Senior Manager, Global Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning

Senior Manager, Global Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL)

The Opportunity

The Senior Manager, Global Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) provides senior technical leadership for organization-wide measurement, evaluation, research, learning, and evidence use across the organization. The role is accountable for strengthening the quality, consistency, and practical use of MERL systems and evidence across Living Goods. It will strengthen strategic measurement frameworks, country MERL systems, data quality assurance, program review routines, and evidence-to-decision processes that support impact, government systems strengthening, digital performance, scalable innovations, and advocacy.

The role will provide technical oversight and line management of MERL teams across LG-supported countries, ensuring consistent standards, strong performance, effective country support, and driving cross-country learning and synthesis of insights, working closely with country program delivery teams and leadership. It will also translate programs, research, and analytics insights into clear, practical recommendations for country teams, senior leadership, donors, and partners including decisions on program design, prioritization, scale, and resource allocation. In addition, it will build and apply ROI and cost-effectiveness evidence to guide adaptation, budgeting, prioritization, scale-up, and stop/go decisions for priority programs and innovations.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Measurement and Country Systems

• Own and continuously improve LG's strategic plan measurement framework, log frame, KPIs, targets, indicator definitions, baselines, and review cadence.
• Define and maintain measurement strategies for new countries, priority programs, digital investments, and innovations.
• Lead and manage the performance of country MERL systems, data quality assurance (DQA) routines, program review tools, and action tracking for comparable performance across geographies.
• Ensure consistency and comparability of performance data across countries, while supporting countries to adapt implementation to local context.
• Collaborate with country, advocacy, programs, and partnerships teams to co-develop systems-change measurement approaches and ensure practical application in-country.

Cost-Effectiveness and ROI

• Lead the development and application of practical ROI and cost-effectiveness analyses for key programs, digital investments, and innovations, working with consultants and technical experts where needed.
• Work in close partnership with Finance, Programs, Digital Health, country teams, and external experts to integrate cost, performance, and outcome data for decision-making, ensuring data ownership and practical use of evidence.
• Translate cost and impact evidence into clear, practical recommendations for decision-making including planning, budgeting, scale, donor/government engagement, and stop/go decisions for innovations.

Research, Learning and Insights

• Lead the design and delivery of research, evaluations, analytic deep dives, protocols, tools, and learning products across priority programs, countries, and innovations ensuring relevance to program and strategic decision-making.
• Ensure high standards of research quality and ethics, including protocol review, informed consent, data protection, and compliance with LG ethical requirements.
• Drive the MERL-focused learning agenda, including synthesis, learning products, and review cadences that link evidence to program, innovation, and strategic decisions.
• Translate and package evidence, learning and insights into clear, practical outputs such as briefs, stakeholder reports, learning notes, impact stories, and advocacy products that tell our story in a powerful and engaging manner.
• Facilitate cross-country learning, after-action reviews, and synthesis of insights, ensuring documentation of what to scale, adapt, stop, or further investigate.

Management, Partnerships and Shared Services

• Recruit, manage, and develop country and global MERL teams, and oversee consultants, cross-functional workstreams, setting high expectations, supporting performance, and ensuring delivery of high-quality outputs in line with overall Performance Evidence and Insights (PEI) strategy.
• Define and manage the MERL shared services model, including scope of support, ways of working, and engagement with country, programs, and other functional teams.
• Build MERL capability across the organization, providing guidance, coaching, and tools to strengthen measurement, evaluation, research, learning, data use, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Serve as the primary technical lead for MERL-related partnerships, coalitions, and external collaborations ensuring alignment with LG priorities and delivery of high-quality analytical and evidence inputs.

Business Development & Advocacy and Communication

• Contribute to proposals, donor reports, advocacy briefs, and external communications by defining and applying appropriate MERL approaches, including measurement frameworks, indicators, plans for data collection and evaluation, and translating results into clear, credible outputs aligned with program design and outcomes.
• Translate and adapt program insights, evaluation findings, and impact evidence into clear, credible messages for BD, advocacy, and external positioning.
• Work closely with Communications to ensure evidence is accurately packaged, contextualized, and disseminated through appropriate products and channels.

Qualifications & Experience Required

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree plus professional qualification in Monitoring and Evaluation, Public Health, Statistics, Epidemiology, Data Science, Health Economics, or related field; master's preferred.
• Demonstrated understanding of ROI, cost-effectiveness, health economics, or applied economic evaluation methods.

Experience

• Minimum ten (10) years' relevant experience in measurement, evaluation, research, learning, or strategic information.
• Experience leading organization-wide measurement frameworks, data quality systems, program reviews, and country support in multi-country health, digital health, or community systems across multiple countries.
• Experience applying research, learning, ROI, cost-effectiveness, or health economics evidence to program, scale, budgeting, or policy decisions.
• Experience translating data and evidence into practical recommendations and influencing program, operational, or strategic decisions.
• Experience managing and developing teams, including setting direction, supporting performance, and delivering through others in multi-country and cross-functional environments.

Competencies & Attributes

• Strong technical expertise in measurement, evaluation, research, learning, data systems, data quality, and analysis.
• Ability to synthesize cost, performance, impact, and qualitative evidence into clear recommendations for leaders and country teams.
• Strong communication, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and ability to document learning and translate insights into decisions.
• Strong people management and leadership skills; able to build high-performing, cohesive teams.
• Professional working proficiency in French is required.