Senior M&E Advisor, Global Health - University of Washington I-TECH

LOCATION: Seattle, WA

CLOSING DATE: open until filled

OPPORTUNITY TYPE: Job

JOB #: 17306

POSTED: May 3, 2021

Description:

The International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) and the Department of Global Health recognizes that disparities in health around the globe stem from inequity and encourages and supports the multiple identities of staff, faculty and students including, but not limited to, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, culture, spiritual practice, geography, mental and physical disability and age. As reflected in the I-TECH Diversity Statement,  our definition of diversity is broad, recognizing that there are multiple definitions of diversity. We strive to become a local, national, and international leader in developing and maintaining increased representation and recognition of each of these dimensions of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students.

I-TECH is a center in the University of Washington’s Department of Global Health. I-TECH has projects in more than 20 countries, and its worldwide staff work in partnership with local ministries of health, universities, non-governmental organizations, medical facilities, and other partners. I-TECH supports development of skilled work forces and overall health systems strengthening with a focus on sustainability and transition to local ownership. I-TECH is committed to being anti-racist and promotes health and equity in health for all people worldwide.

This position is working for the I-TECH Zimbabwe HIV Care and Treatment program, funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funding under a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The I-TECH Zimbabwe program works with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health to provide HIV services, site support and quality improvement at 389 health care facilities in 19 districts. The primary objective of this cooperative agreement is to improve district and facility performance in comprehensive prevention, treatment, care, and support of HIV/AIDS and HIV-related conditions in Zimbabwe. An important component of the program is its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system that collects patient-level and aggregated client data from the facilities on to tablets using the CommCare platform. The data is synced to a central MySQL data base. Program teams then perform data analysis and visualization using Excel and Power BI. Such analysis informs activities at the facility level to improve performance and guides program planning and resource use. Program data is also importantly used for biweekly updates to the funder and quarterly reporting on 22 PEPFAR indicators. The M&E system is run by a Harare based team of data managers and IT specialists.

We are seeking a forward-thinking and proactive Senior M&E Advisor to provide data management and statistical guidance to the Harare team and to analyze program data to improve understanding of program performance. This work will include the following primary activities: 1) support implementation of I-TECH’s data collection tools, processes, and system updates; 2) conduct routine and non-routine data analysis of aggregated facility and patient level data; 3) oversee data cleaning, quality control, and assembly and organization of datasets for implementation and analysis; 4) write data management code and resolve queries; and 5) design and expand report templates, formats and dashboards.

The Senior M&E Advisor will also provide technical assistance for evaluation and epidemiology projects within this portfolio of work, drafting protocols, writing reports and publishing findings. This position will mentor others in research and evaluation methodology and build the capacities of the I-TECH Zimbabwe program to use and apply data toward program improvements.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Data Management
Implementation of data collection and other field-based activities
• Develop, bench-test, and maintain electronic data collection forms, platforms, and monitoring systems
• Coordinate with the Harare-based partner on the design of data collection, quality control, data transfer, data management, and report generation

Data quality monitoring and assurance
• Assist in the development, implementation and documentation of data quality assurance procedures
• Monitor incoming data; develop run, and maintain quality assurance code and generate queries; maintain audit trail for data cleaning
• Provide timely and accurate responses to technical queries
• Initiate and lead larger data quality and cleaning activities within and across activities
• Advise on data storage, version control, and archiving practices

Data management
• Maintain the central repository of data collection forms and version control
• Assemble and clean datasets resulting from large-scale data collection and implementation activities
• Prepare datasets for specified pooled and site-specific analyses
• Maintain a proactive and forward-thinking approach to data management

Research design, implementation, analysis and reporting
Research design
• Develop appropriate study designs, analysis techniques, and conceptual models to answer research questions and evaluation goals
• Develop tools for program research and evaluations
• Serve as resource to the Principal Investigator, teams, and other stakeholders on specific concepts, study designs, and analyses

Implementation
• Provide major conceptual guidance on program development, innovation, and evaluation
• Oversee data collection for quantitative components of research studies and program evaluations
• Manage and facilitate Human Subjects requirements including preparation, submission, and tracking
• Communicate with funder as needed
• Prepare progress reports and ensure compliance with funder requirements

Analysis
• Identify appropriate statistical analyses methods and conduct statistical analysis
• Mentor colleagues on research and evaluation methodology and build the capacities of the I-TECH Zimbabwe program to use and apply data toward program improvements

Reporting and dissemination
• Develop and present dissemination materials, such as abstracts, posters, reports and PowerPoint presentations
• Lead or support manuscript writing and submission


Skills/Eligibility:

REQUIREMENTS:
• Master’s Degree in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Computer Science, Public Health or other field plus 4 years of relevant work experience.
• PhD in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Computer Science, Public Health or other field plus two years of relevant work experience; or
• Hands-on experience in the management and manipulation of large and complex datasets and experience in planning and conducting statistical analyses
• Strong statistical skills in Stata, R, or similar software
• Ability to plan and execute applied research and evaluation
• Ability to work in a diverse team environment with international collaborators
• Excellent writing, communication and interpersonal skills
• Strong organizational skills
• Experience handling high volume of diverse tasks in a timely manner with consistent accuracy and attention to detail
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate communication between professionals in a manner that respects cultural differences 

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