About PCI and RIPA Project:

Founded in 1961, PCI is an international non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing health, ending hunger, overcoming hardship, and advance women and girls around the world. In 2018, PCI served more than 12 million people in 15 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. During the past 50 years, the organization has served millions more in 14 additional countries. PCI has five decades of experience and demonstrated impact in long-term development and community health, and 40 years of experience managing large-scale US Government (USG) grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. It manages a portfolio of integrated programming that includes significant projects addressing reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; food, nutrition, and livelihood security; HIV/AIDS; other diseases; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and humanitarian assistance/disaster risk reduction programs.

The Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RIPA) project in Ethiopia is a multi-million dollar, US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded project that will improve resilience to enhance food security and inclusive economic growth. This multifaceted activity is expected to be a major component in USAID’s contribution to improving Ethiopia’s ability to withstand major shocks in the pastoral regions, a critical element on the journey to self-reliance. RIPA’s core activities will target 250,000 households (approximately 1.5 million people) in 5 Zones. Specifically, the project will tackle the root causes of vulnerability for lowlands households to withstand and recover from climate and conflict related shocks and stresses. These include weak disaster risk management capacity at different levels, limited livelihood diversification options, poor livestock and crop productivity, weak market linkages, and low levels of nutrition. Implementation focuses on systems change, with a strong learning component to ensure interventions are adapted per the latest data analysis and research. Partnerships with other implementers, donors, the GoE, and the private sector will be essential to reach the scale needed for real systems change. 

Position Description:

PCI is seeking a consultant with expertise in mobile-based technologies to build and test forms that support data collection and management efforts of project monitoring and evaluation (M&E), formative research, and participant surveys. The Survey Consultant will be responsible for building, testing, and training RIPA staff on Commcare applications for project data collection, working in close collaboration with technical leads and M&E staff.

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

Application/ Tool Building

• Collaborate with RIPA project technical teams to understand the content and purpose of needed forms and questions.
• Develop new data collection tools in the Commcare Application, for use by the project to collect required data to fulfill M&E and learning initiatives, including RIPA’s baseline surveys.
• Adapt existing tools used by PCI and/or partners globally to the RIPA project context.
• Adapt/Edit the questions, form, and form structure to ensure contents are applicable to the program staff that will use them.
• Work with Amharic-speaking staff to translate and upload the tools for multi-language use
• Assist the project in determining optimal software and storage tools to maximize data acquisition and provide effective analysis of the project
• Work with CLA team to develop Monitoring tools or checklists used for collecting and monitoring data/information against RIPA log frame indicators
• Content Review:
• Ensure data integrity - only accurate and appropriate data is entered and maintained, develop and deploy multiple types of database integrity including check constraints, skip logic, and error triggers
• Ensure data availability using non-disruptive administration tactics, and make recommendations on data collection and upload protocols for optimization
• Ensure data security so that only authorized users have access to view/edit raw data by implementing a rigorous security infrastructure for all collected data, in consultation with M&E staff
• Ensure data confidentiality by developing and implementing a protocol for protection of/removal of private identifying information (for example, developing a unique code replacement of names/phone numbers, etc)

Testing

• Conduct and/or support testing of all tools to ensure the design, functions, data flows, and logic of the questions and forms are working as intended.
• Support program teams to conduct a field test
• Integrate any changes identified by end users, system managers, and subject-matter experts.

Training

• Provide hand-over training to users: end-user experience collecting and uploading data, and for the admin-user (skip logic, question-flow, logic, download formatting)
• Ensure that M&E and technical leads have the expert knowledge to use the tools to collect and upload data using mobile data collection devices.

Support agile approach to program management

• Conduct regular check-ins with the CLA Lead, MEL Manager, Data Systems Manager, and project technical leads to prioritize needed builds.

Support CATI/remote data collections, if needed

• Assist in designing computer-assisted telephone surveys or other similar type remote data collections as needs arise, to ensure that mobile-based technology interventions and digital data strategies are employed

KEY DELIVERABLES:

• A minimum of 5-8 population/participant-based surveys, fully built and ready for deployment
• At least 4 routine monitoring checklists, fully built and ready for deployment
• A completed protocol for ensuring confidentiality and protection of identifiable data fields.
• Completion of at least 1 test per tool/survey (field or room) with real or dummy data
• Documentation and integration of any recommendations and comments from testing
• Training of key staff on 1) end user data collection and 2) admin user (logic, skip, format).

Duration:

• 6-8 weeks

Department: Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA) 

Reports to: Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation (CLA) Team Lead

Direct reports: None

Contract Duration: 6 – 8 weeks

Qualifications and Competencies of the Consultant:

• Bachelor’s Degree in computer science or other information technology background, Masters is preferred but not required.
• 3-5 years of professional experience in Information Communication Technology (ICT)
• 3-5 years of experience building applications in Commcare is required
• Experience conducting application/systems tests
• Experience conducting trainings
• Experience in the NGO or humanitarian sector is desired
• Proven ability to produce quality outputs within designated deadlines
• Proven ability to work well others
• Proven experience as a self-starter and collaborator
• Fluency in English language required; fluency in Amharic is helpful but not required
• Able to interpret different data models from different applications quickly
• Able to understand current state data models and map it to new functions
• Good analytical skills
• Very good communication skills as he/she needs to work closely with project staff and partners