Regional Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator – Senegal

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with communities striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in more than 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we are ensuring every person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their true potential.

Helen Keller is a Monitoring and Evaluation coordinators to provide technical guidance and mentorship to project staff in an assigned portfolio of African countries. The Coordinator will be responsible for the implementation of a standard monitoring & evaluation (M&E) system across their assigned portfolio.

This is a local hire position to be based in one of Helen Keller’s country offices. Compensation and benefits will be at the Grade L range in the relevant Africa country office and all local terms and conditions will apply.

Functional Relationships
The Coordinator will be a member of the regional M&E Team. Reporting to the Regional M&E Advisor for Africa, the Coordinator will work closely with a second monitoring and evaluation coordinator, the country office M&E focal points, and country office leadership as needed. S/he will also work with members of the global program team supporting projects, and join working groups on various issues related to M&E. The coordinator may also represent the organization at conferences and at meetings with donors.

Helen Keller has a matrixed reporting structure. Regular communication and a spirit of teamwork among colleagues, both hierarchically and laterally are essential to make this structure thrive.

Scope of Position

The Coordinator provide technical support and mentorship to country teams in the design, implementation, and use of performance monitoring systems, including system architecture and data flows. S/he will help implement standards for monitoring across projects, and support country teams to adhere to these standards. As members of the global support team, the Coordinator will support nuanced analysis of project data to generate evidence on regional impact and to improve program implementation. S/he will advise field and global support teams on data analysis and visualization, coaching staff to tell stories with their data.

This position will contribute to Helen Keller’s global M&E Community of Practice and will contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of our minimum program standards (MPSs) related to M&E. The position will be based in an African country where Helen Keller has an office and require at least 25 percent travel, primarily in Africa.

Key Responsibilities

Harmonization and coordination of M&E systems and tools

• Provide technical expertise in monitoring to country teams to:
  • develop theories of change for all projects;
  • select indicators for the project to document program impact, meet donor requirements, and contribute to Helen Keller’s strategic metrics;
  • describe the main data sources and methods used to collect data;
  • establish a clear information flow and reporting and aggregation structure; and define data quality assurance measures and data management procedures.
• Contribute to the continuous development of standard M&E protocols and indicators across similar projects, and support country teams to adhere to these.
• Review program data on a regular basis with the country M&E Coordinator to ensure data quality.
• Contribute to the development of a common indicator system within each country to assess country level, in additional to regional, progress towards impact goals.
• Encourage an M&E culture of ‘data for decision-making’ with regional and country colleagues to foster the use of information generated for program management, quality and performance improvement, and advocacy.

Dissemination and use of monitoring information

• Review reports generated by program teams to check for accuracy and completeness, and aid teams in completion of reports where supports are needed.
• In rotation with colleagues, regularly lead discussions with the M&E community of practice which includes representatives from each country office. As part of this, proactively share information across countries and expand the sharing of learning with other countries where Helen Keller has similar programs.
• Initiate a conversation with country office leadership and M&E staff to identify learning products. Review data with country offices to identify key findings from projects for dissemination. Aid staff writer or editor with relevant data as assigned.
• Review and compile country-level monitoring data on a bi-annual basis. Promote integration of M&E issues and lessons learned in all relevant meetings. Identify problems emergent from data analysis and brainstorm solutions or escalate to senior staff as needed.

Staff development and matrixed management

• Train and build capacity of country-level M&E staff in the principles of monitoring and in the use of data for program decision-making though the community of practice and during one-on-one coaching.
• Work with learning and development staff to identify learning needs and resources available.
• Contribute to recruitment and ongoing supervision and evaluation of M&E staff and contribute to an atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development.
• Model collaboration for the matrixed project teams: effectively consult and inform colleagues to maximize efficiency and knowledge sharing and integrate guidance and direction from subject matter experts in your office and elsewhere in the global organization to maximize performance.

Qualifications & competencies

• Graduate degree in epidemiology, statistics or in public health with a minimum of 6-8 years progressively responsible international measurement, evaluation, and research experience for large and complex projects, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in measurement, evaluation, and learning in a range of technical areas across the public health spectrum (e.g., nutrition, food security, agriculture, maternal, neonatal, and child health; health systems strengthening).
• Demonstrated ability to provide impactful technical support that enables staff to grow their skills and to collaborate effectively without direct line management.
• Ability to clearly communicate data insights through data visualizations, interactive charts, and dashboards. Experience with digital and real-time measurement systems preferred.
• Critical thinking skills and documented experience identifying “key” challenges and propose solutions; Ability to identify trends and themes/narrative in the data that translate to actionable change/solutions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including active listening skills, the ability to communicate effectively across cultures, to negotiate effectively with internal and external colleagues.
• Highly computer literate including knowledge of data management systems (e.g., DHIS2, Comcare, KoboCollect, ONA, Excel) and Microsoft office suite (Word; PowerPoint; Outlook Excel skills pivot tables)
• Ability to perform duties that require very close attention to detail and synthesize large amounts of information effectively.
• String writing and editing skills are a strong plus.
• Fluency in English is required. Written proficiency in English is required for francophone candidates; proficiency of French is an asset. Knowledge of any African languages spoken in Helen Keller countries is preferred.
• Ability to prioritize workload, assume responsibility for work, and follow through to completion.
• Ability and willingness to work under pressure with a positive attitude, as a part of a global team. Collaborative, flexible and solution oriented.
• Demonstrable respect for all persons regardless of religion, ethnicity, class or gender, with a high comfort level working in a diverse environment with a demonstrated commitment to high professional ethical standards.
• Commitment to Helen Keller Intl’s work and mission.
• Ability and willingness to flex work hours to accommodate multiple time zones.
• Ability and willingness to travel 25-35% as allowable to support roll out of monitoring system. (Up to date Covid vaccination status required for travel.)