Global Health Fellows Program
Technical Advisor II: Health Informatics Advisor
Strategic Planning, Evaluation and Reporting Division, Office of HIV/AIDS, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development
Location: Arlington, VA and Washington DC
Assignment: Two year fellowship
GHFP-II-P5-187
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual work planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.
Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.
BACKGROUND:
The US Government (USG) has made the fight against HIV/AIDS a top priority, not only for humanitarian reasons, but because the HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the prosperity, stability and development of nations around the world. USAID has been, and continues to be, at the forefront of the USG response in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, funding 10 billion dollars in activities since inception of its international HIV/AIDS program in 1986 with programs in nearly 100 countries worldwide. The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment ever made by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease. In July 2008, the United States Congress re-authorized the PEPFAR legislation in the amount of $48 billion, $35.4 billion of which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS services, $3.8 billion to tuberculosis, $4.8 billion to malaria, $1.7 billion to research and $2.3 billion to training health care workers. The Global Fund will receive at least $2 billion per year.
The Bureau for Global Health’s Office of HIV and AIDS (OHA) is the locus of technical leadership for HIV and AIDS programming implemented by USAID. The Office provides input into USG decisions concerning the strategic allocation of financial and human resources in the sector and supports USAID headquarters and field missions in designing and implementing effective HIV and AIDS programs. Within OHA, the Strategic Planning, Evaluation and Reporting Division (SPER) provides technical and programmatic expertise to help the Agency develop and implement strategies and programs that respond to USG and USAID priorities, particularly in relation to innovations, best practices, and lessons learned in advancing the goals of PEPFAR. SPER provides technical expertise and support to field missions in cross-cutting areas such as monitoring and evaluation, health systems strengthening, multilateral coordination, strategic planning and budgeting.
INTRODUCTION:
The Health Informatics Advisor (Advisor) will serve as a member of both the Health Informatics (HI) Team within SPER and the Interagency Collaborative for Program Improvement (ICPI), a newly formed interagency group whose purpose is to enhance PEPFAR’s capacity to analyze and use HIV-epidemic and PEPFAR-specific data. ICPI’s focus is to fill the gap in PEPFAR’s capacity to manage various data streams including, but not limited to, expenditure data, quality assurance data, epidemiological data and PEPFAR program data. Through integrated data analyses, the ICPI hopes to strengthen capacity of field teams in data use, and to support a data-driven, objective and transparent interagency decision-making process. By fostering collaboration around data analysis and data use and focusing on results and impact, it is expected that there will be an improved culture of collaboration during interagency decision making about PEPFAR programming. The ICPI will be staffed by technical and analytical experts from all PEPFAR agencies including USAID, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Defense, Peace Corps, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the US Census Bureau.
The Advisor will work closely and collaboratively with colleagues in USAID/OHA as well as inter-agency colleagues at the ICPI offices to support data collection, reporting, and analysis of basic and complex data sets. Work with SPER’s HI Team will include coordinating with Technical Working Groups (TWGs) and country teams to turn data into actionable information/knowledge, and to train stakeholders to use data as an analytic tool. The Advisor is expected to work closely with the HI Team to determine PEPFAR/OHA business and information technology (IT) requirements and priorities, and to support the use of informatics standards to ensure that data needs of end users and stakeholders are met. Further, the Advisor will work with a variety of data sources including but not limited to annual and quarterly-reported programmatic data and quality of service, budget, expenditure, and epidemiologic data.
The Health Informatics (HI) Team within SPER:
The HI Team provides technical and implementation support to USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS and its Missions for a wide range of health information technology products and systems, and promotes the application of health information technology and communication (ICT) and methods, tools, and research for improved HIV/AIDS and public health outcomes. More specifically, the HI Team:
- Leads the development, deployment, and maintenance of USAID-specific data management systems that support HIV/AIDS program implementation.
- Develops and strengthens the capacity of OHA/ USG personnel to plan, manage, and use advances in electronic health information systems to support HIV/AIDS programs.
