Join our mission to save lives
Monitoring,Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer
Salary: ₦7,200,000 - ₦8,400,000 per year (₦600,000 - ₦700,000 per month) based on experience and cost of living.
Negotiable for exceptional candidates.
Negotiable for exceptional candidates.
Contract: Full time. 1 year, with a probation period of 3 months. Contract extension contingent on performance. Aim to retain successful candidate for the long term and extend contract. This role has a probationary period for you to get to know us and for us to get to know you better. Given the early stage of the organisation good performance is highly likely to be rewarded with rapid progression.
Location: Kano State, Nigeria. Able to spend 100% of working time here.
Requirements: We are looking for candidates with at least 3 years professional experience in monitoring & evaluation specifically and BSc or higher qualification in a related field.
Languages: We require fluency in Hausa and advanced level English
Hours: Full time
Hours: Full time
Application: LINK
We respect your time and have designed our application process to reflect this. The first step of the application process takes 30-45 minutes, and we only ask for more time from applicants we think would be an excellent fit.
We respect your time and have designed our application process to reflect this. The first step of the application process takes 30-45 minutes, and we only ask for more time from applicants we think would be an excellent fit.
About First Embrace
First Embrace is dedicated to saving newborn lives by building healthcare capacity in government hospitals in Nigeria. Our mission is to create a scalable and cost-effective model that implements and promotes Kangaroo Mother Care and other impact focused newborn care best practices.
Our main intervention, Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), is the WHO standard of care for low birth weight newborns. It is a highly cost-effective and scientifically proven intervention for saving newborn lives, which includes:
- Skin-to-Skin Contact between baby and caregiver to regulate the infant’s body temperature, reducing hypothermia
- Close monitoring of mothers and newborns for danger signs
- Exclusive Breastfeeding, providing benefits to the infant's immune system and helping with weight gain.
We are aiming to run our pilot in 2 hospitals, with 2 Monitoring & evaluation (M&E) officers and a Program manager. We project a neonatal mortality reduction of 33% as a result of First Embrace programs, and hope to scale our life-saving work to more hospitals after our pilot results are evaluated.
Key components of our model include:
- Recruiting nurses to act as dedicated KMC counsellors for mothers
- Providing training to clinicians and nurses on supporting and managing KMC and other components of the program
- Repurposing space in government hospitals to create a dedicated space for KMC
- Following up with mothers after discharge to ensure continued behavioural change and to monitor the newborn for any danger signs
Position Overview
First Embrace is seeking dedicated and diligent professionals to join our team as Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) officers. The M&E officer plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality, effectiveness, and impact of First Embrace’s KMC program. Ensuring that our interventions are evidence-based, adaptive, and high-impact requires excellence in data collection, analysis, and reporting. The M&E Officer is crucial for ensuring program quality by executing high-volume monitoring and evaluation tasks with efficiency and attention to detail.
This position involves collecting, analysing, and reporting on program data, conducting on-site monitoring, and providing recommendations for improvement. The role will involve working closely with our nursing staff and program officer on ground to record quality data about the hospital, the program, our staff and the perspectives of our beneficiaries. Successful candidates will be detail-oriented with strong analytical and communication skills.
This position involves collecting, analysing, and reporting on program data, conducting on-site monitoring, and providing recommendations for improvement. The role will involve working closely with our nursing staff and program officer on ground to record quality data about the hospital, the program, our staff and the perspectives of our beneficiaries. Successful candidates will be detail-oriented with strong analytical and communication skills.
