Summary
Date Posted: Thursday, December 19, 2019 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Accelerating the Su¬stainable Control and Elimination of NTDs (ASCEND) is a £200 million invest¬ment from the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID), to advance the impact and su¬stainability of national programmes tackling neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). ASCEND lot 1 (Asia, East and Southern Africa) is implemented by a consortium of technical partners led by Crown Agents, including Abt Associates, Oriole Global Health and the Royal Tropical Inst¬itute. Central to ASCEND 1’s approach is a close collaboration with the Zambian Government and other implementing partners, to enhance the national approach to NTD control and elimination. In Zambia, ASCEND is anchored on the following broad areas of intervention: (i) Treatment and prevention of disability (ii) Strengthening of the national health system (iii) Data management for targeting and monitoring (iv) Cross-sectoral collaboration, in particular within the health sector and WASH/BCC sectors.
Across all of these areas, ASCEND is committed to the principles of ensuring no-one is left behind and as such is required to capture data disaggregated by gender, age, disability and geographic location. DFID has contracted Crown Agents together with its consortium partners to act as Fund Manager for ASCEND in Zambia. Therefore, Crown Agents will work with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to support the immediate procurement of services from Implementing Partners (IPs) that will further the above-stated objectives of ASCEND in the country.
The MEL Advisor will be seconded to the NTD Unit in the Ministry of Health and will oversee and support all the monitoring, evaluation and learning activities of the NTD unit. He/She will be responsible for implementing the country MEL framework as outlined in the ASCEND MEL strategy and build the capacity of the MoH staff and partners in all aspects of MEL.The MEL Advisor will be reporting to the ASCEND Country Lead and the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Manager.
Scope of work
The MEL Advisor will be seconded to the NTD Unit in the Ministry of Health and will oversee and support all the monitoring, evaluation and learning activities of the NTD unit. He/She will be responsible for implementing the country MEL framework as outlined in the ASCEND MEL strategy and build the capacity of the MoH staff and partners in all aspects of MEL.The MEL Advisor will be reporting to the ASCEND Country Lead and the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Manager. .

Job Responsibilities:
• Lead all MEL initiatives for the ASCEND project including monitoring data quality, tracking the progress of activities, collect and report key indicators as required for the monitoring of the ASCEND log-frame and informing staff capacity building initiatives (including cross cutting activities which are not necessarily carried out by the MOH, and that focus on WASH, BCC and Leave No One Behind).
• Ensure that data collected is disaggregated by age, gender, disability and geographic location.
• Identify the training needs of the MEL and the information officers and for all implementing partners then coach, train and mentor as needed.
• Coordinate training activities and provide technical assistance to the MEL officers and the health Information Officers as well as NTD staff both at the national and district level
• Support the development and implementation of the M&E Framework/plan as well as the monitoring procedures and tools as required by the MoH and agreed upon by the ASCEND consortiums.
• Facilitate and support the MoH in data collection and the flow of data within project field teams to inform quality programming.
• Support the NTD Unit to perform supervision field visits to ensure the validation and verification of the data collected for accuracy in reporting.
• Contribute routine data into the regular program and technical reports for the Country and for informing day to day programme management.
• Collecting and reporting data for evaluation of epidemiological impact and progress towards control goals.
• Support the development and implementation of monitoring procedures and tools as required by the MoH and agreed upon by the ASCEND consortium, including tools and procedures to adequately capture data disaggregated by gender, age, disability and geographical location.
• In collaboration with the NTD disease focal points and the specific project teams, ensure quality and timely reporting and documentation of the project activities.
• In collaboration with the NTD disease focal points and specific project teams, analyse available data to assess which populations are at risk of being left behind.
• Support quarterly and annual reporting requirements of the ASCEND consortium;
• Support operational research endeavours, documentation and evidence to guide innovative approaches to NTD programme interventions in collaboration with external partners, including ASCEND.
• Provide support, as appropriate, into NTD research concept notes, protocols, ethics applications, data analysis, reporting and drafting papers for publication as needed;
• Apply the learning from M&E activities into improved work planning and project activities.
• Support the development of NTD M&E framework and integration of NTD indicators into the DHIS2 and HMIS infrastructure for ease of tracking and evaluation.
• Support the development and deployment of mHealth-based data capturing tools/phones and management including and not limited to ODK.
• Contribute monitoring data into the regular program and technical reports for the Country and for informing day to day programme management.
• Training on NTD data collection, GIS mapping techniques, analysis and planning, interventions at district and health facility levels.
• Prepare presentations on the use of information systems to collect, store, use and share data as well as the programmatic activities that generate and use these data.
• Support the Ministry of health to compile Sub-National NTD data for submission to ESPEN in support of NTD control and elimination
• Undertake any tasks as maybe assigned by the NTD Manager and the ASCEND Country Lead.

Job Skills:
• Ability to build strong working relationships to enable effective management of partnerships and work collaboratively as part of a global team.
• Ability to deliver group-training sessions and build capacity in developing country contexts.
• Ability to gather and analyse complex sets of data is critical
• People management skills with a robust diplomatic understanding of culturally and ethnically sensitive issues.
• Strong communication skills as proven by past work experience.
• Willingness to travel and to conduct regular field visits.
• English fluency (required).

Job Qualifications:
• Master of Public Health or Statistics with specialisation in statistics and/or epidemiology.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of large-scale health programmes, including experience in data management of NTD survey activities (TAS/IA/Coverage surveys) is essential.
• Experience with digital health information systems is essential (DHIS2).
• Working knowledge of NTD diseases is essential, experience in NTD research is preferred.
• Experience in design and programming of m-Health surveys and applications, including training of surveyors (Essential).
• Post graduate training in M&E and prior M&E training is preferred.
• Experience in data collection and reporting tool development (Essential).
• Excellent excel data analysis skills
• At least five (5) years working experience in monitoring and evaluation of health programmes.
• Experience in conducting both qualitative and quantative research studies and written reports
• Knowledgeable of the health systems and Country’s Health Systems
• Experience of producing data disaggregated by age, gender, disability and geographic location is a considerable advantage.
• Experience of working at district, provincial and national level in the Zambian health system is an added advantagee.

Job Education Requirements:
• Master of Public Health or Statistics with specialization in statistics and/or epidemiology.

Job Experience Requirements: Not Specified

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Job application procedure
Suitable and qualified candidates should email one document combining an application letter and CV to recruitment@ascend.crownagents.com  on or before 2nd January 2020. The subject of the email should read MEL Advisor (Zambia). Do not attach certificates and testimonials. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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