Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Manager

Company information

Company

HST Careers

Division

HSS

Health Systems Trust is an innovative non-profit organisation working to strengthen ongoing development of comprehensive health systems in southern Africa

Province

KwaZulu-Natal

District

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality

Job Specification Information

Title

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Manager

Description

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning (MERL) Manager PURPOSE The Health Systems Trust (HST) wishes to appoint a MERL Manager for the National Department of Health Global Fund Tuberculosis (TB) Project in eThekwini district. The Manager will be responsible for providing strategic direction and overseeing all aspects of MERL for the Global Fund TB/HIV grant activities, which includes but is not limited to the development of a robust MERL plan/system to capture and report high-quality, timely, valid and verifiable data on programmatic results to the Principal Recipient (PR). The Manager will support the development of grant work plans, data collection instruments and tracking progress against the set targets including providing technical assistance on data analytics, reporting and data utilisation for decision making to the district, and sub-district and facility levels through mentorship and training. This is a fixed-term contract position, renewable subject to availability of funding.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing strategic direction and overseeing all aspects of MERL for the Global Fund TB/HIV grant activities. • Development of a robust MERL plan/system to capture and report high-quality, timely, valid and verifiable data on programmatic results to the Principal Recipient (PR). • Develop and implement a data analytics framework for all the Global Fund TB/HIV grant activities and indicators. • Develop and implement learning agenda to inform the PR and other stakeholders of the lessons learned from grant activities. • Conduct MERL needs assessments, data quality assessments (DQAs), spot checks, programme evaluations and rapid assessments, and develop strategies to address identified gaps in line with the strategic objectives of the grant. • Develop work plan tracking indicators and targets as required. • Support the development of grant work plan, data collection tools, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and tracking progress against the set targets. • Provide MERL technical assistance on data analytics, reporting and data utilisation for decision making to the district, sub-district and facility levels through mentorship and training. • Promotes a culture of data usage and evidence-based decision making for continuous quality improvement through feedback, training and capacity building activities at both health facility and community levels through regular monthly and quarterly data review meetings. • Strengthening existing national health information systems such as EDRWeb, TIER.Net, DHIS, HPRS and others to enhance data visibility via dashboards and cascade analysis to enhance programme improvement at provincial, district, sub-district and facility levels. • Strengthen the quality of TB services at the district, sub-district and facility levels through the implementation of Quality Improvement. • Collaborate with provincial and district TB/HIV managers to ensure that programme and grant objectives are met. • Build and maintain partnerships with all stakeholders including participating in all district and sub-district MERL meetings, workshops and discussions to provide ongoing technical support. • Supervise and capacitate relevant grant-related MERL staff at the district and facility level to comply with NDoH Global Fund MERL protocols and guidelines. • Regularly collect, validate, analyse, interpret, summarise and visualise TB results from data collected in facilities and at community level. • Support grant evaluation activities and assist the PR to identify topics for operational research. • Ensure that monthly, quarterly and annual reports are submitted on time

Key Attributes

• Excellent report writing, analytical and oral presentation skills. • Ability to produce clear graphical representations and data visualisations of public health data especially TB and HIV/AIDS. • Critical and strategic thinking as well as problem-solving skills. • Experience in knowledge management and dissemination of programmatic results and lessons learned.

Education Required

Matric

Qualification Required

• NQF level 7 or higher qualification in Public Health, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Statistics, Health Informatics, Information Management or Statistics, Data Management and Health Information Systems and other relevant disciplines.

Experience Required

• At least 7 or more years of working experience in the MERL field especially in public/private health sectors and TB/HIV/AIDS programmes as well as a health information management background. • Practical working experience in setting up and managing MERL systems for health programmes and the ability to build capacity and mentor others. • At least three years of operational experience in the existing national health information system such as EDRWeb, TIER.Net, DHIS, HPRS and other information systems. • Experience in working with donor-funded programmes and a good understanding of the South African Department of Health system, including policies, management and health information systems and structures at the National and Provincial levels will be an added advantage.

Remuneration

• The salary package for this position based on Global Fund requirements ranging from R695,917.00 to R849,702.00 as the Total Cost to Company.

Other Job Details

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS and ENQUIRIES • Interested applicants must complete their application online at: https://careers.hst.org.za/ • Applicants are to ensure that their online applications are completed in full, and that comprehensive CVs are uploaded with the online application in order to be considered. • Applicant’s CV must be saved with a filename reflecting their name and surname. • No applications sent via e-mail will be considered for the job, as all applicants must submit their applications online at the provided link. PLEASE NOTE: • All personal information collected is processed lawfully in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). • Shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit certified copies of all qualifications and identity documents. • Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. • Correspondence will be limited to shortlisted candidates. • All shortlisted candidates will be subjected to reference and credential checks. • If you have not been contacted within 30 days of the closing date of this advertisement, please accept that your application has been unsuccessful. • HST reserves the right to not fill this position. CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 18 February 2026, at 16h30 Health Systems Trust subscribes to diversity and inclusivity, which is informed by the Company’s Employment Equity Plan. Based on this, African males, Indian males and people with disabilities who meet the job specifications (including but not limited to the required skills, knowledge and education), are encouraged to apply.