Job Description
Company Background:
SoCha (a portmanteau of Social and Change) is an independent Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (ME&L) firm that provides bespoke solutions to social challenges. Since our inception in 2010, we have grown into a fully-fledged ME&L services firm that specializes in advancing innovative methodologies and changing the way donors find solutions to social problems.
Project Summary:
The USAID Z-MELP project intends to 1) Strengthen the national Health Management Information System (HMIS) owned and managed by the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s (GRZ) Ministry of Health (MoH); 2) Improve monitoring, evaluation, and research capacities within key government and non-governmental institutions; and 3) Expand the evidence base for existing approaches to health programming in malaria, nutrition, family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV. The activity supports the strategic objectives of the USAID, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).
**Please note: Only Zambian citizens are eligible for this position**
Position Summary:
The Senior Health Management Information System (HMIS) Advisor reports directly to the Chief of Party and will provide technical, strategic, and programmatic direction for the development and implementation of HMIS aspects of the project. The position will be the direct interface with the MOH and HMIS stakeholders to support the project’s Objective of providing High-Quality, Timely, and Accessible HMIS Data. The Senior HMIS Advisor is responsible for supporting the MOH to improve the generation, identification, collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of quality data and strategic information. The position will engage with Zambia’s health informatics community to oversee and develop approaches for integration of e-Health information systems used in Zambia to collect, manage, analyze, report, visualize, and disseminate health data.
Responsibilities:
Provide technical direction for the project’s work with the MOH to support timely, high quality and accessible HMIS data.
Train, mentor and oversee three staff.
Coordinate with partners, subcontractors, and vendors as required.
Coordinate weekly technical meetings and ensure that all staff are working toward the completion of actions laid out in the Annual Workplan.
Provide technical and coordination support to MoH in ensuring functionality of the M&E technical working group, Digital Health technical working group and the sub-committees.
Provide technical assistance to MoH and monitor implementation of the Health Information System Strategy, Digital Health Strategy and Interoperability Architectural Framework.
Provide technical support and routine maintenance of the Digital Health Knowledge Hub functions as an effective tool for stakeholder coordination and knowledge sharing.
Work collaboratively with the HIS STTA to guide implementation of the MoH HIS strategy and the Interoperability Architectural Framework.
Provide technical support to MoH and monitor roll out of the web based tool for performance assessment and the Zambia Health Facility Registry.
Monitor progress of implementation of the HMIS Nursing Curriculum in close collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia.
Engage with the Zambian health informatics and digital health community.
Work with end-users at various levels of the health system to deliver technical solutions that meet their requirements.
Provide expert technical advice to support the activity’s ability to deliver effective technical assistance, advocacy, and political direction among HMIS stakeholders.
Advise the MOH and its cooperating partners on eHealth and mobile health technologies to enhance the quality of service delivery and work with various stakeholder groups, including the MOH, to train health teams on HMIS tools.
Qualifications:
A Bachelor’s Degree or higher in public health, statistics, health informatics, or a relevant social science.
A minimum of 7 years of experience including 5 years in HMIS within Zambia.
Strong technical knowledge of the various health management information system platforms operating in the Zambian health sector including DHIS2 and SmartCare.
Proven ability to identify data integration challenges across multiple systems and propose effective solutions.
Experience designing data models, strategies, and data flows across systems and building consensus among multiple stakeholders.
Ability to conceive of, plan, and lead HMIS strengthening activities that address the unique challenges of the central, provincial, district, facility levels.
Ability to provide high-level HMIS technical leadership to multiple GRZ directorates and data systems to achieve results.
Ability to find solutions to HMIS challenges that are acutely sensitive to human and other resource constraints in the health sector.
Ability to serve as a liaison with USAID, GRZ, and other key stakeholders in support of strengthening the HIS.
Strong interpersonal relations and ability to manage a diverse team.
Ability to lead HMIS change management activities at all levels.
Strong project management background, practical knowledge of PEPFAR programming and data requirements will be an added advantage.
English language required.
Location
Zambia