Vital Strategies (VS), based in New York City, is an international public health organization. We develop and oversee programs to strengthen public health systems and address leading causes of morbidity and mortality, providing expertise in project implementation and management, strategic communications, epidemiology and surveillance, and other core public health capacities. Our specific programs include road safety, obesity prevention, tobacco control, and activities to strengthen public health data systems and the use of public health data to guide policy and decision-making. Activities are based in low and middle income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

The Position

Vital Strategies is seeking qualified candidates for a consultancy position of Senior Project Officer – Data Impact Program, preferably based in Singapore and working with countries in Asia/Pacific. Vital Strategies is flexible in terms of the time commitment required for the position and this is open for discussion at interview stage.

Background:

Since March 2015, Vital Strategies has developed a program to support ministries of health and other public health stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries to better use data to advance public health policymaking. The Data Impact Program (DIP) is a major component of a wider initiative – the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative – that aims to enhance public health data collection and use capacity in 20 low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. DIP entails providing technical assistance, training, and other forms of support.

Scope of Service:

The Senior Project Officer (SPO) will support provision of technical assistance to participating national ministries of health and other key stakeholders. In collaboration with Vital Strategies Senior Technical Advisors and with government stakeholders, the SPO will tailor the technical assistance package to the needs and priorities of each country. Major areas of technical assistance include: developing technical capacity of ministry staff to conduct policy-relevant data analysis and advising on policies, procedures, and institutional structures to promote exemplary institutional data use. Technical assistance activities will include assessment and workplan development, trainings for staff, etc. In addition, the SPO will participate in designing technical assistance tools to be used across the initiative. Significant on-site engagement will be required. The Contract Manager for this consultancy is the Senior Technical Advisor in Data Impact Programs based in Hong Kong.

 Deliverables:

• Provide consultation to ministry staff on Data Impact efforts;
• Modify, develop and deliver capacity-building programs;
• Develop data dissemination products, including public data reports;
• Conduct assessments of how surveillance and other public health data is used by policymakers, program planners, communications officers, and other stakeholders in national ministries of health;
•  Lead management of projects
• Manage and track budgets
• Participate in other Vital Strategies activities as needed.

 Qualifications and skill set:

•  Master’s degree in public health, bio-statistics or health economics preferred, with 5 or more years of experience in public health practice
• Expertise in quantitative methods
• Experience in government public health practice preferred
• Experience working in low- and middle-income settings required
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently
• Willingness to travel
• Proficiency in languages in addition to English preferred