Key Responsibilities
We are a small and agile organisation, and as such, the role may vary over time. Tasks are primarily delegated by the managing cofounder, with an emphasis on structured and well-defined responsibilities. However, there is room for proactive, self-driven activities as the individual grows into the role or identifies opportunities for improvement. Typical responsibilities include:
- App based data collection - Collect and manage data from primary and secondary sources on the a M&E app (either SurveryCTO or Dimagi CommCare) and patient tracking App
- Quantitative data collection - Use observation checklists, and semi-structured questionnaires to collect quantitative data to report on all program activities, including but not limited to: KMC practices, counselling sessions, weighing procedures identification of low birth weight babies, proper registration, vital signs reporting, discharge, and telephonic follow ups
- Qualitative data collection - Use a semi-structured questionnaire to undertake interviews with mothers
- Data consistency and reliability - Identify and address data inconsistencies and errors in the data collected by nurses
- Data quality - Monitor data collected by nurses, report about the same and also provide necessary guidance to the nurses to ensure a high level of data quality. Additionally, conduct random checks to verify data reported by nurses
- Feedback - Identify and report systemic issues impacting program outcomes.
- Collaborations - Collaborate with the Program Manager (PM) and hospital staff to support program implementation
- Reporting - Participate in weekly and monthly M&E calls to discuss monitoring findings and develop action plans
- Evaluation - Contribute to the development and implementation of program evaluation plans
Requirements
We care more about your motivation, potential, and what we can achieve together,. Nonetheless, we seek candidates with the following attributes:
Essential
Essential
- Education - B.Sc or equivalent in a relevant field
- Experience - Minimum 3 years experience in monitoring and evaluation of development, health, or social impact programs in Nigeria. Should have strong knowledge about principles and current approaches to monitoring and evaluation using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
- Data Collection - Knowledge and experience of data collection using Android based mobile applications, spreadsheets, data entry, use of MS Word, MS Excel and data collection softwares. Please mention applications you have worked with in your application (e.g. Dimagi CommCare, SurveyCTO ODK, KoboToolbox)
- Data quality - Working knowledge of data management and quality assurance/control, including data handling, data consistency and reliability
- Adaptability - Ability to adapt in a rapidly changing program environment, juggling multiple tasks simultaneously while keeping a keen eye on data accuracy and reporting deadlines.
- Language skills - Fluency in Hausa and advanced level English is required
- Values - Strongly value alignment with the values of First Embrace is required
Desirable
- Master’s degree or professional certification in M&E
- Prior experience in M&E at impact-focussed organisations will be given preference
Skills and Competencies
- Critical Thinking: the ability to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise information to make sound and logical decisions
- Observation Skills: must keenly observe the happenings in the hospital to diligently report events relevant to First Embrace’s KMC program
- Problem Solving: must proactively find solutions to issues that arise in the hospital
- People and Communication skills: ability to communicate well with teams and beneficiaries and share information in a clear, respectful, and timely manner, adapting to the needs of a diverse range of stakeholders
- Knowledge of postnatal and newborn care: understanding and experience in application of principles, practices, and guidelines related to the care and well-being of mothers and newborns during the postnatal period
- Research and Data Collection: the knowledge and ability to use tools to collect accurate data systematically and produce useful insights with this data
Why should you apply?
- 20 working days annual leave
- Maternity/Paternity leave after one year of employment in line with Nigerian best practice.
- Developmental budget for upskilling/training.
- You choose your holidays. With our diverse team, you’re free to decide which days matter most to you — there are no mandatory holidays.
- Your work will save lives - we can prove it!
- You’ll be part of a mission-driven, impact-focused organization with strong values, delivering programmes grounded in evidence.
- We offer a Monday-Friday work week. You're also free to adjust your daily hours to what suits you best as long as you complete 100% of your scheduled work tasks each week.
- This is a high-leverage role in a growing organization. Our significantly expanding programs offer many opportunities for outsized personal impact.
- We foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, conduct monthly feedback meetings across all levels and consider high performing team members for promotions before opening public hiring rounds.
Hiring Process
If this all sounds exciting, please apply using the form linked above. We will be reviewing applications and progressing candidates to the next stage on a rolling basis.
First Embrace is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply without discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, race, marital status, gender, age, religion, disability status or political persuasion.
First Embrace is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply without discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, race, marital status, gender, age, religion, disability status or political persuasion.
Women are strongly encouraged to apply to this role.