Vital Strategies is an international public health organization headquartered in New York City. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death. We work in more than 80 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, food policy, environmental health, civil registration and vital statistics, and overdose prevention. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

Vital Strategies, in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute’s National Data Management Center (EPHI/NDMC), Health and Demographic Surveillance System Sites (HDSSs), and other key stakeholders and collaborators has recently launched ImpactHDSS Ethiopia through a three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The purpose of this project is to leverage the health and vital events data produced by Ethiopia’s current set of 13 HDSSs for public health use. These sites provide continuous, routine, and timely follow-up of pregnancies, live births, deaths, and causes of death. They also produce routinely updated direct measures of surveillance area resident populations, which provide the denominators for the calculation of rates. 

While the long-term goal remains one of strengthening Ethiopia’s national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system to provide these data, the government of Ethiopia has elected to supplement registration data in the meantime. One approach, to be taken under this grant, is to leverage government and other partner investments in the 13, university-sponsored HDSS sites and to explore how these can supplement and be supplemented by other mortality measurement or registration activities in the country to produce a representative picture of population health and disease burdens causing premature death. 

Specifically, ImpactHDSS Ethiopia will provide technical assistance and mentorship support to strengthen the standardization, quality, timeliness, and completeness of data collected; to undertake pooled analyses and produce the indicators, statistics, or data required to meet documented use cases in health policy and planning. Additional emphasis will be placed on linking the HDSS systems to the civil registration system and integrating HDSS data with those from other health information system platforms (e.g., DHIS2). 

Ultimately, improved data, including mortality and cause of death estimates, fertility estimates, as well as health service utilization information, will be provided to government decision-makers in a timely manner, synchronized with decision-making processes. Vital Strategies experts will be embedded within Government of Ethiopia institutions, as well as in a small project management and support team in the Vital Strategies Ethiopia office.

The position of Program Associate, ImpactHDSS, Ethiopia is a new position for Vital Strategies. Based out of Vital’s Ethiopia Country Office, the Program Associate will support ImpactHDSS, Ethiopia on administrative and operational tasks, including procuring and contracting goods and services, scheduling meetings and maintaining calendars, coordinating travel and logistics, and planning events hosted by the Impact HDSS, among other duties.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Administrative Support

• Support the ImpactHDSS core and seconded staff with administrative tasks, including scheduling meetings and maintaining calendars, taking and distributing meeting notes, and other tasks as needed;

• Help arrange or maintain organizational systems for ImpactHDSS, including accurate filing systems, file sharing systems, shared calendar and email accounts, and other tools for team collaboration;

• Assist in preparing presentations and with creating and distributing documents, including assisting in the editing and formatting of project reports and related materials.

Operational Support

• Support ImpactHDSS staff with procurement of goods and services by preparing necessary documents (terms of reference, request for quotes/proposals, requisition forms), receiving and answering questions from bidders, ensuring compliance to internal policies, etc.

• Administer contracts as per Vital’s procurement policy and Data for Health’s procedures, and address any questions or issues related to vendor compliance checks and purchase order creation;

• Process invoices for project consultants and vendors in close coordination with the Finance and Operation teams, track invoice submissions and liaise with Finance and Accounting to manage payments and address any questions or issues with payments;

• Assist with managing and tracking expense reports for the ImpactHDSS project;

• Provide support to Operations in travel arrangements, cancellations, or changes to travel Track travel expenses and manage reimbursements for ImpactHDSS staff, consultants, or other guests hosted for travel by the program;

• Assist in managing the travel budget and reconciling reports;

Event Planning Support 

• Organize ImpactHDSS meetings, workshops, webinars, etc., by assisting with planning (e.g. 
  budgets, agendas, finalizing venue and other logistics as relevant, coordinating participant 
  invitations, and managing attendance lists), preparing meeting materials, communicating with 
  relevant stakeholders, facilitating printing of materials and coordinating logistics for 
  participants, including air travel, per diem, and accommodation.

Job Requirements

Qualifications:

Skills and Abilities -

• Strong organizational and time management skills with attention to detail;

• Proven ability to prioritize and manage multiple ongoing tasks;

• Patient and adaptable to fast-paced and rapidly changing environments;

• Determination and drive to see tasks through to the end;

• Demonstrated sensitivity in handling confidential information;

• Excellent computer skills; proficient user of Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, 
  PowerPoint);

•  Ability to perform data entry using word processing, spreadsheet or database commands, and 
  format materials;

• Willingness and ability to periodically work across different time zones;

Experience: 

Required - 

• Minimum three years of work experience; working in public health, public policy, and/or international development.

Preferred -

• At least one year of working experience in public health with an international non-profit;

• Experience working collaboratively and remotely with internal and external team members to provide administrative support in a timely manner;

• Recent experience using platforms such as Monday, Microsoft Teams or Airtable a plus;

• Possesses a genuine interest in the mission and vision of Vital Strategies

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• This is a full-time position that will be based out of the Vital Strategies Office located in Addis 
  Ababa, Ethiopia;

• We offer highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. 

• Limited work-related travel based on program needs;

• This Vacancy Advertisement is open to Ethiopian Nationals and candidates holding a valid 
  work resident permit for Ethiopia;

• Vital Strategies strongly encourages qualified female candidates to apply.

How to Apply

If you are interested in being considered for this role, please send a brief cover letter and CV to hermela@ethiojobs.net  Subject: “Program Associate"