Location: Lusaka, Zambia

About AMSCO

AMSCO Advisory Services Zambia is a leading provider of human capital solutions across Africa, supporting organizations to strengthen their workforce and performance. AMSCO offers end-to-end HR advisory services, including organizational development, performance management, and HR systems implementation.

A core area of expertise is recruitment, where AMSCO delivers structured, full-cycle talent acquisition services, including headhunting, screening, and candidate assessment. Leveraging strong regional networks and a rigorous selection process, AMSCO identifies high-quality candidates with proven experience and organizational fit, ensuring efficient, transparent, and effective recruitment outcomes.

Background

Our client is an international nonprofit organization working with local, national, regional, and global partners to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a focus on ensuring that high quality, evidence-based services particularly safe abortion care and contraception are available, accessible, and acceptable to women and girls. The approach is holistic and rights based, encompassing health systems strengthening through provider training and capacity building, support for national standards and guidelines, and improvements in supply chain systems to ensure consistent availability of essential commodities. We also engage with governments and key stakeholders to promote enabling policy and legal environments, while addressing social barriers such as stigma and misinformation through community engagement, ultimately empowering women and girls to make informed decisions about their health and contributing to improved health outcomes and gender equality.

Position Purpose

The MERL Advisor provides technical leadership for monitoring, evaluation, research and learning across country and regional projects. The role leads the design and strengthening of MERL systems (including theories of change, indicators, tools and processes), assures data quality and use, and produces timely analysis and learning products to inform adaptive management and strategic decision-making. The MERL Advisor works closely with programme teams, partners and donors to align MERL approaches with programme objectives, reporting requirements and Ipas standards, and to build sustainable partner and staff capacity.

Key Responsibilities:

1.      Design and Implement M&E Frameworks:

• Lead the design, implementation and periodic review of MERL strategies, results frameworks, logical frameworks, theories of change and methodologies to assess progress and contribution to programme and project impact.
• Develop, standardize and roll out MERL tools, guidance and templates for data collection, analysis, reporting and learning, ensuring alignment with donor and Ipas requirements.

2.      Data Collection and Management:

• Oversee and strengthen routine data systems (including partner reporting), ensuring accurate collection, entry, cleaning, storage and analysis of programme and project data.
• Establish and monitor data quality assurance processes (DQA), including routine checks, supportive supervision and corrective action plans.
• Coordinate and respond to data, analysis and evidence requests from programme staff, donors and other stakeholders, ensuring appropriate data governance and confidentiality.

3.      Analysis and Reporting:

• Analyse quantitative and qualitative data to generate insights, identify trends, and support evidence-informed planning and adaptive management.
• Lead preparation and dissemination of high-quality internal and donor reports, dashboards and learning products on programme performance, outcomes and contribution to impact.
• Present findings to internal and external audiences and facilitate data-to-action discussions, including clear recommendations to strengthen programme quality and results.

4.      Capacity Building:

• Design and deliver capacity strengthening (training, coaching and mentoring) for staff and partners on MERL concepts, tools, data use and learning practices.
• Provide ongoing technical assistance to improve MERL capacity within Ipas and among partners, including strengthening partner reporting and learning routines.
• Facilitate regular learning and reflection sessions to synthesize lessons learned, highlight data trends and support continuous improvement at project and programme levels.

5.      Collaboration and Coordination:

• Collaborate with programme, finance and operations teams, partners and stakeholders to integrate MERL into planning, implementation and review cycles.
• Provide MERL inputs to programme design, work planning and periodic reviews, ensuring indicators, targets and learning questions are clear and feasible.

6.      Evaluation and Learning:

• Lead or support the design, commissioning and management of evaluations and applied research (as relevant) to assess outcomes and generate actionable evidence.
• Facilitate learning and knowledge sharing among staff and partners and contribute to regional and global communities of practice and knowledge products.

7.      Compliance and Quality Assurance:

• Ensure MERL compliance with donor requirements and Ipas policies/standards, including timely reporting and documentation.
• Continuously improve MERL processes and tools based on feedback, data quality findings and learning, and promote consistent approaches across projects.

8.      Financial & Risk Management  

• Develop project workplans and budgets that are cost-effective
• Lead Budget monitoring against project activities at the project level
• Implements risk reduction plans
• Ensures unit compliance with Ipas policies, procedures, and standards
• Ensures compliance with specific donor contracts for assigned projects
• Contributes to developing or updating policies, procedures, and standards, in assigned areas

9.      Communication & Representation

• Represents Ipas externally, primarily with vendors, contractors, consultants or project implementation partners
• Finalizes and shares learning and expertise within the global Ipas network
• Leads development or implementation of communications plans, primarily at the project level
• Builds and maintains strong partnerships, primarily for a specific project

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Social Sciences, Statistics, Economics, Public Health, or a related field. A Master’s degree will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 6–8 years of progressively responsible experience in monitoring and evaluation / MERL, preferably in the NGO sector, with experience in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights programmes.
• Proficiency in statistical software (e.g., SPSS, STATA, R) and data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and generate actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in capacity building and training.
• Familiarity with donor requirements and compliance.
• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams and create a positive work environment, including through supportive supervision, strong communication, non-hierarchical leadership approaches, and modelling the Ipas core values.
• Demonstrated capacity and commitment to good stewardship of funds, including strong skills in work planning, budgeting, financial monitoring, and data-driven problem-solving.
• Deep commitment to women’s reproductive health and rights, including abortion

Working Environment:

• Ability to travel up to 15 – 25 % domestically (with occasional regional or global trips if applicable