Earn over 145m as Project Management Specialist (Malaria Data Management) – United States Embassy / US Mission
Job Title: Project Management Specialist (Malaria Data Management)
Organisation: United States US Embassy, US Mission in Uganda
Duty Station: USAID/Uganda Office of Health, Kampala, Uganda
Salary Grade: UGX 145,734,783 – 214,194,284 per annum (FSN 11)
Reports to: USAID Senior Malaria Advisor
About US Embassy:
The United States Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda for over 30 years. Ambassador Deborah R. Malac currently heads the U.S Mission to Uganda. The Mission is composed of several offices and organizations all working under the auspices of the Embassy and at the direction of the Ambassador.
Among the offices operating under the U.S Mission to Uganda are:
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- Peace Corps
Job Summary: The Project Management Specialist (Malaria Data Management) will assist in the development and implementation of strategies to improve data quality and data sharing, while also establishing a stronger culture of data-informed resource allocation within USAID Mission, Office Health and HIV the PMI/ Uganda, and NMCD programs. Internally, the Malaria Data Specialist shall liaise with PMI backstops, as well as Surveillance, Monitoring & Evaluation (SM&E) and Data Integration technical teams at USAID/Washington and CDC/Atlanta, and USAID personnel overseeing the Mission’s activities related to malaria control. External responsibilities include regular contact and collaboration with counterparts in Uganda’s NMCD at the Ministry of Health (MOH), the MOH Division of Health Information (DHI), and other relevant government ministries and agencies to drive government of Uganda and PMI common objectives when it comes to SM&E. The Malaria Data Specialist is also expected to work with a wide range of non-governmental and private sector organizations, other donor and international organizations, and other United States Government (USG) entities working in malaria prevention and control. As appropriate, the Malaria Data Specialist will provide managerial and technical support to the NMCD Assistant Commissioner and staff to build capacity within the NMCD in the areas of data analysis and use.
The Malaria Data Specialist shall provide technical advice in the conceptualization, development, design, administration, and monitoring of the various information systems necessary for malaria control, including for malaria case management, vector control, and the supply chain of malaria commodities. S/He will discover, facilitate and promote efficient ways to collect, organize, clean, store, analyze, and share disparate, complex datasets with attention to security and confidentiality. The Malaria Data Specialist must possess highly specialized technical expertise in an applied quantitative discipline such as statistics, economics, computer science, epidemiology, or health informatics, and be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of the malaria epidemiology in Uganda.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Data Management – 50%
- Provide technical support to all areas of data management—including ensuring appropriate data ingestion (manual and automated), inventorying and cataloguing in the PMI data platform—for all malaria-related datasets (e.g. financial, programmatic, epidemiological, entomological, supply chain, demographic).
- Review and provide technical feedback on surveillance, monitoring and evaluation (SM&E) Plans submitted by PMI-funded implementing partners.
- Conduct data quality assessments on key performance indicators included in the SM&E plans of PMI- funded implementing partners, as required under USAID policy (ADS 200).
- Support the NMCD and implementing partners in the planning and implementation of a baseline national data quality assessment (DQA) to enable measurement of change in data accuracy, timeliness, and completeness overtime.
- Support the NMCD in data validation processes and in the implementation of routine DQAs at facility/district/national levels.
- Develop the PMI/ Uganda team’s data management plan and work with PMI-funded implementing partners to ensure their data management plans adequately describe datasets, access and sharing, data collection and analysis methodology, intellectual property rights, ethics and privacy, as well as storage and backup.
- Define, manage, and routinely review identity and access management (IAM) framework to ensure roles and access privileges of individual platform users.
- Ensure the PMI/team’s electronic databases and archives are protected from security breaches and data losses.
- Troubleshoot data-related problems and country-level modifications to the internal data platforms/repositories,
- Liaise with the Mission’s IT officer and USAID/CIO (Chief Information Officer) to ensure adherence to agency rules and regulations on information management and the open data policy.
- Track and enforce PMI implementing partner submission of all datasets, in machine-readable format, to the USAID Development Data Library (DDL).
Data Visualization, Reporting and Use – 35%
- Provide technical assistance to NMCD and PMI/HQ in providing technical backing to the newly established Quarterly Report requirement, wherein Uganda is requested to report malaria-related health data, disaggregated by month and by district, on a quarterly basis.
