
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer
Job title |
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer
Safire – Supporting Access for Adolescents to Integrated SRH Services |
Department | Overseas Programmes |
Location | Abuja, Nigeria |
Reporting to | Senior MEL Manager, Safire |
Responsible for | N/A |
Liaison with |
Programme /Options staff, consortium partners, funders, external stakeholders, and programme beneficiaries. |
Hours | Full time, 40 hours per week |
Type of contract | Fixed-term until 31st January 2022 |
Organisation | |
Options Consultancy Services Limited was established in 1992 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Marie Stopes International. We are a consultancy organisation providing technical and management expertise in the health and social sectors to governments and international development partners to transform the health of women and children. We provide information, expertise and influence to governments, health workers, NGOs and businesses to catalyse change so that health services can be accessed by the people who need them most. |
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Background | |
Adolescent girls are twice as likely to have an unmet need for contraception compared to women in their twenties, putting them at increased risk of unintended pregnancy, with unsafe abortion rates remaining high and leading to death and injury. Adolescent girls are also more likely to face age-related stigma and barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services, as well as lack of information and agency, increasing the risk that they delay seeking services.
There are still gaps in our knowledge and understanding of effective adolescent health programming, especially at scale, and there are very few sexual and reproductive health services that have been tailored to adolescents. We need to explore new approaches and to implement promising ones, such as engaging the private sector to reach adolescents and providing complementary and coordinated interventions. |
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Programme: Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme | |
The Supporting Access for Adolescents to Integrated Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) Services (Safire) Programme aims to reduce unsafe abortion rates within existing legal frameworks by linking girls to acceptable services. Options Consultancy Services is the consortium lead for the programme, working in partnership with consortium members and local civil society organisations (CSOs), who are key Implementing Partners (IPs). Taking a Human Centred Design approach, the programme:
· Ensures girls are able to access quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive services, including through referral networks and support to CSOs. · Fosters and supports a community-based movement to shift social norms and build girls’ agency, though mobilising both ICT platforms and interpersonal networks. · Builds the capacity of local organisations to reduce unsafe abortion rates. |
The programme, which started in 2018 and will run until early 2022, uses in-depth research and analysis to generate insights into girls’ pathways to unsafe abortion and access to contraceptives. Using these insights, the programme tests social marketing approaches, the use of digital and mobile platforms and other outreach strategies. A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) system, including tools for routine and periodic monitoring, has been developed.
Safire is currently implemented in Kenya and Nigeria. In Nigeria, it is implemented in two States, Oyo and Ogun; the programme in Nigeria is managed by Options’ Nigeria office based in Abuja. |
Main purpose of job |
The MEL Officer supports the Safire MEL team and the Nigeria country team to implement the programme’s MEL system in Nigeria. The position is primarily responsible for effective data management and use in Nigeria. The MEL Officer ensures that high quality data management processes are operating efficiently, aligned to the programme’s results framework and data flow chart, and that data is routinely shared with programme stakeholders through the live digital dashboard and other visual methodologies. As a member of the Safire MEL team, the position also supports programme learning and adaptation, CSO MEL capacity building, and MEL coordination in Nigeria. |
Main duties |
Data Management and Use · In collaboration with Safire Senior MEL officer (SMEL), support continuous improvement of Safire’s Digital Management Information System (DMIS), ensuring it follows the highest data protection and safeguarding standards and policies. Provide continuous feedback to the Senior MEL officer on system performance and any challenges experienced by the users · Under the leadership of Safire MEL officer, support the training of all Safire partners in Nigeria on the use of the DMIS, ensuring all users are familiar with the system and can regularly enter and report data as expected · Support the Nigeria country team and partners as required on roll-out and utilisation of Safire data collection tools to ensure high quality data is available in a timely fashion · In collaboration with Safire Programme Officers (POs) in