Operations Research Advisor at Marie Stopes International

Marie Stopes International ia a Social Business, which uses modern management and marketing techniques to provide reproductive health care and allied services. MSION's goal is to meet the needs of underserved Nigerians and dramatically improve access and use of a range of reproductive health services. MSION is part of Marie Stopes International’s Global Partnership which is in over 40 countries worldwide.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Operations Research Advisor

Location: Abuja
Duration of contract: 2 years
Probationary period: 6 months

Responsibilities
Lead MSION Operations Researches:

• Represent MSION technical expertise in professional circles through meetings, conferences and presentations
• Develop and maintain professional relationships with colleagues and donors in country, region or worldwide networks
• Guide the design, implementation and continual refinement of all operational researches in MSION in consultation with the RME Manager
• Contribute to the development of knowledge management processes to ensure that the M&E system, tools and methods provide statistical and analytical validation of PRISM.
• Provide input into the development of a web-based M&E management system that supports M&E data entry, management, analysis and reporting; facilitates M&E knowledge management and knowledge sharing; and improves communications.
• Identify opportunities for and provide technical assistance in design and implementation of Operations Research studies.

Participate in Research Activities:

• Strengthen organizational capacity in application of state of the art M&E methods and techniques, including program/project/study design
• Closely collaborate with staff and/or facilitate the design of programs, projects, and studies, including review and provision of feedback on selected program/project/study designs, survey methodology and findings; performance monitoring plans, evaluation methodology and findings.
• Assist in the coordination, design and implementation of selected project mid-term and final evaluations
• Assist in writing, developing, and/or reviewing project proposals, detailed implementation plans, and abstracts for submission to conferences and publications.

Support monitoring and evaluation activities:

• Technical and experiential knowledge of the range of applied research and monitoring and evaluation techniques, including the relationship of information systems to program, field, and global initiatives
• Ability to program in SPSS, Epi-info, STATA, Microsoft Access, and other research related applications
• Support on-going indicator monitoring.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, or related Social Science
• Strong technical skills, including ability to process and analyse data using one or more statistical software packages, including at least one of the following: SPSS, Epi-Info, Stata, MS Access
• In-depth understanding of evolving international health funding priorities, technical state-of-the-art thinking and priorities, and program development roles and opportunities
• Superior verbal, written and presentation skills (English); strong verbal, written, and presentation skills
• Excellent management and organizational skills
• Ability and willingness to travel locally and internationally as require by work.

Experience & Skills:

• 5-6 years of experience working with international or local donor, aid, or development agencies in program Monitoring and Evaluation
• A proven positive track record working in M&E with NGOs, government or research institutions, and/or bi-lateral/multi-lateral organizations.
• A proven ability to develop, implement, analyse M&E data using statistical analysis software, regression analysis and other relevant forms of analysis.
• Computer expertise in MS Office, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SPSS, and other statistical analysis software.
• Fluent in in both written and spoken English
• Experience in public speaking and professional presentations
• Experience of conducting primary qualitative and quantitative research
• Experience with management of different sources of data and multiple indicators with proven ability to interpret verbal, written and numerical data
• Experience of data collation, entry, processing and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data sets
• Willingness and ability to undertake regular visits to facilities and support data reporting and documentation
• Must have excellent communication/interactive skills and must function well independently, as well as part of a team
• Experience with public and private health sectors in Nigeria
• Experience working on USAID, DFID and Gates funded programmes is an added advantage.
• At least 4-5 years of applied evaluation or research; design and implementation of information systems including but not limited to GPS, GIS (Essential);
• Development, field-testing and implementation of computer-based information systems (Desirable);
• Timely data analysis, synthesis, and communication of results (desirable);
• Design and implementation of evaluation protocols (Essential);
• Development and field-testing of data collection instruments for M&E indicators;
• Data collection planning and implementation (routine or survey) (Essential);
• Ability to Translate complex data systems and results to understandable lessons learned and action priorities for programmatic and other technical staff (Essential);
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform;
• Ability to interact professionally with established networks of senior-level international health professionals.
• Proficiency in MS Office particularly in DHIS2, SPSS/STATA/SAS, Epdata, and Ms Excel (Essential), MS Projects and ATLAS Ti/Nvivo, ArcGIS (Essential)
• Excellent technical report writing skills with evidence of publishing in revered journals (Essential)
• Excellent oral presentation skills including abstract presentations at conferences and to stakeholders (Essential)
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships across teams and organisations.

Attitude/Motivation:

• Proactive
• Coach/Mentor
• Team player
• Pro-Choice
• Ability to work with minimal supervision in a fast-paced professional environment.

Application Closing Date
29th March, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV's and suitability statement as a single attachment to: career@mariestopes.org.ng

Note

• Shortlisting will start as soon as we start receiving applications and deadline might be changed without prior notice.
• Female candidates are encouraged to apply.
• The subject of the email should be the POSITION TITLE/LOCATION and the CV/Suitability statement should be saved in the applicant's full name.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.