Nutrition and Health Information Management Specialist – Mogadisho 23 views2 applications

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT – VA 15/2023

Position Title:                                 Nutrition and Health Information Management Specialist

Number of positions:                  1

Reporting to:                                  Nutrition & Health HOD

Duty Station:                                  Mogadishu

Contract Duration:                       12 Months

Organisational background:

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 24 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 50 countries, our 8,300 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

Action Against Hunger USA is part of the Action Against Hunger International network. As an independent NGO, Action Against Hunger USA currently manages operations in 8 countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Haiti. Action Against Hunger-USA has over $100 million in programs, and approximately 1,800 permanent staff based in New York City, Washington D.C, Nairobi, and country offices. Additional growth is anticipated.

1. Job Summary

The Nutrition & Health Information Management Specialist at Action Against Hunger is responsible for managing and implementing strategies and processes for collecting, analyzing, and reporting. S/He designs and implements surveys and adheres to guidelines and protocols to ensure data accuracy. The Specialist collaborates with stakeholders and partners to align and integrate information management systems and processes, providing technical assistance and support to staff members and partners. The role requires staying up to date with the latest research and trends in applying this knowledge to inform program and policy decisions. The Specialist also facilitates information sharing with the stockholder’s surveillance unit for timely reporting on surveillance. S/he supports the MEAL Team in conducting context analysis and trends analysis and participates in data review meetings to make recommendations for program improvement. The Specialist supports staff, government, INGOs, and UN agencies in implementing SMART surveys, IPC, Geospatial analysis, and the MERIAM modeling. The Specialist’s role is critical in ensuring the efficient and effective management of information management and supporting evidence-based decision-making.

1. Purpose:

·         Lead the Nutrition Surveys and assessments in identified locations on behalf of Action Against Hunger; and coordinate with AIMWG.

·         Monitor Action Against Hunger Health and Nutrition programs, in compliance with Action Against Hunger’s and national guidelines and in coherence with identified humanitarian needs.

1. Engagement:

·         Participate in the external coordination with Nutrition, Health partners, SUN Movement, IPC TWG, Governmental bodies, provide technical support and guidance in the nutrition cluster AIMWG, working groups, where relevant.

·         Represent Action Against Hunger at national level technical Nutrition & Health meetings in the absence of Nutrition and Health HOD.

·         Participate in design and implementation follow up meetings at relevant consortiums.

·         Work in collaboration with government bodies, FSNAU, Nutrition Cluster partners in conducting joint surveys, surveillance, evaluation and monitoring.

1. Delivery: 

·         Execute and implement quality nutrition surveys & surveillance to strengthen evidence and learning in order to maximize the impact of Action Against Hunger Somalia programs to the beneficiaries and inform relevant stakeholders for analysis and decision making.

·         Provide quality and timely technical support to Action Against Hunger program staff throughout the project cycle implementation.

·         Co-Chair the AIMWG and participation in other TWG such as IPC.

·         Utilizes advanced data analytics and mining techniques to analyses data, assessing data validity and usability; reviews data results to ensure accuracy while comparing outputs from the FSNAU analysis model against the MERIAM model; and communicates comparable results and insights to stakeholders in the stakeholders’ forum.

      V.            Essential Job Duties

Objective 1: Lead the development and implementation of information management strategies and Plan.

·         Conduct comprehensive needs assessments to identify information management needs and requirements for nutrition and Health-related data.

·         Develop nutrition and health information management strategies, guidelines, plans, processes, and any special procedures needed for the mission.

·         Identify appropriate data management systems and tools to support effective data analysis and reporting.

·         Develop reporting templates, dashboards, and visualizations to support decision-making and stakeholder engagement.

·         Conduct regular reviews and assessments of information management processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

·         Collaborate with partners and clusters to ensure alignment and integration of information management systems, plans and processes.

Objective 2: Ensure effective data collection and management for nutrition and health-related data.

·         Design data collection tools, Terms of references (TORs), select appropriate methods (communication means, map, camera), the type of informants and/or sampling, selection of villages for fieldwork, and set up a timeframe, working days needed, logistics planning to conduct surveys and assessments to support the collection, management, and analysis of nutrition and health-related data with accuracy, completeness, and consistency.

·         Oversees the technical quality of the secondary information (e.g., population figure etc.). S/he will organize field officers’ access to database, reports, key informant interviews, and local authorities according to the needs of the survey.

·         Provide training and capacity-building support to staff and partners including facilitate identification, recruitment and training of local survey enumerators and team leader trainings to improve knowledge and skills in data collection and information management.

·         Provide supportive supervision for the fieldwork to test the questionnaire and methodology to ensure the team adheres to national guidelines, protocols, and methodologies.

·         Oversee the collection, cleaning, and management of data by conducting team training before the fieldwork by pretesting the questionnaire, and particular attention will be paid to the nature of the data to be collected, ensure data entry is done daily, and run plausibility checks to provide feedback to survey teams, and correct any mistakes identified.