- Facilitates and supports effective use of in-country health data through the promotion of data standards and interoperability along with approaches for improved dissemination and accessibility of HIV/AIDS and health data.
- Plans and coordinates with other Agency operating units, USG agencies, donors, and partners to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of country health information systems while encouraging the use and diffusion of health information technology.
- Conducts research and evaluations related to the development and operation of HIV/AIDS and broader health information systems.
The Advisor will receive guidance from the ICPI Agency Leads for USAID and the OHA/SPER/HI Team Lead. The SPER Division Chief will serve as his/her on-site manager.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Health Informatics Advisor will be responsible for:
- Working with data from the PEPFAR Data Warehouse and supporting analysis and reporting that demonstrates the achievements of PEPFAR and USAID investments.
- Consulting with ICPI staff to help initiate, develop and execute information system projects in support of the Data Warehouse and using informatics standards.
- Analyzing the data quality of multiple datasets covering both global and country level data to evaluate data integrity, consistency and accuracy, and recommending strategies and processes for ensuring quality data.
- Conducting data analyses using a variety of technologies including SQL Management Studio, NoSQL, MicroStrategy Analytics, and Microsoft Excel and Access to determine quality, costs, utilization and effectiveness of a multitude of HIV/AIDS initiatives and outcomes.
- Working with subject matter experts in the ICPI, USAD Headquarters (HQ), HQ program offices, and USAID Missions to ensure that data and reporting aligns with business requirements for managing PEPFAR programs.
- Creating reports for ICPI and USAID to identify performance patterns and outliers as tools for management decision support based on in-depth knowledge and use of PEPFAR data, indicators and performance monitoring.
- Developing dynamic dashboards to provide timely and detailed information for Leadership to take decisive action.
- Gathering, monitoring and maintaining reports circulating through the ICPI and the Agency through the use and management of SharePoint and other reporting portals.
- Working proactively with the Data Warehouse Team to identify needs and develop products to meet those needs including making recommendation related to the collection, standardization, analysis, expandability, and maintenance of data and information.
- Serving as a liaison between the Data Warehouse Team and the end user, helping to bridge communication between the developer and the end user.
The Health Informatics Advisor will support ICPI and OHA as follows:
Support to ICPI (63%)
· Working with ICPI and Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) staff, Interagency Technical Working Groups and Interagency Country teams on all aspects of data management in support of optimal data use for program decisions.
Support to OHA (30%):
- Providing support to OHA and USAID Missions in all aspects of business analysis in an effort to reach optimal data use for program decisions.
Training and professional development (7%)
- Keeping abreast of literature and latest developments and technological innovations in the field of data management and within HIV/AIDS.
- Deepening knowledge of PEPFAR data and data sources, analytics, and display.
- Participating in PEPFAR inter-agency and intra-agency working groups as appropriate to the scope of work.
- Participating in professional continuing education and skills training within the purview of GHFP-II.
International and domestic travel approximately 25%.
REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:
- Master’s degree or higher in a relevant technical field (e.g. public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, computer science, data science, etc.).
- Minimum five (5) years’ of relevant experience, including database management and report writing experience in preferably HIV-related field, with at least 2 years of experience in international or resource-challenged setting.
- Knowledge of data management, data analysis and statistical analysis techniques; operations research techniques (e.g., simulation, linear programming); high-level computer languages (e.g., SQL); methods of problem definition and analysis; and interactive database manipulation.
- Knowledge of a broad range of batch and transaction computer programming applications.
- Strong query language skills (SQL, PL/SQL, etc.).
- Proficiency in using business intelligence tools including MicroStrategy, SQL Server Integration Service and SQL Server Database, in all applicable data warehouse functions.
- Demonstrated ability to design and develop effective databases, end-user interfaces and reports to meet client needs.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Access and Excel.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively.
- Ability to travel internationally.
- US citizenship required.
SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Salary based on commensurate experience and earnings history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.
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