Nigeria, facilitate partners’ timely and accurate data collection, entry and analysis (manual or digital, depending on context) that allows for rapid adaptation and course correction of programme activities · Support POs in Ogun and Oyo to regularly monitor activities of CSOs and to collate their routine reports · Ensure that Safire Nigeria data meets required quality standards in terms of accuracy, timeliness and completeness · Oversee quarterly performance assessment of CSO partners by POs utilizing the Organisational Capacity Development Tool (OCAT) and other tools, consolidating data produced by partners in Nigeria · Undertake quarterly MEL supervision and data quality assurance visits to Safire partners in Nigeria · For as long as necessary, under the guidance of SMEL, produce the excel data dashboard for Nigeria covering key programme data to be shared across Safire stakeholders on a monthly basis · Support the Nigeria Safire team to make use of relevant data analytics and infographics when conducting programme reviews with partners at all levels · Contribute to the production of programme reports, producing high quality MEL inputs, including visual representation of data · Promote compliance with Options’ and the clients’ data protection policies
Learning and Adaptation · Ensure good quality monitoring data is regularly available and shared with programme partners (consortium and CSOs) to support ongoing reflection, learning and programme adaptation · Initiate and/or support regular learning review sessions across the Safire partnership and other processes to share lessons learned throughout the life of the programme · In collaboration with Nigeria Safire team, CSOs and consortium partners, support the production of learning briefs, case studies and other knowledge products, using data visualization and documenting key lessons learned from the programme to share with Safire stakeholders
Teamwork and Capacity Development · Support the Senior MEL Manager to ensure the integrity and fidelity of implementation of Safire’s MEL system across the partnership in Nigeria · Participate as a collaborative member in the Safire MEL team, promoting a collaborative culture and |
building staff MEL capacity where feasible
Coordination and External Liaison · Support the MEL Manager to engage with the programme’s third-party evaluator (APHRC) · Support the MEL Manager to coordinate MEL activities across the partnership in Nigeria, attending and/or facilitating regular group meetings as necessary
Capacity Building and M&E of Implementing Partners (CSOs) · Support design of CSOs’ M&E plans as required to monitor their performance against their approved workplans · Ensure timely submission of IP M&E data required under the grant and quality assure their submissions · Lead on assessment of implementing partners’ organisational M&E systems and design tailored capacity building plans to strengthen them · Lead on building M&E capacity of implementing partners (e.g. through trainings, mentoring, quality assurance) · Regularly communicate key findings from CSO reports to Nigeria Country Lead, for the purposes of learning · Routinely compile and synthesize CSO M&E reports for donor and other programme reports |
Note: this job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop the job description will be reviewed and be subject to amendment in consultation with the job holder.
Person specification
Criteria | Essential | Desirable |
Qualifications | ||
First Degree in a related field (statistics, health records, public health, epidemiology, information technology, demography)
Master’s degree in a related field |
Yes |
Yes |
Experience | ||
Proven experience in monitoring and evaluation of grants donor-funded | Yes | |
projects, or equivalent experience | ||
Significant experience of quantitative data analysis and data management using MS Excel | Yes | |
Experience of working in sexual and reproductive health program and working with CSOs. |
Yes |
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Carrying out qualitative research (data collection and analysis) including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews | Yes | |
Knowledge of capacity building of CSOs in monitoring and evaluation | Yes | |
Qualitative research experience with young people | Yes | |
Skills and attributes | ||
High level IT proficiency and competency in MS Office (especially Excel, | Yes |
Yes |
including creating graphs and charts) and data management systems | ||
Excellent verbal and written skills | Yes | |
Fluency in English (written and spoken) | Yes | |
High attention to detail | Yes | |
Strong planning and organisation skills | Yes | |
Ability to work with remote teams and with high sensitivity to cultural and | Yes | |
social diversity | ||
Excellent interpersonal skills | ||
Capacity building skills of grassroots organisations | ||
Other requirements | ||
Commitment to equal opportunities | Yes |
Yes |
Strong commitment to human rights, equal opportunities and pro-choice | Yes | |
Ability to travel within Nigeria as required up to 30% of working time | Yes | |
The right to live and work in Nigeria | Yes | |
Fluency in Yoruba (spoken, written, reading) |
Apply Here: https://options.co.uk/jobs/monitoring-evaluation-and-learning-officer-0