Project Description

Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC), a global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS), that provides strategic technical assistance and direct service delivery to achieve HIV epidemic control among all at-risk populations; strengthen global health security (GHS), including outbreak response; expand tuberculosis detection and treatment (TB), improve maternal and child health (MCH), address malaria; and promote health systems strengthening (HSS) including supply chain management.

The EpiC Cameroon buy-in will support the continuation and expansion of life-saving HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services in Cameroon, building upon the foundational work of previous PEPFAR-funded initiatives. The focus will be on strengthening community-led platforms and integrating them with facility-based systems to increase access to quality HIV-related services, particularly for populations at higher risk of HIV, Children and Adolescents Living with HIV (C/ALHIV), HIV-exposed infants (HEIs), and their caregivers. The program will contribute to closing gaps across pediatric HIV cascades, ensuring children are healthy, safe, stable, and schooled through comprehensive case management. Collaboration with the Government of Cameroon (including the Ministry of Public Health and the National AIDS Control Committee), PEPFAR clinical partners, the Global Fund, and local community organizations will be essential to ensure the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based, family-centered where necessary and population-specific interventions.

Job Description

The EpiC Cameroon Senior Strategic Information (SI) Advisor will report to the Project Director and lead the implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities, as well as data analytics and performance reporting within the targeted regions for the EpiC Cameroon project. The Senior SI Advisor will work closely with project leadership and country-level SI teams to strengthen or develop systems that track service delivery and performance in real time, with the goal of improving service quality and meeting reporting requirements. As the lead technical expert for strategic information s/he will work with EpiC project staff, implementing partners, government partners such as, Ministry of Public Health (MPH) Cameroon and National AIDS Control Committee (NACC), to ensure that M&E activities are appropriate and meet host country, Department of States (DoS) and EpiC monitoring and reporting requirements. S/he will lead efforts to strengthen partner M&E activities, and performance reporting across the country, including working with program sub-partners and key stakeholders to monitor, document and analyze the performance of their community HIV services and activities, ensure data quality and support continuous quality improvement (CQI). Additionally, the Senior Advisor will ensure that program strategies and activities are informed by global evidence and lessons learned from program data, applying expertise in monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, and operations research.

Job Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and implementation of M&E systems and tools and contributes to workplanning and reporting for the entire project;

• Manages and coordinates with technical and programmatic staff members to ensure that activities are performed on time and target;

• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with the partners regional teams, health service providers, local stakeholders and Cameroonian government partners, to provide support and guidance on project M&E activities, ensuring alignment with DoS and Cameroonian government partners reporting requirements.

• Provide technical guidance, ensuring the CBO partners and zonal M&E teams are supported in the correct implementation and use of M&E tools and reporting platforms (as applicable), and adherence to complete, correct and timely reporting.

• Train CBO partners and regional MEL staff in project M&E, especially data collection, management and analysis for use in decision-making and course correction.

• Conduct routine monitoring visits to sites, conduct data quality assessments (DQAs) using approved tools and mentor implementing partners to strengthen data management and reporting capacity

• Ensure that the quality of activities adheres to EpiC and PEPFAR standards by supporting the development and implementation of appropriate mechanisms to ensure quality.

• Provide direct technical assistance and capacity building in the design and implementation of the M&E components of the activities in the communities served.

• Work closely with the M&E team to assist in the development and maintenance of computerized data capture of the program and provide technical assistance and training to the staff at the sites responsible for data entry.

• Provide technical assistance to the M&E team and CSO partner M&E staff in integrating EpiC data into the national HMIS.

• Ensure data sharing collaboration between community partner M&E, clinical partner M&E and relevant stakeholders.

• Document lessons learned and best practices in M&E, according to DoS and PEPFAR guidelines.

• Ensure program learning is fed into result-based management, lead the documentation of program results and lessons learned for transmission to partners.

• Remain informed of current issues regarding M&E of programs in the HIV/AIDS field by review of current literature and Cameroonian protocols, guidelines and standards.

• Produce regular analytical reports, visualizations, and presentations to inform stakeholders and guide programmatic decisions.

• Assist with the preparation of annual work plans, performance monitoring plans, and donor reports.

• Participate in client / funder meetings and draft reports / presentations.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education Qualification/ Skills & Experience

• Master’s degree or its international equivalent in public health, epidemiology, social work, monitoring & evaluation, demography, biostatistics, analyses or other relevant disciplines, with 12 years’ work experience

• Minimum 12 years working on designing, establishing, and managing monitoring and evaluation systems, ensuring data quality, and analyzing data to support performance improvement of programs funded by PEPFAR.

• Knowledge of health and development programs in Cameroon including familiarity with the national health information management system (HMIS) and national protocols, guidelines and standards for HIV service provision and M&E;

• Experience with MER indicators and community HIV service data.

• Knowledge and experience in national-level M&E system implementation;

• Experience in programs serving at-risk populations and people living with HIV (PLHIV);

• Experience in technical capacity building and supervision of sub-partners , especially those working with PLHIV and at-risk populations.

• Previous experience working with U.S. government or PEPFAR supported programs;

• Proficiency in data analysis and visualization software such as Power BI.

• Familiarity with DHIS2, DHIS2 tracker, Open Data Kit (ODK), or Kobo Toolbox.

• Ability to manage projects and plan for the successful implementation of activities.

• Excellent report writing, analytical and communication skills, including oral presentation skills.

• Familiarity with Cameroon public health sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Cameroon is highly desirable.

• Cultural sensitivity and sound understanding of the needs of vulnerable populations.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and well-developed computer skills.

• Ability to interpret financial and other quantitative information and reports.

• Good report writing and documentation skills.

• Ability to travel within Cameroon as needed.

• Fluency in French and English preferred.

The position will be based in FHI 360’s office in Yaounde, Cameroon with travel throughout the country. Preference is for Cameroonian national candidates.