Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Programs – Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Pact seeks a Strategic Information Systems Administrator for the Zambia Integrated Health (ZIH) Project. This is a 5 years USAID contract that aims to improve health outcomes for Zambians by focusing on equitable access to high-quality, client-centered services covering HIV, TB/HIV, maternal, newborn and child health, and family planning and reproductive health, along with the integration of services. The Strategic Information Systems Administrator sits within the Strategic Information Department under Zambia Integrated Health (ZIH) Project. The Strategic Information team is responsible for oversight of program monitoring, data quality assurance, reporting and Learning aspects of the project.

 

The Strategic Information Systems Administrator (The Administrator) will be responsible for technical leadership in the design, development, upgrades and maintenance of data management systems. The Administrator will ensure that data flows seamlessly within and between systems (SmartCare/SmartCare+, imPact, Aggregate DHIS2) and other relevant systems that informs Zambia Integrated Health. The Administrator will also ensure data analytics and user-friendly data visualizations for continuous project monitoring and performance reporting. The Administrator will also manage development, adaptations and updating of data management system documentation including technical specifications, job aids and user guides. They will also provide Capacity Development to district and provincial teams on maintenance of Strategic Information systems and supervises Senior Health Informatics Officers.

This is a Zambia based local Position and open to Zambian nationals only.

• • Provide a summary of all data entry progress and challenges that may occur between the Facility (SmartCare/SmartCare+), District level (Aggregate DHIS 2) and imPact database to the Strategic Information team to ensure timely follow-up on data entry into systems for efficient data use at central level.
  • Monitor systems downtime, analyze the implication of such for data availability for program monitoring and reporting and provide technical assistance/ guidance to reduce/ address impact of downtime on data management.The specific duties to be carried out by the successful candidate are listed below:

     

    Elicitation, documentation and implementation of user requirements

    • Gather and document requirements on edits that may be required in the Zambia Integrated Health data systems including visualizations and addition of content to the database.
    • Work with National and District Health Informatics Officers, Strategic Information team and Pact Home Office Information systems Administrator to review, prioritize and implement user requirements identified that are essential for improving system performance.
    • Work with Strategic Information team and Health Informatics Officers to test implemented user requirements.

     

    Development and maintenance of Information systems

    • Develop new modules in the custom imPact database in collaboration with Pact Home Office Information systems Administrator.
    • Collaborate with the PEPFAR SI partner in developing and implementing new modules in SmartCare/ SmartCare+, Aggregate DHIS2.
    • Collaborate with the PEPFAR SI Partner, MOH and other relevant stakeholders to support ongoing efforts to optimize the interoperability between HMIS systems and partner-specific systems to improve analytics and increase national data use.
    • Provide day to day support in maintaining imPact and SmartCare/ SmartCare+, Aggregate DHIS2.
    • Development and maintenance as appropriate of all Application Programming Interfaces that are linked to the data management systems.
    • Quality assurance of data management systems.
    • Manage data warehousing within the project.

     

    User training and provision of technical assistance

    • Provide user training and collaborate with PEPFAR SI partner and Pact Home Office Information systems Administrator in updating user training manuals and all administrator manuals.
    • Identify and document training needs for users of the imPact database and all custom project applications supporting data management systems, design and conduct/ identify appropriate trainings that meets the user needs.
    • Identify and integrate emerging data management resources and train users on said technologies
    • Provide ongoing technical assistance to programs and Strategic Information staff to effectively utilize the Database and other technologies for data management and reporting.
    • Conduct quarterly site level user support clinics to provide one to one mentoring to Provincial and District level data management systems users.

     

     

    Data Quality management

    • Work in collaboration with Strategic Information team and Home Office Learning Evidence and Impact team to institute data quality assurance measures in the data management systems
    • Continuously review and analyze data for quality standards and highlight any issues arising to the programs and Strategic Information teams for action.
    • Troubleshoot issues that may arise from the data management systems.
    • Analyze systems performance, identify challenges, troubleshoot and produce regular data management systems performance reports.
    • Provide a summary of all data entry progress and challenges that may occur between the Facility (SmartCare/SmartCare+), District level (Aggregate DHIS 2) and imPact database to the Strategic Information team to ensure timely follow-up on data entry into systems for efficient data use at central level.
    • Monitor systems downtime, analyze the implication of such for data availability for program monitoring and reporting and provide technical assistance/ guidance to reduce/ address impact of downtime on data management.

• Master’s degree with six (6) years work experience or bachelor’s degree with at least eight (8+) years work experience
• Master’s degree in Health Informatics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Science, or related fields.
• 7+ years of experience in the development and operations of health information systems.
• Demonstrated strong DHIS 2 skills at systems administrator / developer level.
• Experience working with donor projects reporting systems, particularly PEPFAR/USAID
• Experience in rollouts of data management systems
• Experienced in applying user-centered requirements processes for systems design
• Experience in working with scripting languages (JavaScript in various forms; Node.js, Ajax etc.)
• A strong understanding and working knowledge of database design and conceptualization
• Working knowledge of database management systems (SQL server, MySQL, Postgres preferred)
• Demonstrated skills with data visualization software and applications such as Power BI, Tableau, QLIK Sense, Apache Superset, Metabase.
• Strong analytical skills.