Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist (Reproductive Healthcare)

Organizational Summary

Contraceptive care is basic healthcare. Yet too many patients in the U.S. struggle to access the care they need, when they need it. Founded in 2014, Upstream USA is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that equitable, patient-centered contraceptive care is available to everyone.

Our Mission and Impact

Upstream works to ensure individuals can make fully informed, autonomous decisions about the contraceptive methods that are best for them. We are currently the largest contraceptive organization in the country improving contraceptive care in primary care settings, operating in 37 states and Washington, D.C.

While our foundational work focuses on partnering with healthcare organizations offering primary care, such as federally qualified healthcare centers (FQHC) and health systems, we are always evolving. We are actively pursuing additional, innovative paths to ensure every patient has streamlined access to the contraceptive service of their choice, where and when it is most convenient for them.

A Different Kind of Nonprofit

Supported entirely by venture philanthropy, Upstream operates with a culture of aggressive growth and a laser focus on measurable outcomes. To maintain our independence and nonpartisan stance, we do not accept funding from the government or pharmaceutical companies.

• Our 2030 Goal: We are on a mission to partner with organizations that collectively reach 5 million patients of reproductive age.
• Recognition: We are a 2023 Audacious Project recipient, with our work featured in publications like Harvard Public Health, Bloomberg, and MedPage Today.

We welcome individuals who are driven by impact and scale to join us in making equitable contraceptive access a reality for all.

Position Summary

The Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Specialist is an exciting opportunity to help support Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning activities in close collaboration with Upstream’s practice transformation teams. The MEL Specialist will support efforts to collect and analyze Upstream program implementation data, as well as EHR-constructed measures and other data, both quantitative and qualitative. They will become an expert in using organizational data platform(s), leading data-informed discussions with internal practice transformation teams and external health care organization (HCO) teams for improvement, and synthesizing data to report learnings for both internal and external audiences. The MEL Specialist will support the Senior MEL Manager to monitor progress towards our outcomes and to use our findings to inform organizational strategy. Join a passionate, committed team as we implement our contraceptive care initiative nationwide.

 Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The MEL Specialist will perform a variety of analytical, operational, and administrative duties, including but not limited to: developing tools, analyses and reports that support initiative-wide monitoring and evaluation efforts; support efforts to collect, analyze and interpret Upstream program and EHR-derived  data; supporting the coordination and implementation of a virtual patient survey; supporting coordination of health center partner EHR connections with a third-party data vendor; becoming a “power user” of Upstream data platforms, coordinating meetings with internal and external stakeholders, and working with Upstream leadership to synthesize results for program improvement and reporting purposes. The MEL Specialist will work independently on projects and also work collaboratively within our team to handle a wide variety of dynamic activities.

Data Collection Management, Analysis, and Reporting

Under the direction of, and in concert with, the Director of Learning and Outcome Studies and our Sr Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager:

• Become an expert in using dashboards and reports from Upstream’s third-party data platform that houses aggregate patient data from HCO partner electronic health records (EHR) systems
• Identify and troubleshoot potential problems in HCO partner data, as detected in our third-party data platform vendor; collaborate with Upstream EHR Advisor and third-party vendor representatives to resolve identified issues
• Work with the recruitment team to explain the data platform benefits to potential health center partners and help persuade them to become an Upstream data user
• Serve as a primary point of contact for interpreting data trends related to contraceptive care program implementation for internal program team members and external agency partners including Upstream’s custom suite of contraceptive care measures.
• Conduct both single HCO and cross-HCO analyses using EHR-derived and program data
• Contribute to the critical analysis of Upstream’s suite of contraceptive care performance metrics and internal program data in order to provide recommendations for utilization of measures and monitoring data for performance improvement at the agency and cross-agency levels
• Produce actionable insights for HCO, and internal practice transformation team staff on Upstream intervention progress by regular review of agency EHR data and other data streams in collaboration with other MEL and program team colleagues
• Prepare quantitative and qualitative reports using PowerBI, Excel, Salesforce, Google Suite, and third party data platforms
• Develop or prepare innovative, succinct, and well-written summary reports, visualizations and presentations for both internal and external stakeholders about agency or cross-agency level progress and results
• Make presentations and recommendations to learning-through-data-feedback-loop forums in an effort to continually improve Upstream’s program.
• Work with the Director of Learning and Outcome Studies to develop data analysis methodologies for assessing program impact in partner agencies.

Team Communication

Under the direction of, and in concert with, the Director of Learning and Outcome Studies:

• Develop meeting agendas and materials, support facilitation and documentation of meetings with Practice Transformation Teams and other colleagues
• Contribute to the MEL Team by sharing updates on your work and integrating new methods and ideas shared by other team members

Other Responsibilities

• Scope, support and lead special projects as needed for the MEL team.
• Share research and analytical insights to wider MEL team for further analysis
• Additional duties as assigned.

Additional Attributes

• Confident and proactive self-starter able to take initiative and work well independently
• Collaborative; Works well with partners, teammates and cross-functional groups
• Curiosity about data and what we can learn from them
• Demonstrates a high degree of adaptability to work in a rapidly growing, post start-up organization
• Possesses excellent interpersonal skills. Builds and maintains positive, productive relationships with colleagues, staff, consultants, and contractors
• Solid work ethic and a team-oriented approach

Valued and Non-Essential Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability (Not required to apply)

• Master’s-level degree in public health, health science or statistics field strongly preferred

Required Education, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Ability

Upstream celebrates and fosters an inclusive work environment and encourages people of all identities, perspectives and backgrounds to apply.

 Our ideal candidate will demonstrate aptitude in the specified areas below:

• 4-6 years of relevant work experience post-undergraduate degree or 2-4 years of relevant experience plus a graduate professional degree in public health, epidemiology, data science, or health data-related field
• Experience in health care data analysis
• Experience in the field of sexual and reproductive health/family planning and/or primary care preferred
• Excellent interpersonal and meeting facilitation skills. Builds and maintains positive, productive relationships with colleagues, staff, consultants, and clients
• Superb communication skills, and demonstrated ability to function independently and professionally in a public-facing role, and with internal Upstream staff at all levels
• Knowledge of electronic health records (EHR) systems, health data systems or infrastructure is a plus
• Knowledge and basic experience in participating in quality improvement or performance improvement initiatives and/or managing population health analytics in the health care setting
• Experience with data-visualization and related tools (e.g. Tableau, PowerBI, etc)
• Confidence working independently, exercising good judgment, and making informed decisions with limited direction
• Exhibit flexibility and agility in response to changing priorities
• Solid organizational mission alignment and commitment to collaboration and teamwork
• Demonstrate ability and willingness to continuously acquire new competencies and accept new challenges
• Experience with data cleaning, dataset preparation, and conducting analyses (descriptive analytics and bivariate analyses) in statistical software preferred (e.g., STATA, R, etc.)
• Excellent organizational, and project management skills, with outstanding attention to detail
• Intermediate skill level with Excel and Google Sheets (pivot tables, etc) and G-Suite including Mail, Calendar, Drive

Pay Transparency

Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the scope of the role, market compensation analysis, position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities, fairness in internal pay considerations and will be made within the parameters of Upstream USA's compensation framework and philosophy.

Other Upstream Staff Expectations

• All Upstreamers must be able to attend work-related in-person meetings and functions as needed. 
• In our hybrid work environments, there is a basic expectation that our Upstreamers will ensure that their work from home setups will have reliable access to phone and Internet to ensure connectivity to their teams.
• At Upstream we gather for moments that matter for training, teaming and connection. Our teams come together for occasional in person meetings and organizational retreats. As part of our hybrid work practices, this travel expectation will be applicable for all Upstreamers, even those based remotely.
• Engage in organization-sponsored  learning & development

Upstream Benefits

Upstream USA offers a comprehensive benefit package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long and short term disability, 401K with a match, generous vacation, personal, sick and holiday time off, parental leave, professional development, a fitness and cell phone allowance for all full time employees and part time employees who work a minimum of 24 hours per week. Intern positions and contingent worker roles are not eligible for benefits.

Hiring Process

Candidates who advance in our preliminary review process will have an opportunity to discuss the position, their employment background and lived experience with a member of our talent acquisition team by telephone. Those who advance to subsequent steps in our interview process may participate in up to three rounds of meetings by Zoom or in person and in a thought exercise/case study assignment. Each round could consist of multiple meetings with various Upstreamers. If you need anything in advance of your interviews, please reach out to your recruiter. 

Our Culture 

We are dedicated to fostering a fair and accessible talent lifecycle, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to thrive. From recruitment to career development, we strive to create a workplace where talent is recognized, supported, and empowered to contribute meaningfully. Building a strong, representative workforce is essential to our success, and we prioritize collaboration, transparency, and shared leadership to cultivate an environment where all voices are heard and valued.

Our commitment extends beyond hiring—we invest in professional growth, mentorship, and inclusive workplace practices to support long-term success for our employees. You can learn more about our organization on our career site. 

Upstream Careers

Our goal is to attract, develop and retain exceptional people, and to create a work environment that is dynamic, rewarding and enables each of us to realize our potential.  Upstream is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, genetic information, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Upstream USA participates in E-Verify.

Upstream Headquarters

2 Oliver Street, Suite 402, Boston, MA 02109

www.upstream.org

No phone calls please.

Be advised that we do not ever conduct hiring interviews via text or email. Please protect yourself by learning more about our hiring practices and common red flags to look out for.