Job Description

Hours: 40hrs per week
Salary: Commensurate with required experience and qualifications
Reports to: Chief of Party
University Research Co., LLC (URC):
Guided by a strong vision of equitable and resilient systems that respond to people’s needs and emerging threats, URC helps countries and local actors to build, implement, and sustain science-driven, scalable solutions. Established in 1965, URC offers a range of technical expertise to empower governments, communities, and service providers toward strengthening their own health and social systems and improve service quality. We aim to expand access to and improve the quality of services, addressing maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health; global health security and infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria; reproductive health and family planning; nutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene. In our interactions with each other and our clients, we stay true to our values for transformative change by focusing on:

• Creativity: by unleashing our creativity, we enhance engagement and interaction to improve problem-solving.
• Collaboration: not only our work towards the same vision and mission instill staff with a strong sense of purpose, but also enables us to complement each other’s skills and allocate work to maximize everyone’s strengths.
• Accountability: we hold ourselves responsible for accomplishing goals, completing assignments, and making decisions.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion: we embrace the importance of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment, where our leadership and staff model behavior that enriches our organization, demonstrates respect for all people, and supports opportunities for all staff.
• Transparency: we understand that when employees deeply trust one another and their leaders, they will be more engaged in their roles because they will not be worried about unfair treatment.

Project Overview:
USAID RenewHealth project implemented by URC: Expanding Access to Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBDR) Services in the Philippines is a five (5) year project from May 2019 to May 2024. The primary objective of the project is to help persons who use drugs (PWUDs), people in recovery, and their families obtain access to informal care, self-help or community-based treatment and recovery support to reduce or prevent drug dependence. By the end of the project, more communities will be able to provide evidence-based approaches to CBDTR services that Filipino PWUDs and their families can access without fear or prejudice.
Position Overview:
The MERLA Director is responsible for providing strategic vision for project monitoring and evaluation and provides leadership and technical expertise on tracking and reporting on indicators and other measures of project performance and impact. In this role, s/he provides technical oversight and consultation services across all aspects of MERLA of the RenewHealth project. As such, s/he is responsible for staff management, research, analysis and oversight of the design, implementation and MERLA of all activities across the CBDR portfolio.
:
A. Coordination and Technical Leadership

• In collaboration with the COP and DCOP, OH Director, provides MERLA leadership in planning and reviewing the RenewHealth portfolio, and technical guidance to focus current and future priorities.

• In collaboration with the COP and COP, provides technical direction in the strategic planning for and oversight of the implementation of RenewHealth’s MERLA activities.

• Provides technical assistance to OH and to implementing partners in the development of Performance Monitoring Plans (PMPs).

• Oversees complex quantitative and qualitative data analysis, including but not limited to factors attributed to project performance or non-performance, project effectiveness and cost effectiveness analysis, and geo-spatial analysis.

• Stays abreast of current best practices in strategic information, MERLA, especially regarding performance monitoring, program-level data gathering and validation, trend monitoring and reporting, implementation of evaluations, management information systems, surveillance systems and surveys.

• Provides strategic and consultative support to the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and Component Leads to ensure that RenewHealth priorities are implemented comprehensively, coherently and consistently.

• Represents the project in MERLA-related meetings with USAID and other stakeholders

B. Project Management and Reporting

• In collaboration with the COP and DCOP, develops conceptual and design frameworks for MERLA activities.

• Provides programmatic, technical and administrative input on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of project activities. Provides day-to-day financial and programmatic oversight of MERLA activities to ensure they achieve anticipated results and are linked to RenewHealth’s development objectives.

• Makes programmatic recommendations based on observations, assessment reports, performance statistics and other available data and information.

• Leads completion and oversight of all reports specified in the Cooperative Agreement with USAID

• Ensures reporting in relevant USAID M&E databases

• Analyzes programmatic and survey data to identify patterns and trends, and develops and uses print and video tools to present information in an easy and comprehensible way.

• Contributes to the development of regular and ad-hoc progress reports and other data calls.

C. Team Management and Supervision

• Conducts regular site visits to provide technical support and guidance on MERLA activities for the RenewHealth portfolio.

• Mentors and guides MERLA Team, including field META Officers in the performance of their duties, and reviews their technical outputs. Also advises project team and working groups on planning, designing, and implementing evaluation plans.

• Supervises MERLA staff as well as those employed through institutional contracts.

• Other duties as assigned by COP

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in health, law, political science, international relations, social sciences or related field.
• At least 10 years of previous experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning, knowledge management, CLA preferably in USAID projects.
• Leadership and supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated experience with computer and/or web-based performance data recording and reporting systems and other technologies that improve the quality of monitoring system integrity and data collection/analysis/reporting/visualization.
• Demonstrated experience conducting social science research.
• Computer literacy, with ability to analyze and interpret data using Excel, online reporting tools, or statistical packages.
• Experience and in-depth knowledge and familiarity with USAID development sector priorities and reporting requirements; experience with programs focused on health impact considered highly desirable.
• Ability to work effectively, responsively, and collaboratively with government counterparts such as government ministries, development and private sector partners, civil society organizations, private sector, and academic/research institutions.
• Excellent management, communication, organizational skills and attention to detail
• Flexibility and capacity to multi-task.
• Possesses the required oral, written communication, presentations skills.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Unless you specify otherwise, your CV will be retained to be considered for future opportunities.
URC is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.
We value and seek diversity in our workforce.