Deputy Director of Strategic Evidence and Learning

Location: Any MC Office Location – Ideally London, Kampala or Abuja
Department: Technical
Length of contract: Indefinite
Role type: National
Grade: 14a
Travel involved: Up to 30%
Child safeguarding level: 3 – Slight Risk
Reporting to: Director of Technical Services and Innovation
Direct reports: Senior Technical Advisor – Implementation & Operational Research, Senior Quality Advisor, Principal Advisor, Head of Surveillance, Monitoring & Evaluation

Key accountabilities 

 Strategic Contributions

• Lead the development and implementation of Malaria Consortium’s Evidence Generation and Use for Impact Strategic Framework, ensuring alignment with the organisational strategy and health priorities at the national, regional and global levels
• Lead strategic planning for research, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and learning, ensuring coherence and relevance
• Contribute to organisational strategy, planning and performance management
• Lead the development and implementation of an annual global learning agenda, putting in place a suitable learning cycle and overseeing it
• Provide thought leadership to facilitate Malaria Consortium’s positioning
• Serve as the management focal point in the meetings of the Research Advisory Group (RAG) of the Board to support thinking on research opportunities, and priorities
• Contribute to Malaria Consortium’s positioning as a leader in evidence for decision-making, policy influence, and programme improvement in global health

 Technical Leadership and Quality Assurance

• Provide mentoring and coaching to the Evidence team to support high-performance and professional development, including line management of direct reports.
• Provide expert guidance on evidence-informed decision-making approaches, including analytical approaches, implementation science and real-world evaluation
• Provide high-level technical guidance on research design, methodology, and quality assurance across a range of evidence generation activities from basic to applied research including implementation science
• Ensure ethical standards, data governance and scientific integrity across research studies
• Facilitate knowledge translation through multiple channels and stakeholder engagement
• Facilitate uptake of evidence by ministries of health, regional and global health institutions and donors
• Lead responsible use of AI and digital tools in evidence generation and use approaches
• Promote innovation and continuous improvement in evidence generation and use, and learning approaches
• Establish and maintain relevant standards, protocols, and guidance documents
• Oversee appropriate review processes for research design, research implementation, and evaluation
• Ensure integration of evidence and learning into technical service delivery
• Respond to queries from partners, clients, and staff about key issues in Malaria Consortium’s areas of evidence generation and use, and learning
• Work closely with the Global Technical Team (GTT) and the External Relations (ER) team to ensure the consistent availability of technical content for organisational publications
• Facilitate and foster the writing of quality and impactful peer-review publications and thought-leadership pieces
• Be Principal Investigator (PI) on selected high-impact projects
• Provide oversight to experiential and lessons learning for technical quality improvement

 Capacity Development, Collaboration and Coordination

• Strengthen internal capacity for evidence-informed programming and lessons learning through mentoring, coaching, training and professional development
• Facilitate country-led evidence-generation and use initiatives
• Facilitate cross-country learning and south-south collaborations
• Ensure effective coordination and collaboration across the global technical team

 Financial and Resource Management

• Support the management and monitoring of financial resources appropriately
• Support effective management of financial resources of programmes and projects through periodic reviews of financial management information from the organisational/enterprise level
• Participate in annual budgeting and reviews working closely with the Technical Operations Coordinator

 Representation and Partnerships

• Represent Malaria Consortium in global forums, working groups, and donor engagements
• Foster strategic partnerships with peer organisations, academic institutions, evidence networks, technical agencies and global health institutions
• Maintain networks with Ministries Health, technical experts and relevant influential organisations

 Business Development

• Guide the technical positioning of Malaria Consortium, identifying opportunities for future development and work
• Contribute to the development of fundraising concepts and proposals and lead the development of evidence generation and use value propositions, inputs, and partnerships
• Allocate key staff to lead technical input to proposals, reprioritising workload as needed
• Propose and be involved in donor engagement activities to achieve the objectives of the organisational strategy

 Person specification

 Qualifications and experience:

Essential:      

• Substantial experience in the systematic use of evidence to support decision-making for impactful health programmes
• Substantial experience in global health with a focus on evidence generation activities and knowledge translation in malaria, vector borne diseases, child health and other communicable diseases
• A PhD, or equivalent extensive experience, in epidemiology, public health, health economics or related field
• Extensive experience in leading research and evidence functions at senior level in global health
• Experience in organisational strategic planning
• Significant management experience in an international NGO, academic institution or multilateral health agency
• Experience in LMIC settings and engaging with ministries of health and health development partners
• Has strong networks in the global health community
• Strong experience in mentoring senior, high-calibre technical staff
• Significant and current experience of writing funding proposals
• Experience communicating evidence to diverse audiences
• Right to work in the UK or specific location where there is a Malaria Consortium office

 Desirable:  

• Experience in economic evaluations or mathematical/statistical/systems modelling
• Experience in leveraging AI-enablement for predictive modelling, disease forecasting and near real-time data analysis
• Experience in AI-enabled knowledge translation through synthesis of complex data into actionable insights for policy and programming

Work-based skills:            

Essential:  

• Excellent knowledge and skills in evidence-informed decision-making frameworks, including implementation science and real-world evaluation
• Familiar with common approaches to maximise or optimise the impact of health programmes, including analytical methods such as cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and budget impact analysis.
• Knowledgeable in modelling techniques such as mathematical, statistical or systems modelling
• Is an inspirational leader with excellent leadership skills and a growth mindset
• Able to think strategically and transfer that thinking into practical implications
• Able to develop and present evidence-based arguments and impact/influence others
• Highly capable communicator with excellent writing and presentation skills
• Highly organised with excellent management and planning skills
• Excellent verbal and written English
• Track record of publications and current within the past few years
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, and team-building abilities
• Is a champion of evidence use in decision-making for impact
• Committed to the mission and values of Malaria Consortium

Desirable:  

• Relevant modelling qualification
• Excellent project and budget management skills
• Able to engage effectively with partners who are committed to innovation and achieving meaningful impact
• Proactively seeks and evaluates novel approaches to improve outcomes
• Able to think quickly and respond effectively in dynamic situations
• Experienced in handling media requests with professionalism and clarity
• Skilled in leveraging social media to support organisational visibility, technical communication, and stakeholder engagement
• Proficiency in French or Portuguese