Consultant, MLE Strategy

Evidence Action

5d•Remote

About The Position

Evidence Action is developing a Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) pilot in either Liberia or Cameroon (country to be selected following scoping), focused on providing technical assistance to health systems to increase KMC coverage, improve KMC initiation timing, and minimize mother-infant separation during hospitalization. The pilot will span a maximum of 12 months between pilot preparation, execution, and analysis and scale evaluation. Reporting to the Global Director of MLE Strategy, you will design, develop, and implement the MLE system for the KMC pilot, with a focus on two primary functions: (1) MLE system design and tool development, and (2) data analysis and reporting, in close coordination with global and country teams.

Requirements

Advanced degree in public health, epidemiology, statistics, public policy, or a related field.
Minimum 5 years of MLE experience in global health programs, with demonstrated experience designing and implementing MLE systems for facility-based and community-based health programs in low- and middle-income countries.
Strong quantitative skills, including experience with sampling design, survey implementation, and data analysis (proficiency in Stata or equivalent required).
Experience developing data quality assessment and verification methodologies.
Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage MLE workstreams with limited in-country support.
Excellent written communication skills, including experience producing clear, decision-oriented reports for program and donor audiences.
Legally authorized to work as a consultant in their country of residence.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and implement the MLE system for the KMC pilot.
Develop MLE frameworks and strategies that improve programs and further our understanding of programmatic impact.
Design in-country formative research, including development of data collection tools (structured observation guides, health worker, caregiver, and community health worker interview guides) to assess bedside log reliability and feasibility of proposed data systems.
Support or lead in-country data collection and analysis for formative research.
Finalize the evaluation framework in collaboration with the Global MLE-S team and in alignment with the Global program team and country team, including indicator definitions, sampling approach, sample size calculations, evaluation methodology, and data flow documentation.
Design a process monitoring approach to track implementation fidelity at pilot facilities, including a schedule of data quality spot-checks and structured check-ins with facility focal points.
Develop all data collection instruments ready for piloting: bedside log and neonatal register additions, daily ward summary templates, facility survey instruments (baseline, endline), and data validation tools; include community survey instruments if community-level coverage data is determined to be a priority during the framework design.
Oversee pilot-testing of all data collection instruments, make revisions as needed, and produce data quality assurance protocols including data verification approaches.
Oversee baseline survey implementation including enumerator training and quality monitoring; deliver a baseline report with findings and implications for program design.
Implement the process monitoring approach designed in Phase 1, producing summary outputs for the program team at the frequency established in the design.
Oversee endline facility survey implementation including enumerator training and quality monitoring; conduct data validation exercises to assess the accuracy and completeness of KMC data captured across facility source documents (bedside logs, neonatal registers, and ward summaries).
Produce reports covering facility-level KMC coverage, implementation quality indicators, and adjusted program estimates, as well as data quality dashboards for government partner review meetings as needed.
Support production of the pilot report, including evaluation analysis, data quality findings, cost-effectiveness inputs, and recommendations for program adaptation and scale-up decisions.
Contribute to a synthesis covering what worked, what did not, and what would need to change for Phase 2.
Participate in regular coordination meetings with the Global MLE-S team and country program team, including scheduled check-ins and ad hoc calls as needed.
Contribute MLE inputs to government partnership discussions and MOU development throughout the program.
Flag emerging issues, timeline risks, or scope changes proactively to the Global MLE Strategy Director.
Accommodate periodic meetings across West Africa and US Eastern time zones as agreed with the team.