ability to meet tight deadlines and prioritize effectively

• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity

• Solid writing and communication skills in English