• Company: John Snow, Inc
• Location: Lusaka, Lusaka Province, Zambia
• State: Lusaka
• Job type: Full-Time
• Job category: NGO Jobs in Zambia

The Zambian health context is particularly complex due to widespread poor health outcomes and high disease burden, significant gaps in MOH systems and staffing, and the large footprint of a wide range of cooperating partners (CPs). USAID/Zambia intends to 1) Strengthen the national Health Management Information System (HMIS) owned and managed by the Government of Zambia’s (GRZ) Ministry of Health (MOH), 2) Improve monitoring, evaluation, and research capacities within key government and non-governmental partners, and 3) Expand the evidence base for existing approaches to health programming in malaria, nutrition, family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV.

Through a partnership with the MOH and other key government and non-government institutions, the contractor is expected to achieve key deliverables such as:

• Assessment of the HMIS with actionable recommendations for system strengthening
• Development of an MOH-led HMIS Strategic Plan that aligns with existing policies and practices within the MOH and GRZ
• Sustained mentoring of health sector staff to improve facility, district, provincial, and national data collection and analysis capacity
• Development of pre-service training curricula on health information data collection and data use for first-line health workers
• HMIS community of practice established and maintained to improve coordination of donor support and donor engagement with the MOH and GRZ
• Research capacity assessments of selected governmental and non-governmental research institutions conducted and capacity strengthening plans executed
• Organizational support to MOH-led national health research symposia provided to promote Zambian-led health research
• A small-grants research development fund created and managed to award short-term funding to junior Zambian researchers
• Operations research, special studies, and evaluations completed to inform the evidence base for health in Zambia
• Capacitation and support provided to USAID health Implementing Partner (IP) staff in key monitoring, evaluation, and research practices

What Will Success Look Like:

Success will be measured through change in the 1) Improved quality, timeliness, accessibility, and use of national provincial, district, and health facility data, 2) Quantity and quality of research generated and publically disseminated by Zambian researchers at the national level, and the 3) Quantity and quality of operations research studies, special studies, and evaluations completed by the contractor. Successful implementation of this activity will result in documented, improved HMIS data collection, analysis and use at the facility and at selected districts. Successful implementation will also result in strengthened HMIS systems, policies, and practices at that national level. USAID expects to see the impact at all levels of project implementation, from national to facility.

Responsibility:

The Research Senior Advisor will contribute to building the evidence base for health programming in malaria, nutrition, family planning, maternal and child health, and HIV. The Pre-solicitation Notice USAID Evidence for Health 21 Senior Advisor will oversee activities such as operations research, special studies, assessments, and big data analyses and will provide technical assistance to the development of Zambian research institutions and junior Zambian researchers.

Should JSI be the successful bidder, this will be a full-time position based in Zambia.

Minimum Requirements:

• Master’s degree in a related field required; PhD preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in health research, involving a range of research activities and products. Qualitative and quantitative research experience
• Minimum of 5 years of experience conducting research in developing countries. Wide range of publications and conference presentations
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English, including evidence of quality report writing and presentations. Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines with quality products
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills
• A Passion for using research to improve the quality of healthcare across Zambia
• Strong track record of successfully implementing projects in Zambia preferred

 

How to Apply

Submit your CV and Application to [email protected]