- Provide technical assistance to the NMCD and PMI/ Uganda team to integrate, analyze, and visualize data, and build the culture of data use for decision-making.
- Support the M-DIVE platform to ingest, house, analyze, and visualize epidemiological, supply chain, financial, entomological, demographic, climate, and other data from various sources, including the monthly data reported from Uganda on a quarterly basis.
- Facilitate the M-DIVE platform to integrate with and complement with the existing tools such as DHIS2.
- Apply sound data science principles and methods to objectively and systematically track epidemiological and entomological changes and measure progress towards national targets for malaria control in Uganda.
- Conduct rigorous analysis and triangulation of data from a variety of sources to unearth implementation obstacles and opportunities, and employ cutting edge approaches and tools to generate compelling data visualizations.
- Train and mentor the NMCD and PMI colleagues in data analysis and visualization.
- Support data compilation and production of periodic reports, including the PMI quarterly reports and annual performance reports, as well as ad hoc briefing summaries on status and progress.
- Facilitate negotiation of data sharing agreements between PMI and relevant institutions of the Government of the Republic of Uganda including the Ministry of Health, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the National Medical Stores (NMS), Joint Medical Stores (JMS), and the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA).
- Facilitate the establishment and institutionalization of data use processes, with a focus on reducing time in the information to decision cycle within PMI and the NMCD.
- Implement efficient and secure procedures for data handling and analysis.
Country Data Systems Development – 15%
- Collaborate with implementing partners and other donors to support the MOH and NMCD’s transition from paper-based to digital health information systems.
- Assist with the development and expansion of key platforms used by the MOH and the NMCD, including the District Health Information System (DHIS) 2 and the electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS), and ensure adherence to the Roll Back Malaria monitoring and evaluation reference group (RBM MERG), the World Health Organization (WHO) Digital Health Interventions Guideline, the USAID Digital Health Strategy, and the Uganda e-Health strategy.
- Participate in periodic assessments of national health information systems to evaluate their performance and discover ways of enhancing them (e.g. capacity building, technology upgrades).
- Maintain an up-to-date understanding of the national health information system (HIS) landscape and architecture (platforms and stakeholders and how they interact) ensuring all digital HIS tools funded by PMI and other donors are inventoried in the WHO’s Digital Health Atlas to avoid duplication and maximize investments.
- Participate in the development of costed national HIS strategy, and actively participate in national HIS governance mechanisms—promoting strong NMCD involvement.
- Work with SM&E advisor(s) at the NMCD to assist with coordination, national M&E strategic plan development, standard DHIS2 malaria module implementation, monthly/quarterly data review meetings at health facility, district and national levels, as well as district level scorecards to foster a culture of data use and accountability.
- Assist with the development of core metadata components, including indicator reference guides, data dictionaries, malaria commodity lists, master facility lists, and accessibility application programming interface (API)-accessible health facility registries.
- The contractor is eligible for temporary duty (TDY) travel to the U.S., or to other Missions abroad, to participate in the “Foreign Service National” Fellowship Program, in accordance with USAID policy.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
NOTE: All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item.
- The applicants for the United States US Embassy Project Management Specialist (Malaria Data Management) job opportunity should hold a Master’s degree in applied quantitative discipline such as statistics, economics, computer science, epidemiology, or health informatics from a recognized institution.
- Five (5) years of professional experience applying data visualization, data analysis, and/or business intelligence to inform decision making.
- Must have strong knowledge of data wrangling, analysis and visualization practices.
- Demonstrated ability to securely and efficiently manage large, disparate datasets, and problem-solving skills working on complex projects in a highly sensitive environment are required.
- Skills in working effectively with health personnel of diverse cultural backgrounds, negotiating agreements on matters of program strategy and performance, writing, administration, and management are necessary, as well as the ability to navigate and manage politically sensitive issues.
- Proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly and concisely – orally and in writing – in English.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate highly technical information to both subject matter expert and non-expert audiences.
- In-depth professional-level knowledge of strategic information, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation principles, concepts and practices, especially as they relate to managing public health and malaria programs in Uganda.
- Must pose expert quantitative and analytical skills, an ability to develop monitoring and evaluation protocols, devise measurable indicators and set appropriate and achievable targets to measure performance outcomes.
- Demonstrated competency in data management systems and data analysis applications such as MS Access, SPSS, STATA, and Spectrum.
