NGO Evidence and Impact Officer Job in Lodwar, Turkana, Kenya

Job Description
               
Position: Evidence and Impact Officer
 

Location: Lodwar, Turkana
 

Department: Programmes
 

Reports to: Project Health Coordinator, Turkana
 

Technically reports to: Monitoring and Evaluation Manager
 

Relationships internally: All programme and support staff
 

Relationships externally: MoMS/MoPHS personnel, other governmental, UN agencies counterparts.

Background
 

Merlin is a UK humanitarian agency which responds worldwide with vital healthcare and medical relief for vulnerable people caught up in natural disasters, conflict, and health systems collapse. 

Merlin has been working in Kenya since 1998 and currently is operational in two regions of the country: the Western Highlands and Northern Kenya.

Although there are many innovative approaches and strategies employed by various partners with an aim of improving on the quality of services provided, these strategies and approaches are not systematically documented and/or shared.  

Additionally, most nutrition interventions are implemented at the health-facility level, and linking the outcomes/impact of these interventions to improvements in nutrition indicators at the community level is inadequately done.

Main Purpose of the Role
 

The Evidence and Impact Officer (EIO) will work with senior programme and M&E colleagues in Lodwar and Nairobi to conduct focused studies that will enable Merlin Kenya to understand the effect of specific health and nutrition activities. 

The EIO will produce clear reports that will be able to be used in Merlin’s own programming decision-making as well as by our governmental and donor partners. 

The data and analyses in these reports will contribute to Kenya’s country targets and Merlin’s global outcomes via the Kenya Country Monitoring Plan as well as to achieving Kenya’s Accountability Action Plan.

He/she will focus on the documentation of best practices/lessons learned in regard to the approaches and strategies used in nutrition interventions as well as the outcomes of these interventions. 

This is aimed at informing the sector on the effectiveness and value of different nutrition approaches/ strategies and also in identifying areas that would require more focus so as to not only improve on the quality of the services provided but also on the nutritional status of the communities served.

The EIO’s work will facilitate a greater understanding of the need and logic for evidence-based programming, including supporting the creation of a clear plan of what the Merlin Turkana programme wants to achieve and how this can be measured and demonstrated.

Objectives and Responsibilities

Overall

• Drive and implement a series of desk reviews, surveys and analyses that provide Merlin with a clearer understanding of its contribution to wider impacts on health and health seeking behaviours.
• Work with senior colleagues to ensure that this information is available and used in Merlin’s programme decision-making.
• Facilitate a clear outline for the Turkana programme of what change it wants to achieve, how this will be measured and demonstrated and for what purposes (i.e. how programming will be improved/adapted based on evidenced change).
• Hold regular findings sessions for project staff and those involved in the surveys/assessment to inform, feedback and plan future actions/adaptations.
• Contribute to creating an evidence base on which to track and demonstrate progress against Kenya’s country targets and Merlin’s global outcomes (against the global and country strategies).
• Be fully engaged with the process of achieving and demonstrating results via the Merlin Kenya Country Monitoring Plan and Accountability Action Plan.
• Develop links and agree on formats for sharing this information with Merlin’s partners and donors.
• Participate in the Nutrition Information Working Group at national level and contribute to the preparation of the quarterly bulletin or provide articles for inclusion in the quarterly bulletins.
• In collaboration with the DHRO/DNO/CHS focal person, assess the linkages of information system from community level to the national level and  identify areas that require increased  focus/strengthening.

Data collection

• Work with programme and M&E staff to identify available output and outcome data.
• Identify data needed to conduct studies (e.g., attendance records of facility staff) and collect it.

Surveys and research

• Work with senior programme and M&E staff in Lodwar and Nairobi to design appropriate surveys and research processes to establish baselines and fill information gaps.
• Facilitate and conduct agreed surveys and research.
• Engage/coordinate externally with other INGOs, local NGOs, other actors on how to meaningfully measure and demonstrate contributions to impact.

Analysis

• Analyze and summarize data collated and collected through surveys or existing M&E processes.
• Provide timely and accurate analysis to enable timely decision-making.
• Work with programme and M&E staff to ensure that Merlin’s regular internal and external reporting includes analysis of contributions to outcome and impact.
• In collaboration with the DNO/DHRIO/NSOs, support the analysis and interpretation of nutrition data and advocate for its consumption at the county level.
• Contribute to updating of the Turkana county profile posted on the nutrition website.
• Work closely with the county Nutrition Technical Forum (NTF) by liaising with the health, nutrition, WASH, food security, and livelihoods sectors to develop a regular means of collecting and triangulating information, which in turn is expected to strengthen the early warning system in the county.

Reporting and dissemination

• Produce clear reports of data analysis, survey, and research results.
• Engage with partners and donors to ensure report formats meet their needs.
• Document and share lessons learned and best practices in nutrition programming including but not limited to disaster risk reduction/resilience (DRR), high-impact nutrition interventions (HiNi – focus on the strategies, approaches and possible outcomes). The information will be shared during bi-annual UNICEF partner review, national NTF, or county NTF meetings.
• Document the linkages/opportunities with other sectors at the county level and how these linkages are addressing DRR.
• Produce  detailed documentation/articles  to be used by the nutrition sector in decision-making in line with the  sector’s strategies and priorities at the county and national level.

Deliverables

• At least two documentation/articles on the best practices/approaches shared annually.
• At least one presentation annually on the best practices done either at the UNICEF bi-annual partner review meeting or at national NTF meetings.
• At least one article in the nutrition bulletin annually.
• Updated county profiles.

Qualifications and Skills

• Degree in public health, biostatistics, or epidemiology from a recognized academic institution, with a strong preference for a master’s degree.
• A minimum of two years of direct experience designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting health and nutrition studies in developing countries.
• Experience in qualitative and quantitative M&E methodologies for health and nutrition projects, including participatory and quasi-experimental evaluation designs that incorporate rigorous statistical methods.
• Experience with and demonstrable understanding of the importance of community engagement and participation in project design, implementation, and evaluation.
• Experience of effectively using statistical analysis software, including at least two of MS Excel, EpiInfo, Stata, and SPSS.
• Able to live and work in Turkana’s harsh environment.
• Oral and written fluency in English; fluent Swahili strongly preferred and ability to speak Turkana a bonus.
• Good communication skills and interpersonal relationships.
• Committed and experienced in working in multi-cultural settings.

How to Apply fr this Kenyan Job: 

Should this role be of interest to you, please send your applications to recruitment@merlin-kenya.org by 5pm on Friday, 24th August 2012.

Alternatively, you may wish to post your application to, HR Department, Merlin, Nairobi Office, P.O Box 3350 – 00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.