About Jhpiego and the Project

Jhpiego is an international nonprofit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. It works to improve healthcare outcomes by strengthening health systems and expanding access to quality health services.

The AFGHS-Jhpiego project is funded by the U.S. Department of State (DoS) to support the delivery of lifesaving, comprehensive maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and malaria services across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

The project aims to improve service and data quality, strengthen health-system integration and resilience, facilitate effective transition, and promote local ownership and accountability for sustained health outcomes.

Jhpiego works closely with the Ministries of Health in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, the Reproductive and Child Health Section (RCHS), the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Programme (ZAMEP), and Regional Administration and Local Government (RALG) structures.

Position Summary

The Technical Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) will provide strategic and technical leadership for the project’s MEL function, supporting the delivery, measurement, and continuous improvement of maternal, newborn and child health and malaria results across targeted regions of Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

The successful candidate will ensure that robust MEL systems are in place to monitor project performance, measure progress against agreed results and milestones, and generate timely, high-quality evidence to support programme management, accountability, learning, and performance-based financing.

The Director will oversee the development and implementation of the project’s MEL framework, indicators, data systems, performance monitoring, data quality assurance, and results verification processes.

Working closely with project leadership, technical and programme teams, and field teams, the Director will ensure that data are accurate, timely, and routinely used to identify performance gaps, guide adaptive management, and support the achievement, verification, and payment of project milestones and deliverables.

The role will also lead the project’s learning agenda, oversee evaluations and implementation research, strengthen government capacity for evidence-based decision-making, and support the integration of MEL functions into existing government systems.

Additionally, the Director will serve as the principal MEL focal point for project leadership, the U.S. Department of State, government counterparts, and other stakeholders, while providing leadership, supervision, and mentorship to the MEL team.

Key Responsibilities

1. MEL Strategy and Technical Leadership

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous refinement of the project MEL Plan in alignment with project objectives, contractual requirements, performance milestones, and donor expectations.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership for MEL systems, tools, indicators, and processes supporting MNCH and malaria programme performance and results measurement.
• Provide technical guidance and strengthen the capacity of project teams and partners on MEL standards, systems, and practices.

2. Performance Monitoring, Data Quality, and Results Measurement

• Oversee routine monitoring of project performance against agreed indicators, targets, milestones, and contractual deliverables.
• Ensure robust data quality assurance, verification, management, and reporting systems are in place to generate accurate, timely, and credible results.
• Lead the analysis and interpretation of programme data to identify performance gaps, risks, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide actionable insights to project leadership to support decision-making and improve programme performance.

3. Evaluation, Learning, and Adaptive Management

• Lead the project learning agenda and institutionalize data use, pause-and-reflect sessions, root-cause analysis, and adaptive management processes.
• Ensure MEL activities are appropriately designed, implemented, and aligned with national, donor, and international standards.
• Work with programme and technical teams to translate monitoring findings and lessons learned into practical actions that improve implementation, service quality, and results.
• Ensure promising practices, lessons learned, and implementation experiences are systematically documented, synthesized, disseminated, and used to inform programme improvement and scale-up.

4. Government Systems Strengthening, Sustainability, and Transition

• Work with government counterparts to strengthen national and subnational systems for routine monitoring, data quality, analysis, visualization, performance review, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Ensure project MEL approaches strengthen and utilize existing government information systems and accountability mechanisms, minimizing parallel project systems and processes.
• Support the integration of project indicators, monitoring processes, and data-use practices into relevant government systems and structures.
• Strengthen government ownership and institutional capacity for sustained performance monitoring, results measurement, data use, and learning beyond the life of the project.
• Monitor and document progress towards sustainability and transition milestones, including the progressive transfer and institutionalization of relevant MEL functions within government systems.

5. Reporting, Stakeholder Engagement, and Team Leadership

• Lead the preparation and quality assurance of MEL inputs to donor and project reports, ensuring accurate and timely reporting against agreed results and milestones.
• Serve as the senior MEL focal point for project leadership, government institutions, donors, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Promote evidence-based decision-making and accountability.
• Lead, mentor, and strengthen the capacity of the MEL team and relevant project and partner staff in performance monitoring, data quality, data use, and learning.
• Represent the project in relevant MEL and technical forums.
• Support the dissemination of project results and lessons learned.

