The MEL Senior Associate works under the direction and supervision of a MEL Principal Advisor on the Strategic Information (SI) Team. The MEL Senior Associate supports activities in business development, SI communications, and MEL using a client-centered approach. The primary focus of this role will be on supporting business development including facilitating development of Theories of Change (ToC). Secondarily, they will support the development and implementation of a communication plan and strategic information community of practice. The individual will also support projects through the design and implementation of state-of-the-art MEL systems, approaches to data use for decision making, improving performance, and maximizing and measuring health impact.
Specific Responsibilities Include:
Technical Support in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for Business Development (50%)
- Under supervision, provide MEL support to proposal teams, including:
- Supporting business resource development and proposal teams (e.g. Technical Strategy Leads and Technical Contributors) in designing robust MEL approaches for measuring performance and outcomes throughout the project life that align with programmatic rationale, technical approaches, and country context.
- Ensuring that technical proposal and MEL content is aligned and reflects best practices and MSH guidance (e.g., links between MEL activities and adaptive management, MSH Learning Guidance, Technical Performance Reviews, data quality assurance (DQA)).
- Ensuring that MEL activities are reflected in the proposal budget.
- Supporting development of research and evaluation activities.
- Reviewing CVs for MEL Directors and conducting interviews.
Under supervision, facilitate development of Theories of Change (ToC), including:
- Orienting proposal teams to ToC resources (MSH ToC Guidance, USAID ToC Workbook) and work with TSLs, Technical Contributors, and Writers to decide on the ToC process, and roles/responsibilities.
- Supporting ToC process improvements and documentation, including:
- Conducting ToC facilitator sessions to debrief on ToC sessions and to note areas for improvement.
- Suggesting updates to ToC resources and processes.
Support orientations for staff on how to facilitate ToC sessions, including:
- Assisting with development and updating of orientation resources.
- Developing recorded orientation sessions.
- Conducting in-person or virtual orientation sessions as needed.
Attend Business Development meetings as needed to assist with tracking upcoming opportunities, updating anticipated release dates, and monitoring SI staff bid assignments.
Technical Support in SI Communications and in developing an SI Community of Practice (30%)
- Under supervision, lead SI’s communications activities, including:
- Providing coordination support for a Strategic Information Community of Practice, including collaborating with the Communications team, technical and project management specialists across MSH to source ideas, identify speakers, and develop content that is accessible to the wider staff audience.
- Designing webinars, facilitating exchanges through emails listservs, and coordinating other virtual events for MSH staff to enable at least bi-monthly knowledge exchange opportunities for sharing relevant work experiences and evidence to foster engagement and cross-team learning.
- Coordinating event planning, including outreach, preparation sessions, translation services, platform (Zoom or Teams) functionalities, and moderation.
- Managing and conducting routine follow up on communications activities across the SI Communications workstream such as disseminating routine communications to SI staff and across MSH, managing Gantt charts, and reorganizing and the team’s SharePoint and keeping it up to date.
MEL Project Support (15%)
- Under supervision, provide project support on tasks such as contributing to MEL plans, data cleaning, data analytics, and/or documenting MEL processes.
- Conduct routine tasks independently such as conducting literature reviews, developing data tables for reporting, and developing data visualizations.
- Participate in data quality assurance processes.
- Help prepare for and participate in technical project performance reviews (TPRs).
Organizational Initiatives (5%)
- Contribute to the compilation, analysis, and documentation of aggregated results at output and outcome levels and contribution to long-term health impact from the portfolio of MSH projects.
- Contribute to MEL team strategy and annual planning.
- May be asked to contribute to other SI initiatives based on interest and experience.
QUALIFICATIONS
What do you need to apply?
- Bachelor's Degree and 2-4 years of experience with preference for a Master’s degree in relevant field of study.
- Experience managing and coordinating team assignments and work processes.
- Experience in coordination, facilitation, and communication technologies (MS Sharepoint, MS Teams, etc).
- Experience in data management and analysis (quantitative and qualitative) with proven skills in at least one statistical package software for quantitative data analysis (SPSS, STATA, R, etc.) or qualitative data analysis (Nvivo, Atlas.ti, Dedoose, etc).
Knowledge and Skills:
Required:
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with professional colleagues from multiple units and within various socio-cultural contexts.
- Excellent writing and communications skills including organizing, scanning, summarizing, and presenting information.
- Demonstrated flexibility and openness in responding to changing work priorities and environment and working under tight deadlines.
- Demonstrated competence to assess priorities and solve problems using innovative, evidence-based solutions.
- Enjoys learning and teaching. A team player and a self-starter who can use their own initiative to identify useful work.
- Strong analytical and organizational skills demonstrated by ability to work both independently and within a team.
- Full proficiency in English.
Preferred:
- Experience supporting communities of practice, internal or external to an organization.
- Experience with virtual event planning and management.
- Experience creating and moderating online forums, with demonstrated knowledge of good practices in online engagement and content management. Microsoft Teams and Viva Engage preferred; similar formats welcomed with willingness to learn new software.
- Full proficiency in French is a strong asset.
- Knowledge of US Government and non-USG funded programs, regulations, and requirements.
- Familiarity with USAID indicators and metrics in specific content areas.
- Direct overseas project work experience.
- Relevant experience in project operations and management.
COMPETENCIES
- Stay updated with the latest lessons learned in MEL in low and middle income countries (LMICs).
- Effective collaboration with professional colleagues from multiple units and within diverse socio-cultural contexts.
- Flexibility and openness in responding to changing work priorities and environments. Ability to work under tight deadlines.
- Competence in assessing priorities and solving problems using innovative, evidence-based solutions.
- Highly detail-oriented, meticulous, and consistent in the execution of work.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
- Proactively identify areas that require support and propose constructive solutions.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
- Keyboard use, pulling drawers, lifting papers <10 lbs.
- Travel requirements: up to 25%.
The expected salary range for this position is: $55,000.00 - $65,000.00 annually (U.S. locations only).
MSH considers multiple job-related factors when determining an offer, including but not limited to, business and organizational needs, candidate qualifications, internal equity, location, and internal budget.
Salary is just one of many aspects of our total rewards package; at MSH, our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive set of competitive benefits that includes a substantial vacation, sick and holiday policies, training and development programs, competitive insurance coverage for health, vision, dental, life, short-term and long-term disability, 401k plan, Flexible Spending Account, among others.
The selected candidate will be able to work remotely in a country where they are authorized to work and MSH is registered.
MSH is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, religion, creed, citizenship, national origin, age, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job requirements. MSH will take affirmative action to ensure that qualified applicants are employed and that employees are treated without regard to their race, age, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran and disability status.