- Must be able to proactively and independently locate reference materials and data, research and analyze quantitative and qualitative data and present interpretation of said resources in concise and appropriate written reports.
- Thorough knowledge, or the ability to quickly acquire a USAID programming policies, regulations, procedures and status of projects assigned.
- Experience in a management capacity, political analysis, and program reporting and monitoring, and strong interpersonal and team-building skills.
- Ability to serve as an effective liaison with a wide array of individuals and institutions is essential.
- Familiarity with a wide range of issues, such as program evaluation, public health, community development and economic policy.
- Ability to prepare clear, substantive reports and briefing papers in English, in a timely manner, and develop a thorough understanding of USAID and host-government policies and procedures.
- Flexibility and ability to react to changing systems with sound analyses, and the ability to work under pressure.
- Ability to work in a team environment and with a broad range of collaborators.
- Demonstrated ability to take direction to iteratively define and implement solutions as requirements are being identified and finalized.
- Ability to work independently, to manage several activities at once and work under pressure to meet deadlines.
- Language Proficiency: Level IV (fluent) English proficiency, speaking and writing, is required.
Competencies:
Data Management Analysis and Visualization Skills:
- Strong portfolio of static and dynamic visualization, from simple graphics to complex stories, based on data visualization theory and techniques and built using leading tools (such as at least of the following Excel, Tableau, Power BI, R, D3.js, Adobe Illustrator, DHIS2, or similar).
- Data analytics and visualization proficiency will be tested.
- Experience facilitating data analysis projects through concept, iterative design and execution, delivery and on-going support.
- Basic understanding of principles related to change management, data governance, and systems architecture.
- Ability to conduct introductory training on data analysis, and visualization, and use.
Teamwork, Self-Drive and Interpersonal Skills:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are critical to this position.
- Proven ability to communicate quickly, clearly and concisely – orally and in writing – in English. Demonstrated ability to communicate highly technical information to both subject matter expert and non-expert audiences
- Excellent written communication skills are required to prepare regular and ad hoc reports, activity documentation and briefing papers.
- Ability to work in a team environment and with a broad range of collaborators. Ability to work both independently and in a team environment to test and define data requirements and use cases is a must.
- Proven ability to work in a dynamic and agile environment with changing requirements and priorities Demonstrated ability to take direction to iteratively define and implement solutions as requirements are being identified and finalized.
- Ability to work independently, to manage several activities at once and work under pressure to meet deadlines.
- Management and organizational skills to work with numerous teams, identifying priority actions and taking initiative if follow-through is needed.
How to Apply:
All those interested in working with the US mission in Kampala should send their applications and strictly adhere to the following:
- A typed and hand signed (around Section 6 – Declaration) DS-174 Employment Application for Locally Employed Staff or Family Member (Click Here; Version Exp. 06/2022). Offerors are required to complete sections 1 through 6. (Make sure to use additional Work Experience pages (Section 4), if needed, to provide complete work history).
- Cover letter (addressed to the USAID Supervisory Executive Officer) clearly indicating the position for which you are applying and describing how you meet the minimum requirements.
- Complete curriculum vitae/resume. In order to fully evaluate your application, the resume must include:
o Paid and non-paid experience, job title, dates held (month/year). Please specify unpaid or part time work. Any experience that does not include dates (month/year) will not be counted towards meeting the solicitation requirements. (NOTE: Resume and DS-174 work experience should match.)
o Specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work.
o Education and any other qualifications including job-related training courses, job-related skills, or job- related honors, awards or accomplishments.
o Name and contact information (phone and email) of three (3) professional references. At least one of the references must be a prior or current direct supervisor.
- Supplemental [separate] document specifically addressing each QRF as outlined in the solicitation.
- Copies of Academic Transcripts
- Offers should be in a standard file type such as Microsoft Word (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf). All should be in one document which should not exceed 10MB.
- Submitted offers and documents become the property of USAID and will not be returned.
Submit Application To:
Human Resources Office
By email at KampalaHR@state.gov
NB: Your application will be reviewed if you have fulfilled all the requirements including submission of standard file types such as Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) in a single attachment (No Zipped files, Links or Multiple Attachments) and should not exceed 10MB. Please clearly indicate the position number and title you are applying for on the DS-174 form.
Deadline: 9th June 2020
The US Mission in Kampala provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. The Department of State also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.