Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer - Community Health (Madagascar)

Position Overview

This is a unique opportunity for an early-career development professional to contribute directly to impactful community health programmes in one of Madagascar’s most biodiverse and vulnerable regions. Based in the coastal town of Fort Dauphin in southeast Madagascar, this role supports Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) across SEED’s Maternal and Child Health and SRHR programmes.

We are seeking a motivated MEL Officer with 1 - 2 years’ experience to play a key role in strengthening how SEED measures, understands and communicates its impact. The successful candidate will support the design and implementation of MEL systems across multiple projects, helping teams collect, analyse and use data to improve programme quality, accountability and learning. Working closely with both national and international staff, the MEL Officer will provide guidance and practical support on monitoring tools, data management and reporting processes. The role will also contribute to organisational learning by helping teams reflect on results and integrate lessons into future programme design. Predominantly office-based in Fort Dauphin, the position will include occasional travel to project sites to support data collection, verification and engagement with community partners.

This role is ideal for an early-career professional looking to build hands-on experience in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning within an international NGO, while contributing to programmes that support sustainable rural development. The local salary will reflect those with 1-2 years of experience and is a non-accompanied post.

Strong analytical skills, attention to detail and clear written communication are essential, alongside a genuine interest in community-based development and conservation.

Location: Fort Dauphin, Anosy Region, Madagascar

Timeframe: 2 years, potential to extend

Contract Type: Local salary to support with accommodation and living costs (field-based food/transport provided); £1,200 contribution to flights and £650 towards insurance

Primary Responsibilities

Supporting MEL procedures and strategies to ensure progress toward project outcomes on select projects; refinement and development of MEL systems and tools for projects; completion of reports, papers and other documents analysing data and summarising findings and support on project reporting that aligns with international standards and best practice.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Lead on the operationalisation of MEL plans, procedures and strategies for community health projects and organisational initiatives that incorporates stakeholder feedback, adapt to local needs and supports high-quality implementation in line with ongoing and emerging initiatives.
2. Develop, adapt and support the usage of MEL tools, such as KAP surveys, community participation feedback mechanisms and focus group discussion guides, to maximise effective data collection.
3. Adapt technical information/evidence/MEL findings into audience appropriate formats, for internal and external dissemination which informs future programming and project development
4. Lead on cleaning, management and analysis of data from a range of sources to determine progress towards results for a range of projects, with support from the MEL Coordinator.
5. Provide tailored advice to the Programmes/Implementation team to support MEL procedures, from the development of MEL tools to analysis and dissemination of findings to support use
6. Support the implementation of MEL tools, particularly using the Kobo toolkit
7. Lead on capacity-building for SEED staff and local partners in using key tools, ensuring quality of project data while promoting a sustainable MEL approach across the organisation
8. Support cross-learning between departments, including support to the MEL interest group and MEL communities of practice, leading groups and providing information, presentations and training where required
9. Work closely with the Communications team to identify and develop content for SEEDs social media platforms and website from MEL data
10. Support in the recruitment of new staff and provide support, management, review and professional development to any Junior Officers
11. Foster essential cross-cultural collaboration, providing support to both the national and international teams to bridge gaps in understanding and priorities for project development and implementation
12. Provide pastoral care, guidance and act as a role model, both professionally and personally, for a team of early career professionals living in country
13. Ensure all of SEED’s policies and procedures are evident throughout the work of the department, including those for safeguarding, whistleblowing and anti-corruption, and undertake continual training to ensure these are promoted at all times
14. Other tasks within the broad outline of the role to support the development of MEL capacity across SEED, agreed in partnership with the Senior MEL Officer and Heads of Programmes

Person specification

• Undergraduate degree in International Development, Research Methods, Statistics, or related field
• 1-2 years of professional experience in an MEL, research or other development role, ideally within a similar context
• Experience in the design, refinement, development and implementation of MEL frameworks for international development and/or community health sectors, with knowledge of logframes, Theory of change, Positive deviance, most significant change methodologies
• Experience in participatory approaches to MEL is desirable
• Clear, demonstrable understanding of research ethics
• Demonstrable experience of coordinating and undertaking data collection and analysis, for both qualitative and qualitative data, including proficiency in Excel. Experience using STATA, SPSS or R is desirable
• Knowledge of data collection platforms, such as Kobo, Open Data Kit, or SurveyCTO
• Strong ability and desire to work independently and within teams from different economic and cultural backgrounds and across multiple language barriers, and to build capacity across cultures
• Ability to work in basic, field condition with respect and cultural understanding
• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to SEED’s ethos and approach and be a good ambassador for SEED at all times
• Demonstrate the ability, social skills and confidence to give clear guidance and support to other members of the team in respect of the philosophy and procedures of SEED in order to protect both their safety and the reputation of the NGO
• Be able to work to and advocate for all of SEED’s policies and procedures, safeguarding those that SEED works with and reporting any concerns appropriately
• Be punctual and be able to work to tight deadlines in an organised manner and to a high standard.
• A flexible and patient attitude, with excellent problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication skills, including a sound ability to adapt material for different audiences
• Fluency in English required, knowledge of French is highly desirable

About the organisation

SEED Madagascar is a British Charity working in partnership with communities in the south east of Madagascar. We integrate high quality community health, rural livelihoods, education infrastructure and conservation programmes to support long term, sustainable change and add to international best practice through research and publication across all of our programmatic areas. We are now looking for entry level officers to work alongside national staff and expand our team.

More information on the work of SEED can be found at www.madagascar.co.uk