Job Brief
Technical Advisor – CRVS Improvement Program and Data Impact Program, Mozambique
Vital Strategies 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.
Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. Vital welcomes and supports a diverse, inclusive work environment. As such, our commitment is to promote equal employment opportunities (EEO) for all applicants seeking employment.
The Position
This position supports the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative which aims to enhance public health data collection and use in low- and middle-income countries. The goal of the initiative is to ensure that a billion more people live in countries where data are used to steer public policy and program decisions. Under the Initiative, Vital Strategies, in partnership with other global public health organizations, is implementing a multi-year program to improve civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) and the use of data for decision making in numerous countries and municipalities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. Vital Strategies has full responsibility for provision of technical assistance to several of these.
The Technical Advisor – CRVS Improvement and Data Impact Program, Mozambique will lead technical assistance provision in Mozambique, including planning and implementation of work plans, and managing Country Coordinators and Country Implementation Teams. The Technical Advisor will also provide limited technical assistance to CRVS awardees of our Global Grants Program grants in the region or elsewhere. The TA will work under the supervision of the Project Directors.
The Technical Advisor will represent both CRVS and Data Impact program activities in the country. The CRVS Improvement Program involves interventions designed to improve the registration of births and deaths; improve the availability and quality of cause of death information for both facility- and home-based events; and improve the timeliness of available vital statistics information and reports. The Data Impact Program involves interventions designed to develop technical capacity of ministry staff to conduct policy-relevant data analysis based on existing vital statistics and survey data and advising on policies, procedures, and institutional structures to promote exemplary institutional data use and data-driven decision making.
Specific Duties:
Participate in Outreach and Engagement visits to enroll new countries into the Initiative Establish relationships and collaborate with senior government officials to develop country-owned work plans Work with government counterparts to develop detailed budgeted implementation plans and prioritize activities to maximize local impact Manage the allocation of available resources (e.g. staff time, money, materials) to maximize country results Manage the identification and engagement of two country coordinators and of a local fiscal agent, where required Manage the development and signing of collaboration agreements, MOUs and grant agreements with governments and fiscal agents Manage the implementation of activities in a way that promotes country ownership and leadership, leads to the institutionalization and sustainability of CRVS and Data Impact system improvements, and builds local capacity Manage and coordinate the provision of all topic specific technical assistance to the country by communicating with government officials, internal technical advisors and external consultants Manage drafting and ensure execution of agreements with relevant in-country stakeholders and external consultants (e.g., Memorandum of Understanding, Sub-grant agreements, and other contracts) Work with Program Assistants to coordinate operational, logistics, and financial support to the implementation of activities in the assigned countries Manage Country Coordinator teams to facilitate in-country implementation of activities Monitor progress of the implementation of country level activities and track impact against key project milestones and deliverables (e.g. institutionalization of interventions) Travel in-country as needed Conduct assessments of how public health data are used by policymakers, program planners, communications officers, and other stakeholders in national ministries of health Develop workplans for data use strengthening in collaboration with ministries of health in assigned countries to strengthen the process of translating data into policy Design and provide technical assistance on data-driven planning and management Provide specialized technical assistance on building analytic and planning capacity in ministries of health Develop templates of data dissemination products, including reports Perform other duties for the Director, Deputy Directors, or Regional Manager Qualifications and skill set:
Post-graduate degree in relevant field (e.g. public health, epidemiology) from a recognized university At least 8 years’ experience working on international development projects, ideally on projects in multiple low- and middle-income countries and on projects with strong data and information or M&E components Fluency in Portuguese Previous experience in CRVS strengthening or mortality surveillance a major plus Strong project management skills including financial and technical oversight Experienced in working collaboratively and remotely with internal and external team members to meet expectations and deliver the necessary technical assistance in a timely manner Ability to work independently and self-directed as well as across cultures and in a team of a broad range of government, academic and other stakeholders Proven ability to manage multiple ongoing tasks Patient and adaptable to rapidly changing environments Excellent interpersonal communication skills (both written and verbal) Capable of quickly understanding and analyzing complex problems and situations and identifying solutions to achieve objectives Detail-orientated, self-starter with a positive attitude, and willingness to learn Proficient user of Microsoft Office suite (MS Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), familiarity with Smartsheet or MS Project a plus Possess a genuine interest in the mission and vision of Vital Strategies Work experience on multiple continents a plus Willingness to be based in São Paulo or Mozambique