Senior Data Use Advisor - Data.Fi (Consultant) at Palladium Group

Background
USAID has selected Palladium to implement the Translating Data for Implementation (Data.fi) award. DFI is a $180 million, 5-year project which will serve as USAID’s primary mechanism for data, technology, and health information systems to support HIV activities across strategic PEPFAR countries.  Data.fi is part of a suite of large scale global HIV programs that USAID has recently awarded and represents the next generation of HIV/AIDS programs. Data.fi will play a key role in USAID’s goals of helping partner countries on their Journey to Self-Reliance and transitioning local organizations to prime recipients of USG funding.

The overall goal of the Data.fi project is to improve global, regional and national in-depth analyses of HIV epidemiologic and program data that can be directly applied to expedite the achievement of PEPFAR targets to attain and sustain control of the HIV epidemic.  The focus also includes directly supporting host country governments and implementing partners to further enhance existing health information system platforms to inform management responses to well-defined gaps in HIV/AIDS programming. 

In order to ensure rapid access to high quality data, Data.fi will work towards: accelerating data utilization to rapidly course correct and take to scale cost-effective and impactful activities, models and approaches required to attain and maintain HIV epidemic control; scaling and optimizing in-country health information system capabilities to collect, exchange, adapt, govern, and visualize information in order to track the attainment and maintenance of HIV epidemic control; and supporting the transition of prime funding and implementation to capable local partners in order to meet the PEPFAR goal of 70% of funding to local partners by 2020.

Purpose of Position

• Palladium is seeking a Senior Data Use Advisor to support the USAID Strategic Information (SI) Team and service delivery implementing partners (IPs) to leverage of weekly PEPFAR data to support control of HIV epidemic specifically in surge states Lagos, Cross River, Niger, Adamawa, Kano, Bauchi, with particular emphasis on Akwa Ibom.
• The Senior Data Use Advisor will implement a field-based strategy to create regular forums for sharing achievements and challenges with stakeholders, by promoting peer-exchange and problem solving.
• The overall aim of the Data.fi data use strategy is to both generate further demand for data and improve clinical outcomes around testing, linkage, retention, and viral suppression by engaging health providers, LGA stakeholders and state level decision makers.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a comprehensive review of visualizations of key indicators currently used in Nigeria
• Create and improve access to user-friendly data dashboards and data visualization products to enable the USAID SI Team, implementing partners, state and LGA officials, as well as health facilities to monitor target indicators for improved decision making in collaboration with the Lead Systems Architect
• Recruit, train, and supervise Field Data Use Teams
• Support design of Weekly Data Review for Rapid Action methodology and supervise implementation
• Supervise knowledge management efforts aimed at tracking impact of data use strategy

Requirements 

• A Master's degree in Public Health, Statistics, Health Informatics, or a related field
• At least 8 years’ experience advising on health management information systems or routine health information systems
• Experience working with HIV/AIDS programs, including DHIS 2 preferred
• Superior knowledge of project management principles to manage projects and work with multi-disciplinary teams including a broad and extensive knowledge of IT principles, methods and techniques;
• Work well under pressure, skilled in crisis management, and problem solving.
• Ability to achieve consensus among senior stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal skills in English are required to communicate technical information to audiences with varying levels of technical expertise.