Senior Technical Advisor – Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL)

Background:

ELEVATE Nutrition (Enhancing Local Efforts for Vital, Transformative, and Evidence-Based Nutrition), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is a five-year cooperative agreement led by FHI 360 in collaboration with Action Against Hunger, Bixal, CNFA: Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture, GEMNet-Health, and Oxford Policy Management. The project aims to advance local implementation of high-quality nutrition programs and policies to improve the nutritional status of women and children, particularly in the first 1,000 days. ELEVATE Nutrition will drive efforts to sustain USAID technical leadership in nutrition, enhance locally driven nutrition programs and policies, and boost innovative efforts to share learning and transfer knowledge.

Job Summary:

The MERL senior technical advisor will partner with the MERL Director to provide technical leadership and strategic guidance for the ELEVATE Nutrition MERL portfolio at global and country levels. S/he should have a proven track record of providing MERL technical leadership in international settings, preferably for multi-sectoral nutrition programming. S/he will work in close collaboration with the ELEVATE Nutrition MERL Director to design, lead, and implement all aspects of ELEVATE Nutrition’s global and country-based MERL agendas. S/he will also support broader needs of the ELEVATE Nutrition global team by spearheading efforts to identify and/or design metrics and measurement approaches for key nutrition program areas and guide countries towards increased evidence-based design of multisectoral nutrition programs and policies. S/he will build and maintain collaborative relationships with USAID and local government counterparts and represent ELEVATE Nutrition to stakeholders as a global MERL expert. The MERL senior technical advisor may supervise one or more staff on the MERL teams and/or supervise consultants.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities: the Senior Technical Advisor will work in close collaboration with the MERL Director to achieve the following:

ELEVATE Nutrition Global MERL Portfolio:

• Develop global metrics for key ELEVATE Nutrition technical areas (diet quality, nutrition governance, social and behavior change, and wasting) and others as requested by the donor.

• Conceptualize, develop, and/or field test MERL global technical products.

• Lead or contribute to development of global technical products and/or participate in MERL technical working groups led by key stakeholders such as UNICEF, WHO, and USAID.

• Lead ELEVATE Nutrition research activities, including (but not limited to); preparation of study protocols and data collection instruments; IRB submissions; training and oversight of/participation in data collection; data analysis and report writing; manuscript preparation.

• Conceptualize, organize, and support MERL technical consultations.

• Represent ELEVATE Nutrition at conferences and other international forums, including potentially giving presentations or leading sessions, as needed.

ELEVATE Nutrition MERL Country Support:

• Collaborate with USAID and country stakeholders to develop, refine, and/or clarify country-specific MERL scopes of work, including clearly articulated outcome measurement strategies.  

• Provide technical assistance and capacity strengthening activities to enhance local stakeholder MERL capacity to develop and implement MERL frameworks and plans (including indicator selection) and for locally-led data use and learning.

• Represent ELEVATE Nutrition to USAID, country stakeholders, government counterparts, global organizations, and other relevant organizations, as needed.

• Define and implement strategies for ELEVATE Nutrition feedback and accountability in diverse country contexts.

ELEVATE Nutrition Internal/Foundational MERL Activities:

• Lead and/or support donor reporting, including (but not limited to) collection and collation of data from ELEVATE Nutrition country programs, database development and maintenance, data quality assurance, and responding to ad hoc donor data requests.  

• Implement ELEVATE Nutrition annual assessments, including conceptualization, data collection instrument preparation, data collection, and analysis and synthesis of findings.

• Work collaboratively with ELEVATE Nutrition MERL Director and the Knowledge and Learning team to prepare and implement Annual Learning and Reflection Workshops.

• Design and implement data quality audits.

• Conceptualize and roll-out ELEVATE Nutrition internal data use activities.  

• Other tasks as identified by the MERL or Project Director or at the request of the donor.

Applied Knowledge & Skills:

• Proven track record of MERL technical leadership.

• Experience developing metrics and indicators, preferably for global, multisectoral nutrition programs.

• Proven track record developing and/or refining MERL frameworks (e.g., results frameworks, theories of change, logframes) at country and global levels.

• Successful history of engaging with country stakeholders to achieve MERL objectives, preferably for multisectoral nutrition.

• Knowledge of data use and data quality assurance approaches and ability to innovate in these domains.

• Adept at leading all stages of research, from conceptualization to manuscript development.

• Quantitative and qualitative research skills.

• Experience supervising MERL staff and consultants.

• Strong analytical, writing, and oral skills.

• Ability to multi-task in fast-paced environment.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality technical products.

• Ability to work with technical teams across diverse contexts; demonstrated success providing technical assistance in complex environments.

• Fluency in written and spoken English.

• Fluency in French, Spanish, or Portuguese desirable.

• Willing to travel as required (25-30%).

Supervision Given/Received:

• May supervise junior level staff members.

• Work is reviewed in terms of meeting the organization’s objectives and schedules.

• Accomplishes results through managers or senior members of a team.

• Manages a technical area staff and function area within the organization.

• Plays a coaching and mentoring role for others; may assist in team management as necessary, although has no formal people management responsibility.

Experience:

• Master's degree in nutrition, public health, international development, program evaluation, and/or related field. PhD desirable.

• 12+ years of experience providing technical leadership in MERL at global and/or local levels, preferably for multisectoral nutrition programming.

• Experience working with USAID-funded programs preferable.  

Typical Physical Demands:

• Typical office environment.

• Ability to spend long hours looking at computer screen and doing repetitive work on a keyboard.

• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time.

• Ability to lift/move up to 5 lbs.

Technology to be Used:

• Personal Computer/Laptop, Microsoft applications (i.e., Office 365, SharePoint, Skype/Zoom/Teams), cell phone/mobile technology, and standard office equipment.

Travel Requirements:

• 10% - 25%

The expected US Based hiring salary range for this role is listed below. Candidate FHI 360 pay ranges represent national averages that vary by geographic location. When determining an offer amount, FHI 360 factors in multiple considerations, including but not limited to: relevant years of experience and education possessed by the applicant, internal equity, business sector, and budget. 

Base salary is only one component of our offer. FHI 360 contributes 12% of monthly base pay to a money purchase pension plan account. Additionally, all US based staff working full-time, which is calculated at 40 hours/week, receive 18 days of paid vacation per year, 12 sick days per year, and 11 holidays per year. Paid time off is reduced pro rata for employees working less than a full-time schedule.

US Based Hiring Salary Range: $124,000 - $160,000

This job posting summarizes the main duties of the job. It neither prescribes nor restricts the exact tasks that may be assigned to carry out these duties. This document should not be construed in any way to represent a contract of employment. Management reserves the right to review and revise this document at any time.

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