Senior HMIS Systems Advisor at Palladium Group

Duration: 12 months

Background
MEASURE Evaluation works in collaboration with other countries to strengthen their health information systems (HIS) to generate high quality data that is used for decision-making. It is a cooperative agreement funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The University of North Carolina (UNC) is prime recipient of the award, and there are five partner agencies: ICF International (ICF); John Snow, Inc. (JSI); Management Sciences for Health (MSH); Palladium Group (PG); and Tulane University (TU).

In Nigeria, MEASURE Evaluation has supported the compilation of a national Master Facility List (MFL) and development of a Health Facility Registry (HFR) to be used by various stakeholders in the country for planning and other purposes. Palladium is recruiting a Senior HMIS Systems Advisor dedicated to the Federal Ministry of Health, Department of Research, Planning and Statistics (DPRS) for a 12-month period starting February 2018.
 
Purpose of Position

• MEASURE Evaluation is hiring two full time staff, a Senior HMIS Governance Advisor and a Senior HMIS Systems Advisor to strengthen the capacity of the FMOH DPRS to operate, maintain, and sustain the HFR. 
• The Senior HMIS Systems Advisor will develop and implement capacity building plans that result in FMOH Systems Administrators taking over HFR administration by the end of the assignment.
• The Advisor will build capacity on addressing all HFR software defects and enhancements, granting and monitoring user access, performing system administration tasks, and ensuring interoperability with the HIS and other systems.
• All support provided will be at the federal level though some in-country travel may be required.

Key Responsibilities
Develop and implement a capacity building plan with the FMOH DPRS systems administrators that entails the following:

• Fixing software defects and making sure the HFR maintains a high-availability system.
• Managing user access and accounts.
• Optimizing the HFR for optimal performance.
• Developing code to support request from DPRS staff.
• Performing all system administration tasks such as backup, disaster recovery, and monitoring.
• Updating technical and user documentation and publishing the latest version of the HFR as the HFR is updated.
• Implementing required integration and interoperability of the HFR with data subsystems to enhance data analysis and use.
• Making recommendations for improvements to systems based on user feedback and best software practices.
• Conduct routine meetings with DPRS and other FMOH staff to identify enhancement and future features.
• Collaborate with MEASURE Evaluation colleagues based in the US and in Nigeria and participate in meetings as required.

Requirements
Candidate Requirements:

• A Master's Degree in Information Science, Data Science, 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 national health programs including HMIS and DHIS 2.
• Experienced in maintaining relational databases, troubleshooting, and providing systems enhancements.
• Extensive experience of back end and front-end systems development using PHP and Java.
• Working experience of Sphinx Search.
• Knowledge of REST API and JSON.
• Experience testing and troubleshooting systems.
• Experience and knowledge of user interface design.
• Experience using GitHub/Bitbucket and bug tracking systems such as Mantis BT or JIRA Helpdesk.
• Expertise in Technical Lan Technology, Apache tomcat, JavaScript programming, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and CSS.
• Knowledge of Model View Controller (MVC) design pattern.
• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in Nigeria, preferably with the Ministry of Health and the DPRS
• Competitive expatriate relocation package will be provided

Deadline
11th February, 2018.