MEL Consultant at Malaria Consortium - 3 Openings

Established in 2003, Malaria Consortium is one of the world’s leading non-profit organisations specialising in the prevention, control and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases among vulnerable populations. Our mission is to save lives and improve health in Africa and Asia, through evidence-based programmes that combat targeted diseases and promote universal health coverage.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: MEL Consultant

Locations: Kogi, Plateau, Sokoto
Employment Type:

Purpose of the Consultancy

• There are two consultancies for this project:
  • Management of the entire pilot project to use the SMC platform to improve RI outcomes; and
  • Provision of high-quality Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) support for the SMC–RI intervention, ensuring systematic data collection, analysis, and documentation of findings to inform programme optimisation, policy, and scale-up discussions.
• This consultancy is explicitly focused on monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Consultants will work within an approved protocol and will not be responsible for programme implementation or protocol design.

Specific Objectives

• Support baseline and formative assessments to document RI context, caregiver knowledge, community structures, and operational assumptions prior to implementation.
• Monitor and document implementation of the three SMC–RI approaches across SMC cycles, focusing on feasibility, acceptability, and integration within routine workflows.
• Support per-cycle and end-of-cycle data collection to track RI-related exposure, awareness, referral experiences, and early outcome signals.
• Ensure high standards of data quality, ethical conduct, and safeguarding.
• Conduct endline assessment and comparative analysis across approaches and settings.
• Synthesize findings to generate actionable learning for stakeholders.

Scope of Work

• The consultancy covers project management, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) activities to assess the implementation of the SMC–Routine Immunisation (SMC–RI) intervention under routine programme conditions.
• The work will be implemented across selected LGAs in Plateau, Kogi, and Sokoto States and will include baseline assessment, monitoring during SMC cycles, and endline assessment.

Baseline and Formative Assessment:

• Support baseline and formative assessments prior to SMC delivery.
• Collect data on caregiver knowledge, perceptions, and community engagement structures.
• Establish baseline values for RI-related indicators.
• Conduct health facility readiness assessments covering vaccine availability, cold-chain functionality, staffing, scheduling, data tools, and referral processes.

Monitoring During SMC Implementation Cycles:

• Support per-cycle and end-of-cycle monitoring of SMC–RI activities.
• Document operational challenges, adaptations, and unintended effects.

Endline Assessment:

• Conduct endline assessments to measure changes in key indicators.
• Support comparative analysis across approaches and contexts.

Data Management, Analysis and Learning:

• Ensure high-quality data collection, validation, and secure management.
• Analyse quantitative and qualitative data.
• Synthesize findings on feasibility, acceptability, scalability, and cost considerations.

Reporting and Dissemination:

• Prepare technical reports, briefs, and presentations.
• Participate in debriefs and stakeholder learning discussions.

MEL Consultant:
The MEL Consultant will provide technical oversight for the MEL component of the SMC–RI intervention.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical oversight for baseline, per-cycle, and endline assessments.
• Review and finalize data collection tools and guidance.
• Lead training of State Consultants and Data Collectors.
• Oversee data quality assurance processes.
• Coordinate quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
• Lead drafting of baseline, endline, and consolidated reports.
• Present findings to stakeholders.

Methodology
The consultancy will employ mixed methods aligned with the MEL framework, including:

• Baseline and endline surveys
• Per-cycle survey modules integrated into SMC monitoring
• Review of administrative and digital data sources (e.g., DHIS2, SMC data)
• Qualitative check-ins with caregivers, community distributors, supervisors, and RI staff

Deliverables for MEL Consultant

• Lead two-day technical training in collaboration with the Senior M&E Officer and Project Management Consultant.
• Support training sessions for Data Collectors.
• Provide baseline and formative assessment summaries.
• Submit supervision and quality assurance reports.
• Provide per-cycle monitoring summaries.
• Support endline assessment inputs and validation.
• Supervise data collection using standardized quality checklists.
• Conduct real-time validation and troubleshooting of SurveyCTO data.

Reporting Outputs:

• Dataset Validation Summary
• Supervision Process Report, including:
  • Field successes and best practices
  • Operational challenges and mitigation strategies
  • Recommendations for future evaluations

Profile Requirements

• Postgraduate degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Economics, or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in monitoring and evaluation of public health programmes.
• Proven experience leading large-scale surveys and analytical reports.
• Experience in systems assessment and evaluation.
• Strong report writing and stakeholder communication skills.
• Good understanding of working in resource-constrained environments.

Application Closing Date
29th April, 2026 (5:00pm Wednesday). 

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Interested and qualified candidates who are passionate and willing to contribute towards the achievement of our goals should kindly fill the application form above
• Applicants who do not follow this specification will be disqualified.
• Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and as a result, the process may conclude before the advertised deadline. Therefore, early applications are highly encouraged.
• Malaria Consortium does not accept or ask for payment during recruitment. We also would not accept hardcopy CVs; all applications should be sent through the above link.
• Safeguarding: Malaria Consortium is committed to protecting children and vulnerable adults and ensuring that all staff, partners, and representatives uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct.
• Our Safeguarding Policy outlines our responsibility to prevent abuse, harassment, and exploitation in all areas of our work.
• We expect everyone working with us staff, consultants, volunteers, and partners to adhere to this policy and our Code of Conduct.
• By following these standards, we help create safe environments and reduce any risk of harm in the communities we serve.