Terms of Reference (TORs)

Urban Health Survey Coordinator – Karachi

Project: Understanding Urban Health Services Ecosystem to Improve Equity in Slum Populations of Karachi, Pakistan
Duty Station: Karachi, Pakistan
Employment Type: Full-time (Project-based)
Reports to: Principal Investigator (PI) / Project Director

Background

The project aims to generate evidence on the urban health services ecosystem in underserved and slum populations of Karachi to identify barriers, gaps, and opportunities for improving equitable access to quality health services. The Urban Health Survey Coordinator will provide technical and operational leadership for all survey activities, ensuring scientific rigor, ethical compliance, and timely implementation.

Purpose of the Position

The Urban Health Survey Coordinator will oversee the planning, implementation, quality assurance, and reporting of the urban health survey. The incumbent will coordinate with government departments, academic partners, community stakeholders, and the project team to ensure successful delivery of all survey objectives while maintaining high standards of data quality and research ethics. The role combines technical leadership with operational management, similar to senior public health research leadership positions in urban health and implementation research.

Key Responsibilities

A. Technical Leadership & Survey Planning

• Support PI in implementation of the urban health survey.
• Provide inputs on survey methodology and field procedures based on ground situations.
• Ensure compliance with study protocol and ethical requirements.

• Develop detailed survey implementation plans and timelines.
• Coordinate with provincial and district health authorities, local government, and community representatives.
• Monitor progress against project milestones.

B. Community and Stakeholder Engagement

The Urban Health Survey Coordinator will serve as the primary liaison between the project and key stakeholders to facilitate successful implementation of survey activities within urban slum communities.

• Lead engagement and maintain effective working relationships with provincial and district government authorities, municipal agencies, local health departments, and implementing partners.
• Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement strategy to ensure community participation, acceptance, and ownership of survey activities.
• Build strong relationships with community leaders, union council representatives, religious leaders, women's groups, youth representatives, community-based organizations (CBOs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in urban slums.
• Conduct stakeholder consultations, orientation sessions, and community meetings to introduce the project, explain survey objectives, and address community concerns.
• Coordinate with local gatekeepers and community influencers to facilitate safe and timely access to survey locations and households.
• Ensure culturally appropriate communication strategies are adopted to promote trust, transparency, and informed participation among diverse urban populations.
• Identify, anticipate, and proactively manage community sensitivities, misinformation, and operational risks that may affect field implementation.
• Establish mechanisms for receiving and responding to community feedback, complaints, and suggestions, ensuring timely resolution of issues arising during field activities.
• Provide regular updates to the project management team on stakeholder engagement progress, emerging risks, and mitigation measures.
• Promote ethical conduct, respect for community norms, and protection of participants' rights throughout all stakeholder interactions.
• Represent the project in technical meetings and stakeholder consultations.

C. Quality Assurance

• Develop and implement data quality assurance mechanisms.
• Monitor field performance using real-time dashboards where available.
• Review data completeness, consistency, and accuracy.
• Lead data verification and validation exercises.
• Ensure corrective actions are implemented when quality issues are identified.

Required Qualifications

• MBBS, BDS, MS Public Health, or equivalent.
• Master's degree (MPH, Epidemiology, Health Services Research, Public Health, Community Medicine, Biostatistics, Health Policy, or related field) preferred.

Experience

Essential:

• Minimum 7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in public health research.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale household or health facility surveys.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary field teams.
• Experience working with urban health, health systems, implementation research, or health equity projects.
• Experience coordinating with government health departments.
• Experience in donor-funded research projects (e.g., Gates Foundation, WHO, UNICEF etc).

Desirable:

• Experience working in informal settlements/slum settings.
• Experience using electronic data collection platforms (ODK, SurveyCTO, KoboCollect, REDCap).
• Experience with mixed-methods research.

Required Skills

• Strong project management skills
• Leadership and team management
• Epidemiology and public health research
• Statistical interpretation
• Risk management
• Stakeholder management
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Problem-solving and decision-making
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines