Associate, Health Information, Southern Africa at Clinton Health Access Initiative 39 views2 applications

Founded in 2002, by President William J. Clinton and Ira Magaziner, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (“CHAI”) is a global health organization committed to strengthening integrated health systems and expanding access to care and treatment in the developing world. CHAI’s solution-oriented approach focuses on improving market dynamics for medicines and diagnostics; lowering prices for treatment; accelerating access to lifesaving technologies; and helping governments build the capacity required for high-quality care and treatment programs. Since its inception, CHAI’s programs have helped more than 11.8 million people in more than 70 countries have access to CHAI-negotiated prices for HIV/AIDS medicines, saving the global health community billions of dollars.

Several countries in the Southern Africa region have committed to eliminate malaria by 2020. To reach this target, countries will need to rapidly detect and effectively treat infections, to identify and aggressively target areas where malaria transmission persists, and to coordinate efforts closely to ensure movements of people and parasites do not jeopardize success. Achievement of this goal across the region will bring the world one step closer to global malaria eradication. CHAI is supporting malaria programs in South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana to strengthen surveillance systems, devise targeted and evidence-based plans, successfully implement these plans,scale-up interventions in high-risk and hard-to-reach populations, and to coordinate activities regionally.

CHAI is seeking a highly motivated individual to work as a Health Information Associate to play a critical role in helping governmental programs in the region improve how they collect and analyze data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts to eliminate malaria. S/he will be responsible forworking with an array of ministry of health and CHAI staff to build in-country capacity related to the useof information technology. This work will include creating, modifying, and maintaining potentially complex and diverse surveillance platforms; leading national training sessions in technology solutions;and helping staff use and troubleshoot health information systems on an ongoing basis. The Associate will work closely with technology companies, academic partners, the WHO, and other NGOs to ensure malaria programs in country have the tools required to monitor and evaluate progress towardselimination. A successful candidate will be able to work independently to drive implementation andhave deep personal commitment to producing results.

Position placement can be flexible to other Southern Africa CHAI program country locations pending country leadership approval.

Responsibilities:

• Work with CHAI country associates and malaria program officers to understand technological requirements for malaria surveillance, including the monitoring of malaria epidemiology and the impact of malaria interventions
• Develop coherent and technology-appropriate specifications for meeting user requirements.
• Play a translational role in communicating user requirements and technical specifications to non-technical staff within CHAI management and ministries of health
• Liaise with and manage software developers to build application meeting user requirements
• Design and develop custom data collection forms  as required (e.g. ODK or Survey CTO)
• Design and develop disease information dashboards as required (including format and content)
• Help cultivate a culture of data-use within malaria programs by strengthening usage and analysis of data by the malaria program and the quality of data inputs
• Develop training materials and help train country staff in the use of information technology
• Any other tasks identified.

In the near term,

• Support the revision and roll-out of a spatial data collection system for indoor residual spraying (IRS)and foci investigation in Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Review the applicability of the platform inNamibia, Botswana, and South Africa.
• Work with in-country developers to design and roll out web-based dashboards on DHIS2 in Namibiaand Zimbabwe. Support the roll-out of the DHIS2 Tracker application.
• Assist the South Africa National Department of Health transition to a web-based malaria informationsystem, using DHIS2

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field (information systems, epidemiology, computer science); Master’s degree preferred
  · At least two years’ working experience as a business analyst, technical project manager, or in a similar role working closely with stakeholders to define and deliver business requirements fortechnology initiatives.
  · Proven experience in implementing technology-based solutions with users, preferably for disease surveillance
  · Exceptional written, oral, and interpersonal skills. Experience communicating technical concepts  to non-technical users;  excellent written and verbal communication skills
  · Understanding of disease surveillance (including surveillance platforms) with knowledge of global health issues; Knowledge of common health information management systems such as DHIS2 strongly preferred
  · Familiarity with emerging technologies for data collection and reporting (including experience using open source data collection tools like ODK); comfort with developing basic data collection forms andreports preferred
  · Familiarity with emerging technologies for web or mobile application development for data visualization and analysis
  · Experience in data management (including managing databases) and data analysis
  · High levels of proficiency in Access, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
  · Languages: SQL, JavaScript, html
  · Experience working in an international context and/or entrepreneurial environment
  · Ability to think strategically and anticipate future consequences and trends
  · Ability to work well independently in unstructured settings and to adapt to new environments and challenges
  · Strong work ethic, integrity, credibility, and dedication to CHAI’s mission
  · Ability to be effective, calm, and flexible in high-pressure situations, to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and to effectively prioritize
  · Ability to communicate effectively with people of varied professional and cultural backgrounds
  · Proven ability to function in a fast-paced work environment
  · Demonstrated ability to work with a sense of urgency and timeliness
  · Ability to travel approximately 25-50% of the year.

  Advantages:
  · Any statistical and geospatial analysis experience (R, SAS, STATA, ArcGIS and/or other relevant software);
  · Knowledge of malaria or other global infectious diseases;
  · Experience working and communicating with government officials and multilateral organizations;
  · Experience living or working in resource-limited countries;