The Role
At Last Mile Health (LMH), we dig data. Do you have experience leading innovative monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) for health system strengthening of global community health programs? If so, you may be our next MERL Specialist for Health System Strengthening.
The Global MERL team is building a robust system of measurement, evaluation, and learning to drive improvement of programmatic work at Last Mile Health. The MERL Specialist for Health System Strengthening will work with country teams to develop and implement MERL plans to measure and understand progress, outcomes, and impacts of health systems strengthening activities across Last Mile Health programs in Liberia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. MERL Plans will focus on technical assistance, health financing, health workforce strengthening, and advocacy. Reporting to the Global Director of MERL, the Specialist will collaborate with the country and global teams to understand program goals and implementation then bring responsive methods to assess and learn from progress towards reaching goals. To support data use and adaptive management, the MERL Specialist will analyze and share findings with country team programs, executive leadership, and identified external stakeholders including but not limited to LMH funders and Ministries of Health.
(This position is open to candidates located in Malawi, Liberia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and in the United States (preference to New York City and Boston but other locations may be considered). Candidates must have the ability to work in one of the countries listed above. Please note that our US offices are currently closed due to COVID 19 and all US-based staff are working remotely.
What You’ll Do
- Directly lead and/or provide technical leadership to develop and implement MERL plans for programs and activities related to health system strengthening, financing, health workforce, policy change, and advocacy.
- Engage program teams to ensure MERL plans are fit for purpose and responsive to programmatic priorities and learning needs.
- Develop organizational and country-level metrics to measure the sustainability of investments for community-based primary care and advocacy short and long-term impact of global and country-level advocacy activities.
- Lead or contribute to assessments of the health workforce and resource mapping.
- Collaborate on or contribute inputs for costing studies (e.g., cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit).
- Adapt or develop data collection tools (e.g., surveys, key informant interview guides, focus group guides) and implement those tools.
- Share findings with program teams and collaborate to use findings to refine strategies, strengthen programs, and improve activities.
- Support MERL activities as requested by MERL team leadership and work to strengthen organizational-wide knowledge of MERL.
- Provide effective coaching, mentorship and professional development related to MERL activities within the MERL team and across LMH to strengthen organizational-wide knowledge of MERL.
What You’ll Bring
- Several years of professional experience in public health and/or international development, specifically in MERL activities for health system strengthening, policy, health financing, and advocacy initiatives.
- Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Health Policy, Health Economics or other related field
- Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative MERL methods.
- Demonstrated experience applying equity principles to MERL activities.
- Experience developing MERL plans, reports, publications, whitepapers, toolkits, and factsheets.
- Demonstrated experience with stakeholder engagement and ability to collaborate with and provide technical support to internal teams and external partners, government counterparts.
- Demonstrated experience facilitating inclusive conversations with a range of stakeholders across geographies and cultural contexts.
- Deep knowledge of African health systems, health finance, health workforce, policy, and advocacy.
- Ability to communicate complex technical information to a wide variety of audiences
- Experience persuading stakeholders to adopt policies/programs strategically as aligned with the evidence and appropriate for the local context.
- Experience contributing to grant/proposal writing and reporting to donors.
You’ll Impress Us if
- You have experience collaborating with and coaching program/implementing teams to support data use.
- You have experience in global health or international development, specifically the continent of Africa is preferred.
- You have a Masters Degree in the areas of Public Health, Health Policy, Health Economics or a related field
Benefits Information
As LMH strives to increase transparency into our compensation principles we are highlighting below more details around our compensation policy and benefits associated with this position. In line with our compensation principles, this position will pay at the 50th to 60th percentile of the market to which you are employed. We look forward to answering any questions you may have during the hiring process.
Principles guiding our compensation policy:
- Data-Driven: We benchmark salaries against large datasets containing compensation data from organizations with whom we compete for talent. We benchmark salaries for specific roles and specific candidate experience.
- Competitive: Candidates should be paid the most competitive salaries possible for their position given budgetary constraints. We aim to pay above market, typically between the 50th-60th percentile of the market.
- Transparent: Compensation policies should be transparent and easily understood. We want all candidates to understand how we set salaries and to know we aim to pay competitively.
- Equitable: Compensation should be implemented consistently across candidates of different identities, teams, and geographies, while keeping into account the different talent markets and economies we operate in.
- Responsible: LMH needs to operate in a sustainable way and practice good stewardship of our resources.
About Last Mile Health
Last Mile Health partners with governments to design, scale, strengthen, and sustain high-quality community health systems, which empower teams of community and frontline health workers to bring life-saving primary healthcare to the world’s most remote communities. LMH is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization with offices in Liberia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Boston, and New York. For more information, visit www.lastmilehealth.org.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at LMH. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
How to apply:
Please submit your application here.