·         Implement data protection, validation, and privacy protocols to safeguard data before it is disseminated both internally and externally.

·         Identify and address data gaps and inconsistencies to ensure the reliability and validity of nutrition-related data.

Objective 3: Conduct data analysis and reporting to generate insights that inform decision-making.

·         Conduct regular quality checks by leading the team in data entry and analysis to ensure data accuracy and completeness.

·         Conduct data analysis and interpretation to generate reports and insights that inform decision-making.

·         Use data visualization and statistical software to analyze and visualize nutrition-related data.

·         Collect and analyze data from various internal sources (ADS Network, APRs/MNRs), including surveys, health records, and program reports and share during the internal data quality review meeting with the HEARO regional office.

·         Conduct data modeling and forecasting to predict trends and inform strategic planning.

·         Responsible for writing the Monthly, quarterly, Mid-year reports, and survey report for HOD’s review and validation.

·         Support reviewing the MERIAM pilot work plans and targets accordingly throughout project implementation.

·         Develop an implementation framework and procedures for MERIAM pilot.

·         Contribute towards the operationalization of MERIAM pilot study analysis.

·         Maintain MERIAM model database and ensures all related output data, reports, and records are clearly organized archived in a central location for future reference.

·         Provide MERIAM pilot updates through comparative reports to Action Against Hunger and relevant stakeholders on research progress and including suggesting strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the MERIAM Model.

·         Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of data analysis and reporting processes and make recommendations for improvements.

Objective 4: Design and implement effective information management systems and quality assurance processes for nutrition and health-related data.

·         Co-chair Nutrition Cluster Assessment, Information & Management Working Group (AIMWG).

·         In close coordination with Nutrition Cluster coordination team and Ministry of Health Nutrition Unit, to organize AIMWG meetings for validation of protocols, surveys and assessment carried by the Nutrition partners,

·         With the support from the SMART team in ACF Canada, organize capacity-building sessions for Nutrition partners on Nutrition Surveys.

·         Work closely with FSNAU team on the IPC assessments and Nutrition Surveys across the country.

·         Support piloting and implementation of innovative approach in nutrition assessment, information and management e.g., SMART+ Develop and implement standard operating procedures for information management.

·         Support in Strengthening the capacity of staff, Ministry of Health, and other partners in MERIAM model methodology.

·         Responsible to submit SMART report within a week after data collection ends and submitted to AIMWG for in-country validation.

·         Develop and implement guidelines for data quality assurance and quality control.

·         Develop and implement training materials for staff and partners on information management systems and processes.

·         Provide technical assistance to staff and partners in implementing information management systems and processes.

·         Conduct regular assessments and evaluations of information management systems.

Objective 5: Build and maintain partnerships and collaboration.

·         Identify potential partners and stakeholders for collaboration and develop partnerships to enhance the effectiveness of nutrition and health information management activities.

·         Foster positive relationships with existing partners and stakeholders through regular communication and collaboration.

·         Facilitate knowledge sharing and learning among partners and stakeholders to enhance the quality of nutrition and health information management activities.

·         Represent the organization in external meetings, conferences, and other events to showcase the organization’s expertise and build new partnerships.

·         Participate in relevant networks and forums to stay up to date on the latest developments and best practices in nutrition and health information management.

·         Develop joint proposals and projects with partners and stakeholders to leverage resources and maximize impact.

·         Coordinate with private digital companies, universities and clusters to ensure collaboration and integration of nutrition and health information management activities with other program areas.

·         Facilitate joint assessments and evaluations with partners and stakeholders to enhance the quality and credibility of information management activities.

·         Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and guidelines for partnership and collaboration.

·         Continuously evaluate and improve partnership and collaboration strategies and activities to maximize impact and sustainability.

    VI.            Supervisory Responsibilities

No Supervisory Role

1. Responsibility

·         This position will be responsible for developing and managing all Nutrition Survey/Assessments budget and supporting the Nutrition & Health HOD to develop budgets during proposal development stage.

·         Track MERIAM pilot activities monthly budget requests.

·         Participate in development of analysis, stakeholder meeting budget plans.

·         Ensure that MERIAM pilot is in scope and on time during the implementation.

VIII.            Physical Demands

•         While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with interruptions.

•         To travel to the field, the employee must attest to a level of physical fitness capable of enduring physically difficult, highly stressful situations which may include the necessity to walk long distances, to eat a limited diet and/or to reside in potentially uncomfortable housing or tents.

•         The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

     IX.            Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

•         The duties of the job require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required by contact with the missions, mission security, or other obligations.

•         Must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business travel as well as to the missions if appropriate. While visiting the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well is to infectious diseases.

1. Gender Equality Commitments & Zero Tolerance to Abuse

·         Foster an environment that reinforces values of people of all genders equal access to information.

·         Provide a work environment where people of all genders can be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance.

·         Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all stakeholders, particularly for children, beneficiaries, and members of staff.

·         Help to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation.

·         Respect beneficiaries’ women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.

·         Value and respect all cultures.