Technical Advisor, Data Impact

Job Brief

Technical Advisor, Data Impact

Are you seeking an opportunity to bring your professional expertise to a global organization focused on re-imagining public health?

Vital Strategies is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury, and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention and commercial determinants of health (tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods); injury prevention (including drug overdose, road safety, and gender-based violence prevention); and environmental health (including air quality and lead poisoning). Our programs are primarily concentrated in low-and middle-income countries 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 is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) organization. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, gender, national origin, ancestry, actual or perceived age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity or expression), partnership status, arrest or conviction record, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.

Read about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Vital Strategies: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-at-vital-strategies

Data Impact Program, Data for Health Initiative

The Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative aims to enhance public health data collection and use in low- and middle-income countries. Under this Initiative, Vital Strategies, in partnership with other global public health organizations, is implementing a multi-year program to provide support to numerous countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific in improving public health data systems, such as civil registration and vital statistics and cancer registries, and enhancing the use of data for decision making.

As part of the Data for Health Initiative, the Data Impact Program (DIP) provides technical assistance to government public health agencies and national statistics institutes to support capacity development in the domain of data use, i.e., analysis, presentation, dissemination and translation of data into policy. The Program’s objective is to help governments systematically strengthen the use of data in policy development and other key decision areas – to prevent data that has been collected from being “left on the shelf” (or on a computer). In each country, a specific activity plan is determined collaboratively with government partners, reflecting government priorities and requested areas of support.

Job Purpose

Vital Strategies is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Technical Advisor (TA) to provide technical assistance to at least two Francophone African countries, in the planning and implementation of work plans, and managing in-country project staff. Under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Technical Advisor, Data Impact, the TA will participate in the development of technical content to support best practices in data analysis, synthesis, presentation, and dissemination of data for decision-making and provide technical assistance to national ministries of health and other key stakeholders. The TA will communicate frequently with government partners and other stakeholders.

This is a?full-time position?that can be based in the U.S. preferably in the New York, tri-state area, or Canada. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position in New York is $92,000 USD – $102,000. In Canada, the salary range is $77,000 CAD – $87,000 CAD. In the UK, the salary range is 60,000-70,000 GBP. U.S. salary may be adjusted based on country/state market conditions. This position will be supporting our Francophone countries and requires French proficiency. Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Duties And Responsibilities

The Technical Advisor will provide direct technical assistance to government partners and participate in the development of global technical assistance strategies and products. With guidance from the Senior Technical Advisor, the TA will:

Program Development and Implementation

• Establish relationships and collaborate with senior government officials to develop detailed country-owned work plans that maximize local impact;
• Coordinate the engagement of in-country project staff and consultants.
• Participate in the design, development, revision, dissemination, and promotion of technical guidelines and training materials required to support planned technical assistance activities.
• Participate in the delivery of training, mentoring, and other technical assistance activities on topics related to data use in public health policy;
• Manage the provision of technical assistance to the country to achieve the objectives outlined in the work plans, including promoting the institutionalization and sustainability of data use system improvements.
• Monitor the implementation of activities, track impact against key project milestones and deliverables, and propose adjustments to work plans (as needed);
• Participate in the development of procedures and resources for institutionalizing technical areas of work in countries.
  
  

Administration/Finance

• Ensure the execution of agreements with relevant stakeholders (e.g., Memorandum of Understanding, Sub-grant agreements, fiscal agent agreements, and other contractual relationships).
• Manage the allocation of available resources (e.g. staff time, money, materials) to maximize country results.
• Monitor budget and track expenses against key project milestones and deliverables.
• Serve as the primary point of communication between the Data for Health Initiative and government officials, internal technical advisors and external consultants in countries.
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

Education and degree

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, epidemiology) required. Master’s degree preferred.
  
  

Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated experience and expertise in public health.
• Experience working in low- and middle-income countries and on projects with strong data components.
• Prior experience working in or with the government ministries who focus on public health.
• Experience delivering training or capacity strengthening to professional audiences.
• Project management experience.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Intermediate to advanced knowledge in Microsoft Office.
• Experience with statistical software packages such as R, STATA or SPSS.
• Experience with visualization software such as Tableau or Power BI is desirable.
• Proficient in oral and written English and French is required, proficiency in other languages will be an advantage.
• Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships at all organizational levels and across a diverse range of cultural, generational, ethnic, racial, educational, and social backgrounds.
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
  
  

Experience

Required:

• 8 or more years of relevant experience in public health practice, epidemiology, or global health policy
• Proven proficiency in oral and written French.
• Experience with statistical software packages such as R, STATA or SPSS.
  
  

Preferred

• Prior experience with visualization software such as Tableau or Power BI.
• Experience working and/or living in any of the Francophone nations in Africa.
  
  

Working Conditions And Physical Requirements

• Travel internationally up to 30% of the time.
• The individ ual may be required to walk to and from various locations.