Director of Strategic Information, ZAM-Health Project Activity

Title: Director of Strategic Information, ZAM-Health Project Activity

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Department/Unit: Strategic Information (SI)

Position Type: Full Time

Reports to: Deputy Director of Strategic Information

Description:

The USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health (ZAM-Health) Activity is a five-year project to expand the availability and accessibility of high-quality health products and services in the private sector, improve health knowledge, and increase the adoption of healthy and health-seeking behaviors. The program employs private sector approaches such as marketing, social franchising, and partnerships with for-profit entities to achieve these outcomes. USAID ZAM-Health is implemented by John Snow Health Zambia (JSH) in partnership with JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), Media 365 and PharmAccess. The consortium applies a market facilitation approach to coordinate, catalyze, and harness the private sector to reach priority populations with health products, services and information.

The Director of Strategic Information (DSI) will support and guide the monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning for the USAID Zambia Accessible Markets for Health (ZAM-Health) Activity. The DSI develops, in consultation with the DCOP, SI monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems that include appropriate indicators, baseline data, targets, and a plan to evaluate performance and produce timely, accurate, and complete reporting. The Director of SI also ensures that activity data, results, and learning are used to inform activity implementation and shared widely with stakeholders, and will actively promote and engage in collaborative learning and adapting (CLA). This full-time position is based in the Lusaka, Zambia.

Responsibilities:

• Work with the DCOP SI to design, through consultation, a research, M&E, and learning strategy for collection and use of strategic information for ZAM-Health;
• Develop and support the implementation of a Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) plan, which outlines key activities around stakeholder engagement, identifying and addressing knowledge gaps, fostering adaptive management, and sharing and applying new evidence and learning;
• Develop and apply standards and mechanisms to ensure overall technical quality of evidence-related activities including: strategic planning, project planning, performance monitoring plans (PMPs), performance monitoring, assessments, research, and evaluation;
• Support the DCOP SI in coordinating the overall portfolio of M&E and CLA-related activities, ensuring the effective use of human and knowledge resources and driving adaptive management and iteration where relevant;
• Provide direct supervision to the Digital Health Systems Manager and SI Senior Advisor, including development of individual roles and responsibilities, definition of tasks, development and documentation of professional development plans, and conducting performance appraisals.
• Provide coaching, mentoring and learning opportunities to build capacity of team in both Lusaka and Regional offices, other project staff, and government counterparts;
• Support the design and implementation of KM systems that enable effective data capture, organization, and sharing amongst stakeholders to inform decisions on private sector and health market policies, programs, and systems as well as contribute to a broader evidence base around total market approaches to healthcare delivery;
• Work with the Communications Director to develop a clear Strategic Information Plan, that outlines the products that will be produced the next five years, revise the plan as needed;
• Serve as a thought partner in the design of advocacy and information efforts to engage the private sector;
• Work with technical and program leads and ZAM-Health partners and collaborators to define strategies, theories of change, and embedded and stand-alone research activities in support of ZAM-Health’s efforts to sustainably expand the availability and accessibility of high-quality health products and services in the private sector;
• With the DCOP SI and other senior colleagues, lead the translation of learning from research and evaluation into global, national, and local policies and programs, representing ZAM-Health at global and country fora;
• Ensure that all data collection is high-quality and adheres to ethical standards;
• Facilitate coordination and collaboration between the technical team, M&E team, and F&O teams as well as country and core programs;
• With support from DCOP SI, lead the write up of quarterly reports, annual work plans and other reports as well as participate in various internal and external meetings;
• Be an active member of the Strategic Information team lead by the DCOP SI;
• Responsible for implementing JSI’s Accountability Framework and Code of Conduct, and adhering to JSI’s policies on fraud management; and
• Any other responsibilities, as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of a Master’s degree or higher in public health, social sciences, or other relevant discipline;
• Progressive experience in mid/senior position as monitoring, evaluation, and research (MER) in the public health field or of large, complex markets;
• Demonstrated hands-on practical experience setting up and managing MER systems, preferably for health programs;
• Detailed knowledge of Zambia’s national Health Management Information Systems;
• Creative problem-solver, especially when it comes to overcoming challenges with data fragmentation
• Excellent report writing, analytical and communication skills, including oral presentation skills; and
• Proven skills in knowledge management and dissemination of research or evaluation findings.