Required Qualifications and Experience

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• A degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Biostatistics, Health Informatics, Data Science, Computer Science, Digital Health, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and/or performance management, preferably within donor-funded development or health programmes.
• At least five years of experience in a senior management or leadership role, with responsibility for designing and implementing MERL systems across complex projects or programmes.
• Experience with data visualization and analytics tools, such as Power BI.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring staff and government counterparts and strengthening organizational capacity for data use and learning.
• Experience managing and mentoring MERL teams, subgrantees, and implementing partners.
• Experience working with government institutions, donors, implementing partners, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of Tanzania’s health system, including MNCH and malaria reporting tools and indicators.
• Familiarity with U.S. Government-funded project reporting and compliance requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Kiswahili.
• Willingness to travel approximately 25–30% of the time to project-supported locations across Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Salary and Benefits

Jhpiego offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefits package.

• Lead the development, implementation, and continuous refinement of the project MEL Plan in alignment with project objectives, contractual requirements, performance milestones, and donor expectations.
• Provide strategic and technical leadership for MEL systems, tools, indicators, and processes supporting MNCH and malaria programme performance and results measurement.
• Provide technical guidance and strengthen the capacity of project teams and partners on MEL standards, systems, and practices.
• Oversee routine monitoring of project performance against agreed indicators, targets, milestones, and contractual deliverables.
• Ensure robust data quality assurance, verification, management, and reporting systems are in place to generate accurate, timely, and credible results.
• Lead the analysis and interpretation of programme data to identify performance gaps, risks, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide actionable insights to project leadership to support decision-making and improve programme performance.
• Lead the project learning agenda and institutionalize data use, pause-and-reflect sessions, root-cause analysis, and adaptive management processes.
• Ensure MEL activities are appropriately designed, implemented, and aligned with national, donor, and international standards.
• Work with programme and technical teams to translate monitoring findings and lessons learned into practical actions that improve implementation, service quality, and results.
• Ensure promising practices, lessons learned, and implementation experiences are systematically documented, synthesized, disseminated, and used to inform programme improvement and scale-up.
• Work with government counterparts to strengthen national and subnational systems for routine monitoring, data quality, analysis, visualization, performance review, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Ensure project MEL approaches strengthen and utilize existing government information systems and accountability mechanisms, minimizing parallel project systems and processes.
• Support the integration of project indicators, monitoring processes, and data-use practices into relevant government systems and structures.
• Strengthen government ownership and institutional capacity for sustained performance monitoring, results measurement, data use, and learning beyond the life of the project.
• Monitor and document progress towards sustainability and transition milestones, including the progressive transfer and institutionalization of relevant MEL functions within government systems.
• Lead the preparation and quality assurance of MEL inputs to donor and project reports, ensuring accurate and timely reporting against agreed results and milestones.
• Serve as the senior MEL focal point for project leadership, government institutions, donors, partners, and other stakeholders.
• Promote evidence-based decision-making and accountability.
• Lead, mentor, and strengthen the capacity of the MEL team and relevant project and partner staff in performance monitoring, data quality, data use, and learning.
• Represent the project in relevant MEL and technical forums.
• Support the dissemination of project results and lessons learned.

• Data visualization and analytics tools, such as Power BI.
• Mentoring staff and government counterparts.
• Strengthening organizational capacity for data use and learning.
• Managing and mentoring MERL teams, subgrantees, and implementing partners.
• Working with government institutions, donors, implementing partners, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.
• Understanding of Tanzania’s health system, including MNCH and malaria reporting tools and indicators.
• Familiarity with U.S. Government-funded project reporting and compliance requirements.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Kiswahili.

• A degree in Monitoring and Evaluation, Biostatistics, Health Informatics, Data Science, Computer Science, Digital Health, or a related field. A master’s degree is preferred.
• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and/or performance management, preferably within donor-funded development or health programmes.
• At least five years of experience in a senior management or leadership role, with responsibility for designing and implementing MERL systems across complex projects or programmes.