Principal Research and Health Information Officer

Vacancy at West African Health Organisation

Descroption of Principal-research-health-officer position(word format)

The West African Health Organisation is seeking applications from suitably qualified ECOWAS Citizens to fill the following position:

Job Title:                             Principal Research and Health Information Officer

Category:                            P5/1

Reference:                          VN76

Duration:                             Permanent

Annual Salary:                   USD 52,273 – USD 59,100

Department :                      Planning, Research and Health Information Systems

Immediate Supervisor:    Director- Planning, Research and Health Information Systems

Duty Station:                      Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Summary of Post and Tasks

The incumbent will be responsible for providing strategic direction for Research and Health Information in the ECOWAS region. He/she will devise strategies for the implementation of key research recommendations, and supervise the development of standardized tools and guidelines for collecting and sharing health information in the region. He/she will provide leadership and effective coordination of the region’s Health Information & Statistics (HIS) to strengthen national health information systems to ensure that related regional priorities are followed and implemented in accordance with the targets and objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). He/she will supervise and provide guidance to staff on specific assignments.  The incumbent must therefore be results-oriented and familiar with donor requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Principal Research and Health Information Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Work with Member States and other technical units to improve the availability, quality and use of health information at country and sub-national levels and to strengthen the evidence base at regional and global levels to monitor health, reduce inequalities in health and evaluate programme effectiveness;
2. Develop and strengthen regional and national capacity to monitor health situation, trends, inequalities and determinants using global and regional standards;
3. Generate, synthesize, and provide health information and statistics for evidence-informed policy formulation and decision-making at national and sub-national levels, with emphasis on the SDGs and UHC objectives, and national priorities and needs;
4. Utilise global and regional mechanisms for developing the WAHO health information system;
5. Facilitate resource mobilization (human resources, technical and financial) in collaboration with global and regional partners, for strengthening health information systems in the region;
6. Lead the efforts to assess regional and national health situations and trends taking into account regional priorities and targets, and ensure quality of all WAHO information products, with a focus on health and health related SDGs
7. Generate and consolidate information through regional health information observatories, data platforms and monitoring dashboards in order to support evidence-informed policy-making on SDG progress.
8. Coordinate the development or adaptation of required standards, methods and tools for health-related information and implementation of the regional strategy for reporting core-indicators;
9. Establish and lead related regional and sub-regional collaborative and peer-learning networks and activities including technical fora and regional expertise networks to strengthen capacity for countries in tracking the SDGs/UHC;
10. Provide technical support to countries to strengthen regional and national institutional capacity for equity-oriented monitoring and evaluation of public health, using data from routine health information systems, surveys and other sources, such as Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems
11. Develop or coordinate the preparation of the required regular or ad hoc reports and monographs (e.g. country health profiles, regional health profile, programmatic frameworks), analysis outputs (e.g. assessment reports, survey reports), GIS products (including maps), technical papers, presentations and other products related to the assigned responsibilities
12. Maintain the Regional Health Statistics Database and country profiles as a regional information source and tool for regional programme monitoring, evaluation and reporting;
13. Coordinate outputs of the Regional Database and other sources of information in a knowledge sharing mechanism, including the regional GIS and web-based tools.
14. Advocate and supervise the implementation of the population-based and facility surveys to supplement the routine health information systems.
15. Ensure that Health decision makers are able to use relevant health information for effective decision making;
16. Orient the organisation’s research agenda in a quest to respond to its objective, and addvocate for the implementation of key research findings in the relevant member states;
17. Develop and Implement the partnership plan to strengthen WAHO’s research activities;
18. Monitor and evaluate WAHO’s research programme;
19. Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the supervisor.

Education/Experience/Skills

Education

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in medicine, veterinary, biostatistics, statistics, econometrics, demography or public health

Experience

• At least ten (10) years of progressive experience at the national and international level in the field of public health, particularly in health information systems, health surveys and research field of which at least two (2) years of which must have been at managerial level;
• A post graduate degree in Public Health, Research Methodologies, Health Economics or Social Sciences will reduce prerequisite experience by two years.
• Relevant work experience in an international organisation or in a multi-cultural setting will be an added advantage.

Competence (Skills, Knowledge and Abilities)

• Ability to solicit inputs by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise.
• Knowledge of new developments in own occupation/profession and in HIS.
• Proven supervisory, leadership, advocacy and networking skills.
• Knowledge in policy and regulations’ development.
• Successful track record in coordinating and managing complex health projects funded by donors such as USAID, EU, World Bank, KFW or other donor agencies
• Demonstrated abilities of team work, group facilitation, and interpersonal skills
• Excellent oral and written communication and negotiation skills
• Demonstrated experience in working with health research institutions
• Ability to write grant proposals
• Basic computer skills: Microsoft Office package
• Experience in designing and planning health research programs
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and contribute to the learning of colleagues and subordinates.

Age

Candidates should not be 50 years old or over at the point of recruitment and must be a citizen of one of the ECOWAS member states.

Language

Must be fluent in one of the official languages of the ECOWAS; English, French and Portuguese. A working knowledge of another would be an advantage.

Application must be sent to waho-ooas@ecowas.int