Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Lead at Wezesha | September 2024

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Job Description

Wezesha’s vision is to create a world where citizens and governments build high quality public services together. We’re on a mission to empower and connect citizens and governments to transform public services through digital engagement platforms. We’ve begun our work in Tanzania and focused on the healthcare sector.

We believe that citizen feedback can be used to support and improve decision making at all levels within the public sector. We believe that sustainable change will ultimately be achieved through building trusting relationships between the government, public services and their users. 

Our approach is to establish nationally scaled digital citizen engagement platforms, which generate meaningful insights based on large scale data collected directly from citizens. These insights are shared with government stakeholders on a real time and systematic basis to support decision making across the government, in a highly cost effective manner.

We are inspired by rigorous academic research which shows that citizen feedback can deliver significant improvements in health outcomes. Over the next 3-years our goal is to support the government to scale the platform nationally, embed it within the government healthcare system and expand into new markets and sectors

Position Overview

Wezesha is seeking an experienced and motivated Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Lead to join our team. This is an opportunity to join a rapidly-growing, early-stage organisation and take on the responsibility for shaping our MEL strategy and deliver world-class research and publications. The MEL Lead will be responsible for designing, implementing, and managing monitoring and evaluation systems to measure the impact of our citizen feedback programs in the Tanzanian healthcare system. The ideal candidate will have technical expertise in monitoring and evaluation methods, exceptional report-writing skills, and significant experience in managing research teams, RCT implementation and publishing research papers.

Key Responsibilities

Design and Implementation:

  • Develop and oversee the implementation of MEL frameworks and strategies to assess the effectiveness and impact of Wezesha’s programs.
  • Design and implement quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, methodologies, and protocols to ensure high-quality, accurate data collection.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
  • Conduct thorough data analysis to generate insights and inform frequent program improvements
  • Design and maintain automated, real-time program monitoring dashboards to display key quantitative performance metrics
  • Produce high-quality program reports, including evaluation reports, research papers, and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.

Research and Publications:

  • Lead the design and execution of rigorous research studies, including RCTs, in collaboration with external researchers, evaluators and government
  • Manage the publication process of research findings in peer-reviewed journals and other relevant platforms.
Team Management:
  • Supervise and mentor a team of MEL staff and research assistants, fostering a collaborative and productive working environment.
  • Provide training and capacity-building for staff on MEL best practices and methodologies.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement:

  • Establish and maintain all research-related communication across a broad set of stakeholders, including Government officials, external academics and Principal Investigators, national and international research institutions and internal staff
  • Manage the independent data collection firm through coordinating execution of key activities and communications in a timely manner
  • Manage the process of securing all relevant research approvals including from ethics committees and government agencies.
  • Collaborate with Program teams to integrate MEL activities into program design and implementation.
  • Engage with external partners, donors, and stakeholders to communicate findings and support the dissemination of results.

Qualifications

Education:

  • Degree or higher in Public Health, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Statistics, or a related field. Preference for Master’s Degree.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, with a strong focus on health programs.
  • Proven track record in managing research teams and conducting high-quality research, including RCTs.
  • Demonstrated experience in writing and publishing research papers in peer-reviewed journals.(preferred)

Technical Skills:

  • Proficiency in statistical and data analysis software packages (e.g., SPSS, Stata, R)
  • Experience designing and using data visualisation tools, preferably including BI tools such as PowerBI, Tableau
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights.

Communication Skills:

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; proficiency in Swahili is a strong advantage.
  • Ability to produce clear, concise, and comprehensive reports and presentations.

Other Skills:

  • Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
  • High level of attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality work.
  • Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
  • Stakeholder management across researchers and government (preferred)

Application Process

Interested candidates are invited to submit their CV, a cover letter detailing their relevant experience, and a writing sample of an academic/research paper or report they have authored to careers@wezesha.or.tz by  07th October 2024 with the subject line: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Lead. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Wezesha is an equal-opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.