Director of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)/ Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability & Learning (MEAL) Specialist

Salary: Based on candidate needs and industry standard
Contract: 6 Months (extension contingent on performance)
Location: Preferably based in Jaipur or Delhi

Application: Please apply here by the 15th of July 2024

Travel: Program Districts (2-10 times a year)

About Ansh

Ansh, a Charity Entrepreneurship incubated charity, is dedicated to saving newborn lives by building healthcare capacity in government district hospitals in India. Our mission is to create a scalable and cost-effective model that implements Kangaroo care and other impact focused newborn care practices such as breastfeeding counselling, monitoring of danger signs, IPC (Infection Prevention and Control) measures, counselling in best newborn care practices and closely working with the hospital on making these services long-term and sustainable.

Our main intervention is Kangaroo Care, a highly cost-effective and scientifically proven intervention for saving newborn lives. Kangaroo Care has three components:

Skin-to-Skin Contact: Skin-to-skin contact with the mother regulates the infant’s body temperature, reducing hypothermia
Close Monitoring: Monitoring mothers and newborns for danger signs
Exclusive Breastfeeding: Exclusive breastfeeding provides benefits to the infant's immune system and help in weight gain

Currently, we have 24 on-ground full-time staff delivering our programs in two hospitals—Pali District Hospital and Baran District Hospital of Rajasthan—with the aim to replicate and adapt this model for broader implementation in public health systems.

We run two KMC programs in both of our hospitals:

KMC in Post Natal Care (PNC) Ward Program for Stable Low Birth Weight and Preterm Newborns
Early Initiation of KMC in Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) Program for Unstable Low Birth Weight and Preterm Newborns

Main model components are:

Repurpose some space in the health facilities and create dedicated space for Kangaroo Care
Recruit health workers to act as dedicated Kangaroo Care counsellors for mothers
Provide training to clinicians and nurses on supporting and managing kangaroo care and other components of the program
Follow up with mothers after discharge to ensure continued behavioural change and monitor the newborn for any danger signs

Please go here to know more about our values, advisors, and partners.

Position Overview

Ansh is seeking a dedicated and experienced professional to join our team as either a Director of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) or a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) Specialist. The role will be tailored to the successful candidate’s experience and qualifications. This position will be responsible for developing, implementing, and managing comprehensive M&E/MEAL systems to track and assess the performance and impact of Ansh’s programs, ensuring data-driven decision-making, continuous improvement, and accountability.

Monitoring and Quality Assurance

You will be responsible for monitoring and ensuring the quality of our programs. This will involve working closely with M&E coordinators and program teams to address and resolve quality issues on the ground effectively and promptly.

Evaluation

You will analyse program data to assess progress and outcomes, focusing primarily on metrics such as lives saved. This will involve using various methods and metrics to gain a comprehensive understanding of program impact.

The role will involve working with a range of colleagues including the Co-Founder, Programme Managers and Coordinators on ground, as well as engaging with our partners and advisors (such as academics, tech partners and research institutions).

Key Responsibilities

Working with the Co-founder and Program Team to come up with research questions and hypotheses which we should be testing (and are not already testing) with the aim of increasing our programmes’ impact at scale. Testing these hypotheses (including with inputs/advice from our network of partners where useful) and deciding which changes we should make to our programming as a result.
Leading the collection of baseline data from our districts to conduct impact evaluations of our programmes (most likely using a pre-post study design, and also exploring the strengths and limitations of the data for such an analysis).
Overseeing the collection and management of program data. Ensuring data quality, accuracy, and integrity through regular audits and validation processes.
Analysing program data and presenting data-driven insights and recommendations to inform program planning and decision-making.
Training and supporting program staff and partners in M&E/MEAL methodologies, tools, and best practices and foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement within the organisation.
Lead qualitative and quantitative research studies to generate evidence on program outcomes and best practices.
Ensure compliance with data protection laws, organisational policies, and ethical standards in M&E/MEAL activities.

Who Should Apply?

You’re highly motivated by the impact of the role, and this will guide your day-to-day decision-making. You want to see your work having a clear impact in the real world, not just sitting in a journal.
You have a degree or equivalent experience in economics, development economics, public health, public policy, statistics or a related field. Ideally, you’ll have both a master’s degree and some experience working in India on health/development projects, but these are not hard requirements. We are more interested in how fast you grow than where you start from.
You have a strong foundation in analytical skills. These skills should include both a strong aptitude for critical thinking and an ability to analyse multiple types of data.
You’re interested in sceptical truth-seeking to really understand what’s going on.
You are high-agency - you will be proactive about exploring questions, identifying considered ways that we could make our work more impactful, and making them happen.
You excel at both focused, independent, self-driven work and collaborative projects requiring coordination and teamwork.
You are familiar with Microsoft® Office applications (including Excel and Access) and a statistical package, such as Statistical Package for the Social Sciences® (SPSS)
Experience with Commcare/Dimagi is a plus.

Why should you apply?

Your work will save lives.
You’ll get to nerd out on in-depth MEL work whilst also contributing across a range of connected areas (e.g. strategy, programme delivery, operations, tech). Your work will actively feed into organisational decision-making.
You’ll have lots of autonomy, contributing to decisions about which areas of investigation we should prioritise, with high flexibility about how/when/where you work.
You’ll be part of a mission-driven, impact-focused organisation with strong values, delivering programmes grounded in evidence.
It’s a high-leverage role in a young organisation. We are aiming for huge growth of our programmes and impact in the coming years, so there are plenty of opportunities for outsized personal impact.
Salary will be competitive with other nonprofit salaries, and in line with the experience and responsibilities of the selected candidate.
Benefits include 30 days’ paid holiday leave per year at full pay.

Hiring Process

If this all sounds exciting, please fill out this form to confirm your interest in the role. We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis and progressing candidates to the next stage. The final cut-off dates for each stage beyond which we won't assess any candidates for that stage are below:

Application Deadline: 15th July

Screening Call: Till 20th July

Test Task Deadline: Till 25th July

Interviews: Till 31st July

Expected start date: 1st August