Consultant Analyst - Data Analysis, QA & Capacity Building at Evidence Action
Evidence Action launched formally in 2013 to scale programs with sustainable business models that have been proven to be effective so that they benefit millions of people.
- Evidence Action leads and manages two programs incubated by Innovations for Poverty Action: Dispensers for Safe Water and the Deworm the World Initiative.
Background
Evidence Action’s Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) function in the West and Central Africa (WCA) region delivers the Comprehensive Facility Survey (CFS) analysis annually for each country program.
- In 2025, responsibility for the CFS analysis transitioned from the ESA team to the WCA Data Analytics and Learning (DAL) unit.
- The first two rounds - Cameroon (December 2025) and Liberia (March 2026) - revealed significant gaps in the quality and completeness of the analysis outputs, which were documented through a formal Root Cause Analysis.
- The RCA identified four root causes: an abrupt transition without adequate knowledge transfer, the absence of a documented analysis protocol and quality assurance process, insufficient pre-analysis pipeline review, and a supervisory review process that was not yet functioning as an effective quality gate.
- A structured improvement plan has been developed to address these gaps ahead of the next CFS round (Cameroon, October 2026).
This consultancy is being engaged to accelerate the improvement plan, provide technical coaching to the DAL team, and serve as a quality gate on analysis outputs during the engagement period.
Objective
The primary objective of this consultancy is to strengthen the WCA DAL team’s capacity to independently deliver high-quality CFS analysis by October 2026.
- The consultant will do this by providing hands-on technical coaching, co-developing structured analysis protocols and SOPs, training the team on their application, and functioning as the primary quality assurance reviewer on all analysis outputs produced during the engagement period.
- A secondary objective is to contribute to the broader analytical capacity of the DAL unit by supporting the team on data analysis workflows, results generation, and evidence-based reporting practices that extend beyond the CFS package.
Scope of Work
CFS Analysis Quality Assurance and Capacity Building (Primary - approx. 70% of effort)
Technical Coaching:
Work alongside the primary analyst (Associate level) to build familiarity with the CFS analytical logic, including KPI construction from raw survey data, compound conditions (AND/OR operators, nested skip-logic), denominator specification, and rebinning procedures.
- Lead or co-lead structured learning sessions on the CFS package covering KPI definitions and rationale, survey design and skip-logic patterns, codebook conventions, and how indicators are derived from raw data.
- Sessions should be practical and tied to the team’s actual analysis work, not theoretical.
- Coach the DAL team lead (Manager level) on CFS-specific review techniques, including the ability to detect common error patterns such as wrong variable selection, denominator mismatches, implausible output values, and code-to-output discrepancies.
Stress-test the team lead’s reviewer capacity through KPI exercises and planted-error review practice sets, providing feedback on review accuracy and identifying areas requiring further development.
Requirements
Required Qualifications and Experience:
Essential:
Master’s Degree in Statistics, Economics, Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related quantitative field.
- A minimum of 5 years of experience in data analysis for public health, development, or social sector programs, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or mentoring capacity.
- Strong proficiency in Stata for data management and analysis, with demonstrated experience writing and reviewing code for survey data cleaning, indicator construction, and results generation.
- Direct experience with large facility-level survey analysis with a vast number of variables (CFS, SPA, SDI, or comparable instruments) - including familiarity with KPI construction, skip-logic handling, rebinning, and weighted estimation.
- Experience developing or co-developing analysis SOPs, quality assurance protocols, or structured review checklists for survey data analysis.
- Demonstrated ability to coach and build capacity in analytical teams - not just review outputs, but explain why an output is wrong and how to fix it.
Strong written communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, concise analytical documentation and progress reports.
Duration and Timeline:
The consultancy is for an initial period of three (3) months, starting 15 June 2026 through end of September 2026, with the possibility of extension through December 2026 to cover the blind re-analysis, readiness assessment, and the October Cameroon analysis round.
- Any extension will be subject to evidence of strong performance during the initial period and will be agreed in writing.
- (An earlier start will be considered)
- This role requires up to 80% face-to-face interaction with the DAL team in Abuja.
- The hands-on coaching, training, and quality assurance functions are most effective when delivered in person alongside the team.
Reporting and Working Arrangements:
The consultant reports directly to the Senior Manager, MLE WCA.
- Day-to-day coordination will be with the DAL team lead (Manager, Data Analytics and Learning).
The consultant will provide weekly written updates to the Senior Manager, each including evidence of tangible results achieved during the reporting period - such as completed training assessments, reviewed outputs, protocol drafts, or documented team progress.
- A formal written mid-point progress update is due by the end of July 2026.
- Up to 80% of the consultant’s time should be spent in face-to-face engagement with the team in Abuja.
- Remote working may be agreed for specific tasks that do not require in-person interaction.
Deadline: Not Specified
How to Apply
Interested applicant can apply via this link
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