Principal Programme Officer, Health Information at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Principal Programme Officer, Health Information

Grade: P5
Location: Bobo Dioulasso / Burkina Faso
Status:Permanent
Division: Health Information
Directorate: Planning And Health Information
Line Supervisor: Director, Planning And Health Information
Supervising: PO, Database Management;  PO, Health Analysis
Institution: West African Health Organisation (WAHO)

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Director, the appointee shall coordinate regional health information policy development and implementation, data collection and analysis, and information sharing and storing.
• The appointee shall provide technical support to member countries and facilitate the creation of regional platforms for the strengthening of integrated Health Information System.

Role and Responsibilities

• Develop and monitor the implementation of the regional policy and advocacy tools for Health Information System (HIS);
• Responsible for the implementation of the HIS components of WAHO projects;
• Assess and document the technical capacity needs for efficient performance of the regional information sharing platform in West Africa;
• Evaluate the technical support requests from member countries ministries of health;
• Provide technical assistance to Member States on health information systems;
• Lead and advocate for the establishment of a regional pool of experts to provide technical assistance in health informatics to Member States;
• Support the establishment and facilitation of the HIS Partners Forum for the strengthening of integrated HIS in West Africa;
• Provide technical support to countries in designing and implementing data quality improvement plans;
• Support the implementation of innovative solutions to promote the integration of health data management;
• Responsible for the collation of relevant multi-source data and the analysis of such data to provide timely relevant information to WAHO and on request to Member States
• Liaise and work collaboratively with the relevant Lead for Epidemics information at ECOWAS RCDC
• Perform any other duty as assigned by the supervisor.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Health Economics, Health Information/Statistics, Information Communications Technology (ICT), or relevant related field of equal relevance to international development assistance from a recognized university;
• 10 years professional experience in planning and health information including 5 years at a supervisory level;
• Knowledge in designing and planning of health programs;
• Knowledge in data base development and management in health information analysis;
• Experience in the management of health information systems.
• Knowledge and experience of the HIS information platform or similar international software for health systems data capture, analysis and reporting.

Age Limit:

• Be below 50 years old. This provision does not apply to internal candidates.

Ecowas Key Competencies:

• Ability to lead in assigned programmes and projects by providing the necessary managerial and operational expertise required for the fulfilment of the organization’s mandate;
• Ability to lead by example and organize teamwork to encourage cooperation to achieve targeted results, champion and build momentum for change and to bring about employee engagement; develops and implements internal controls for pilot program to manage potential barriers to implementation;
• Ability to respect chain of command in an appropriate manner;
• Excellent self-management skills, demonstrating ethics and integrity, confidentiality and displaying due regards for internal controls of rules, delegations and transparency;
• Knowledge of program management at the level usually acquired from a certification in program management.
• Ability to research benchmarks and trends to bring about the best recommendations for the development and improvement of programs/projects that will best serve the community/organization;
• Well-developed networking and interpersonal skills to seek feedback, information and data from a network of professionals from multiple countries/sectors/organizations and to identify and prioritize the most critical community requirements;
• Ability to develop and implement best practices in client services;
• Ability to develop and implement stakeholder management plans, programs and initiatives to obtain buy-in on new initiatives, to better understand dissenting views, to obtain resources and to increase perceptions of success.
• Ability to be diplomatic, tactful and respect of other people from varied backgrounds, understanding diverse cultural views especially within West Africa with the ability to convert diversity into opportunities to improve program/operational outcomes;
• Ability to remain objective in managing conflict regardless of cultural differences /positions, gender differences, and encourage other staff to overcome cultural and gender bias and   differences;
• Ability and responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work;
• Ability to serve the interest of culturally diverse multinational teams/organizations/communities and persons with disability without prejudice and bias.
• Understanding of the ECOWAS organizational structure, associated dynamics and expectations as required to collaborate, participate, contribute and lead effectively;
• Knowledge of the ECOWAS mandate, strategic plan/priorities as well as the economic, political and social situation and trends in member states, as pertains to own scope of work;
• Knowledge of international best practices, program management approaches and research techniques to lead and/or contribute to the development or assessment of programs, projects or initiatives;
• Ability to use ECOWAS rules and procedures   to appropriately interpret and apply directive text, provide technical advice, coach others and assess performance.
• Ability to pull together information from different sources to identify the cause of problems, consequences of alternative causes of action, potential obstacles and ways to avoid the problem in the future;
• Ability to break down very complex situations/information into simple terms to explain recommendations and conclusions aimed at solving problems or improving operations/programs/projects;
• Ability to develop new insights into situations, apply innovative solutions to problems and to design new methods of addressing issues or disconnects where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or no longer effective.
• Ability to communicate with impact, clearly and concisely in a succinct and organized manner conveying credibility & confidence when making presentations, setting expectations and explaining complex issues;
• Accomplished technical writing and editing skills;
• Exhibit active listening skills to encourage stronger communication amongst team members, to show care and make them feel valued and to  drive employee engagement in all institutions and agencies;
• Ability to give constructive feedback, provide recognition, address shortcomings and motivate direct reports to work at peak performance;
• Computer literate and proficiency in   information communication technologies (ICT) and specifically in the use of analytical databases for data capture, analysis and reporting;
• Fluency in oral and written expressions in one of the ECOWAS official languages of the Community (English, French & Portuguese). Knowledge of an additional one will be an advantage.
• Ability to set effective goals and targets for self, others, and the work unit and adjusting work or project priorities in response to changing circumstances;
• Ability to use participatory approach in project planning and identify gaps affecting the achievement of program/project expectations and to design and implement intervention plans required to build the desired task;
• Ability to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation practices and to set in place regular reporting schedules relevant to key outputs;
• Ability to plan, organize, control resources, and to comply with policies, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Annual Salary
UA 53,809.91 (USD 84,901.27)

Application Closing Date
24th June, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their Applications to: [email protected]

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