Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) Program Data Analyst

Location: To be determined – Local Contract

Scope of the position

The data analyst-statistician officer reports directly to the Vitamin A Supplementation Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator (MEC) S/he works closely with the VAS Regional Research Manager and the VAS Regional Technical Coordinators. He/she manages all data analysis needs for the Vitamin A Supplementation programs in Helen Keller International’s 13 countries in Sub Saharan Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, Senegal, Sierra Leone.

Background

Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) for children under five years of age has been a cornerstone of global child survival programs for decadesⁱ, and VAS has been shown to have positive impacts on reducing child mortality. The World Health Organization recommends all children 6-59 months receive high-dose VAS every 4 to 6 months in areas where the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency is ≥ 20% in young childrenⁱⁱ, and more than 80 countries currently have universal VAS programs in place.ⁱⁱⁱ In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), VAS has mainly been provided through National Immunization Days (NID) and polio Supplemental Immunization Activities.^iv As these involve providing essential childhood vaccines through door-to-door delivery, coverage has generally been high (> 80%) for both immunizations and VAS,^v compared to the much lower coverage typically achieved through health facility-based delivery. More recently, semiannual Child Health Days or Child Health Weeks (CHWs), which utilize a fixed-site community-based approach rather than household visits, have become a key delivery platform for VAS in SSA.^vi However, funding constraints and successful polio eradication efforts are shifting the policy and program focus away from NIDs and CHWs to integration of VAS into routine immunization services.^vii Two examples of this are the six-month and six-*monthly* contact points, which enable year-round supplementation and allow for adding-on of additional health services (e.g., family planning counselling) when a parent brings their child to a health facility.^viii Additional approaches are also being tested, such as the use of community-health workers to facilitate campaigns.

The Post-Event Coverage Surveys (PECS) is the primary method used by Helen Keller International to assess VAS coverage, validate administrative data and score sheets following a VAS event (NID, CHW), and measure the quality-of-service delivery. Helen Kellen International routinely conducts these surveys in 12 countries in support of government led VAS initiatives.

Since 2018, 29 surveys have been implemented across the 12 countries. As Helen Keller VAS program continues to expand, the number of PECS also increases, as well as the needs to ensure quality of design, data collection, analysis and reporting.

This data analysis position consists of leading the analysis of forthcoming PECS data to understand the factors that influence VAS coverage, knowledge about services provided, and the effectiveness of program activities, and to compare data over time and between countries and regions.

Specific Responsibilities

For each of the thirteen VAS countries, the data analyst-statistician will:

• Provide technical support to country office teams on PECS

o Provide support to country teams in the preparation of PECS: development of protocols and tools, successful submission to ethical committees, training of data collectors, team leaders and supervisors on survey tools and methodology and how to resolve data-related challenges in the field.

o Support country teams during survey implementation to address any challenge faced in the field and during data management.

o Provide technical support to country teams on the cleaning, analysis and reporting of data from PECS

o Support countries/regions in quality assurance oversight (data error detection and correction) on all processes where data are collected, stored, transformed or used by the country/regions.

o Develop data quality indicators and promote their implementation within countries and regions through the conduction of regular data quality assessments to verify the veracity of data.

o Create, clean and/or maintain databases for upcoming surveys and where necessary support data collection teams to design forms that facilitate database management.

o

Identify training needs of country teams regarding data management, collection, entry, analysis and/or interpretation and organize training as per the needs identified.

• Provide technical support to the VAS regional team on the management of PECS and other related studies

o Provide support to the regional team for the identification of research topics, the preparation of concept notes, abstracts, publications and study protocols

o Provide technical support for the cleaning, analysis and reporting of any VAs related study

o Create, clean and maintain a database combining all PECS data

o Identify relevant analysis topics and conduct secondary analysis of PECS data to produce knowledge and evidence

o Occasionally provide expert input or analytical support for analyses of other nutrition studies conducted at Helen Keller

Qualifications

· A master's degree in public health, epidemiology, statistics, economics or any other equivalent field ;

· At least 3 years’ experience as a data analyst nutrition data ;

· Ability and experience in designing electronic forms on Windows and Android based tablets (ONA, Kobocollect, ODK, Etc)

· Experience in using statistical software to manipulate datasets (e.g. SPSS, Stata, SAS, R, etc.); STATA required

· Experience working with Vitamin A supplementation interventions is a plus.

· Ability to write reports and disseminate results.

· Skills in capacity building, communication, and knowledge transfer, which are key elements of HKI-supported programs and projects.

· Significant experience and knowledge in statistical analysis and the ability to discern appropriate methods for different analyses.

· Experience in analysis related to vulnerable populations and/or determinants of health preferred.

· Ability to work and write in English and/or French, both preferred.

How to apply:

Interested candidates to send their cover letter and a curriculum vitae to recrutementhkisenegal@hki.org noting the job title in the subject line.

Applications will be reviewed as received.

HELEN KELLER INTL:

DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, TEST, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING).

DOES NOT ASK FOR INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

DOES NOT RECRUIT THROUGH ANY RECRUITMENT AGENCY.

Equal Opportunity Employer

· We are an Equal Opportunity Employer where all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

· We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individual with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need to request an accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at the email above.