Block MLE Coordinator – Care

CARE is a leading humanitarian global organization. We deliver lasting change to some of the world’s poorest communities and place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. In 2020, CARE worked in over 100 countries, reaching more than 90 million people through 1,300 projects.

Position: Block MLE Coordinator
Grade/Level I
Project/Unit VL-III
Reports to: District MLE Officer
Location: Any block of districts of Bihar
Project Duration 1 Year

Skill
Minimum Qualification
MSW – MASTER OF SOCIAL WORKBA – BACHELOR OF ARTSMA – MASTER OF ARTS

Required Experience0 – 3 Years

A Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) was signed between Government of Bihar (GoB) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in 2010, based on which BMGF agreed to provide technical support and assistance to GoB to improve Health and Nutrition outcomes across the State. As part of this MoC, a Technical Support Unit (TSU) was established in 2013 with CARE India as the lead development partner. The Bihar TSU aimed to support the Health and Social Welfare (ICDS) Departments of the GoB in their endeavour to achieve rapid and sustainable change in Health and Nutrition. The TSU targets providing specific technical support to Government of India’s (GoI) RMNCH+A campaign, GoB’s Manav Vikas Mission Goals and Kala-Azar elimination goals across the State.

“In the next phase of, TSU will target people within the system with range of different types of intervention, to shape leadership and governance, build technical/managerial/data skills, co-design tools, processes, pilots with them, hardwire research into the core decision making processes, use measurement increasingly as a mirror and learning intervention, and draw on the wealth of experience accumulating with the team on the ground to inform policy making and strategy design.” As a part of the agreement between GoB and BMGF, Bihar TSU has established District Resource Unit (DRU) in all the districts to provide technical support at district level. The DRU would function as a Platform to enable structured delivering of program intervention and ensure that there is alignment with government priorities.

As a part of the agreement between GoB and BMGF, Bihar TSU has established a State Resource Unit (SRU) and District Resource Units (DRU) in all the districts to provide technical support at district level. The DRU would function as a Platform to enable structured delivering of program intervention and ensure that there is alignment with government priorities. It would help improve utilization/alignment and synergy of resources like DPs at district level. It will also ensure data driven management and bridge communication gaps between State and districts.

This support extends across hierarchies – from State level support to Health Department, ICDS department and State Health Society of Bihar (SHSB), to District and Block level support across all 534 blocks in the State.

Concurrent Measurement and Learning Unit (CML) under TSU, designs and puts in place processes to generate and analyse outcome and process data on community and facility level services at scale. Along with Reproductive Health, Maternal, Newborn and Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, the CML cell will also focus on generation and sharing of data related to Kala Azar / VL (Visceral Leishmaniasis). CML Unit also plays a critical role in the capacity building of program team and Government counterparts on data driven decision making.

Job Summary
CML unit conducts surveys using several data collection techniques such as personal interviews, observations, focused group discussions, case studies, data from records/documents etc. Block MLE coordinator will be primarily responsible for collecting data in his/her assigned blocks for the studies conducted by CML as per a defined protocol.  His/her principal mandate will be to conduct data collection for such surveys ensuring data quality as well as efficiency and timeliness. When needed, s/he may need to coordinate/collaborate with Block MLE Coordinators of the same district or other districts to enhance efficiency of the data collection process. Being the primary responsible personnel in the assigned blocks, the Block MLE Coordinator will be accountable for the overall success of the CML data collection effort in her/his blocks.

Contract / Key Relationships 
The Block MLE Coordinator will report to District MLE Officer of their respective assigned districts of Bihar. They will work in close coordination with District Data Quality Monitoring Coordinators (DQMCs) of their assigned districts and need to coordinate/collaborate with other Block MLE Coordinators of the same district or other districts.

Key Responsibilities 

The primary duties and responsibilities of the Block MLE Coordinator will include the following but not be restricted to:

Understanding the study protocol(s)

• To understand the domains of enquiry for each survey and be well-versed with the techniques employed for data collection for specific studies.
• To grasp the implementation protocol(s) for each study.
• To have thorough knowledge of the tools/instruments used for data collection in each of the studies.

Collecting the required data: 

• To identify/trace the respondent as per the study sample.
• Administering the tools/ instruments using appropriate techniques and collect data from respondents/records while ensuring complete adherence to data collection protocol.
• Accurately documenting the responses/observations.
• To chalk out efficient route and travel plan along with appropriate operational and logistic plan for ensuring maximum productivity.
• To ensure completion of data collection for each of the assigned studies within the stipulated timeline.

Ensuring Data Quality:

• To strictly follow the sample selection techniques
• To adhere to instrument administration protocol(s) as described in training(s) for ensuring high quality data

Other Support:

• To provide support in conducting pre-testing and cognitive testing of any new instrument
• To perform other ad-hoc tasks as per the need of different stakeholders such as the Government and the donor
• Travel up to 90% of the time within the Block or outside blocks as and when required.

Qualification & Experience
Essential:

Bachelor’s degree/PG Diploma in any discipline from any recognized university.

Preferred:

• Experience of collecting data by conducting personal interviews and observational processes.
• Experience of data collection for large-scale studies/surveys with one/more reputed organizations / institutions.
• Basic understanding on Maternal and Child Health (MCH) issues and fundamentals of data collection in public health.

Skills & Competencies 

•  Familiarity with use of android mobile/Tablet.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities with attention to details.
• Experience of working with the national programs at Block/district level, especially RCH, NRHM and RMNCH+A.
• Able to travel extensively within block, district or outside district, if required.
• Ability to meet hard timelines while working on different assignments simultaneously.
• A team player following model codes of conduct and behaviour ensuring gender and rights-based approaches at the workplace.
• Ability to read, write and speak Hindi/ local language of Bihar.
• Basic knowledge and application of MS Office suite especially Word and Excel
• Capable of riding motorcycle/scooter, owning one of them and possessing a valid license.