Strategic Information Director

Company Description

Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity, with a focus on vulnerable and underserved populations. Since 1958, we have been a leader in designing, implementing, and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world.

EDC promotes equity and access to high quality education and health services and products that contribute to thriving communities where people from diverse backgrounds learn, live, and work together. We support an inclusive workplace culture that embraces many perspectives and broadens our understanding of the communities we serve, enhancing and enriching our work.

EDC is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace.

We are looking for candidates who share EDC’s commitment and understand the importance of cultural responsiveness in today’s context.

Project Description

South Africa School-Based Sexuality Education and HIV Prevention Education Activity

EDC and its partners—the U.S. Agency for International Development and the South African government’s Department of Basic Education (DBE)—are implementing the South Africa School-Based Sexuality Education and HIV Prevention Education (SA-SBSEHP) activity to address high HIV and STI acquisition and pregnancy rates. Using a variety of school and community activities, the activity provides children and adolescents with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their sexuality, their reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and their lifestyle in a world affected by HIV. The overall goal of the Activity is to reduce the rate of new HIV infections among vulnerable youth within DBE designated schools and communities.

Job Description

The Strategic Information Director (SID) will lead monitoring, data analysis, reporting, evaluation, and research interventions for the Activity and serve as senior monitoring and evaluation specialist in data quality and data analytics. S/he will be responsible for data quality and accurate results reporting. The SID will be responsible for providing both written and visual data results that can be incorporated into programming and the communications strategy to support CSE within the Department of Basic Education system. The SID will lead efforts to strengthen monitoring and evaluation, and performance reporting within all the geographic areas of Activity, which may include overseeing support to provinces and districts to monitor, document and analyse the performance of their HIV services and activities. The SID will analyse relevant data under the MER and custom indicators and provide analysis on performance trends. The SID will liaise with relevant technical advisers and counterparts responsible for district and provincial level strategic information and monitoring and evaluation and support coordination with national education management information systems. In addition, the SID will generate data for continuous program quality improvement and adaptive management, process evaluation, operations research and learning; contribute original knowledge to the field of CSE; and generate quality data for communication and advocacy materials. The SID will manage the Strategic information (SI) team.

EDC is seeking to hire a Strategic Information Director immediately, for a short-term period until 30 September 2025.

Essential functions include (but are not limited to):

• Lead monitoring, data analysis, reporting, evaluation, and research interventions for the Activity and serve as senior technical specialist in data quality and data analytics.
• Be responsible for data quality and accurate results reporting.
• Provide both written and visual data results that can be incorporated into programming and the communications strategy to support CSE within the Department of Basic Education system.
• Prepare quantitative reports for the Activity, including concise narratives and relevant tables and/or graphs that capture progress against indicators and provide donors and program managers with accurate and user-friendly information;
• Support development and implementation of relevant protocols including development of data collection tools and methodology to conduct assessments to identify programmatic gaps and make recommendations for program improvement;
• Lead efforts to strengthen monitoring and evaluation, and performance reporting within all the geographic areas of Activity.
• Oversee the support to provinces and districts to monitor, document and analyse the performance of their HIV services and activities and ensure data quality.
• Analyse relevant data under the MER and custom indicators and provide analysis on performance trends.
• Liaise with relevant technical advisers and counterparts responsible for district and provincial level strategic information and monitoring and evaluation and support coordination with national education management information systems.
• Manage the SI team.
• Manage the development of the Activity MIS and ensure maintenance of the database and accompanying management system.
• Coordinate with DBE and provincial, district and school-level staff on relevant data capturing and use.
• Collaborate with US-based SI team on database enhancements and visualization needs.
• Manage technical orientation and training activities to achieve SI and MIS objectives and plans, including in data collection, data processing, data analysis and other areas.
• Support outreach and communications by providing summary data and interpretation for inclusion in publications and reports, tailoring for consumption by different audiences.
• Coordinate and facilitate regular SI discussions for or among USAID, stakeholders, partners, EDC teams and others to share findings and learning from monitoring and evaluation data and/or analyses.
• Identify M&E-related technical needs at central and field levels that lead to the development and refinement of the M&E system to respond to evolving program designs and implementation strategies.
• Conceptualize operations research and other learning activities of the project in collaboration with home office staff, COP, DCOP, Technical Director and Director of Finance and Operations.

Other Duties:

• Understand the terms of USAID contract, specifically expected project results and products, and ensure compliance with requirements.
• Participate in relevant technical or senior leadership meetings and take part in the decision-making process as needed.
• Proactively anticipate any potential or actual problems or risks, discuss with management, and submit appropriate recommendations to eliminate or minimize the threats or risks.
• Provide timely data reports for inclusion in quarterly and annual reports, as well for other deliverables and deadlines as needed, such as meetings, events and presentations.
• Provide support to other special initiatives as may be needed.
• Demonstrate a high level of professionalism when dealing with sensitive and confidential documents and issues, and with co-workers and EDC partners.
• Perform other ad hoc duties, as needed.

This position is located in Pretoria, South Africa and reports to the Chief of Party. This position will maintain close communication relationships with EDC Head office staff who support and oversee the project. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, evaluation, epidemiology, social science, public health, or similar.
• Minimum of eight years’ experience in program monitoring and evaluation.
• Demonstrable experience managing tracking of health, education, and social welfare indicators.
• Experience with donor-funded program M&E required; USAID and PEPFAR experience preferred.
• Experience managing project-wide M&E systems, databases, and data collection tools.
• Experience with use of data dashboards to demonstrate and track project performance and other data visualization tools and approaches.
• Experience tracking indicators at significant scale across geographic areas.
• Ability to translate project data into compelling narrative and high-quality visuals for reporting.
• Ability to present and discuss project M&E work and results in high-level meetings and forums.
• Ability to work within and across teams, coach staff on M&E best practices, and use positive coaching strategies to ensure data quality and troubleshoot challenges.

Additional Information

The competitive salary and currency will follow EDC’s policies for South Africa. This is not a posted position and no relocation will be provided.

Interested, qualified candidates who are eligible to work in South Africa and are immediately available should submit their application by Friday, 20 December 2024.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. EDC reserves the right NOT to fill this position.

EDC is committed to diversity in the workplace. EDC offers a supportive work environment, and competitive remuneration.