Introduction

The Fleming Fund (FF) is a U.K. Department of Health and Social Care programme to help low and middle-income countries fight Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). AMR poses a severe global threat, expected to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. With potential costs reaching $100 trillion, its impact on the global economy is significant. Fleming Fund Grants aim to tackle the AMR challenge in developing countries including Pakistan. The grants are funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care and managed by Mott MacDonald for the country, regional and fellowship grants. Pakistan has received Fleming Fund support since 2019 in the form of two Country Grants, 9 Fellowships, and central and local procurement of equipment, reagents, and consumables. Between 2017 and the end of phase-1 of the program in March 2023, the program has provided financial support to grantees to establish and support local development of national AMR surveillance systems. 

In partnership with the Fleming Fund, DAI's programme in Pakistan collaborates with the Pakistani government to strengthen systems using a “One Health” (OH) approach – a multisectoral approach to complex health problems that reaches across human health, animal health, and environment sectors. As global leaders in One Health, the DAI team helps incorporate One Health across programme interventions. DAI is helping Pakistan become a leader in combating antimicrobial resistance, and a model for better management of antimicrobials in human and animal populations. DAI and its consortium partners have successfully secured an additional round, Phase 2, of the Fleming Fund Country Grant in Pakistan which spans from January 2024 to December 2025. The Phase 2 of the FFCG programme focuses on achieving four intermediate outcomes: 1) Production of quality AMR/U/C  and burden of disease data; 2) Conducting quality data analysis; 3) Sharing quality data analysis with decision-makers; and 4) Contributing to sustainable investments at both the country and global levels to counter AMR.

Position Summary:

The Senior Data Expert will be engaged as a consultant to support the development of a revised National Action Plan (NAP) for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)in Pakistan, being led by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The consultant will work within a multidisciplinary team, supporting the development of revised NAP and providing expertise in data governance, management, integration, and reporting across the One Health spectrum. This includes collaboration with various stakeholders, including NIH, the Animal Husbandry Commission, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC), and the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR). The consultant will support and coordinate with Technical Working Group (TWG) members in formulating a coherent NAP by extending coordination and technical inputs concerning AMR data management under the One-Health approach umbrella. The consultant will also coordinate closely with all relevant stakeholders and partners to ensure their inputs are agreed upon and incorporated into the revised NAP. Furthermore, the consultant will develop a report on that flow mechanism.

Key Objectives:

The primary objective of this assignment is to develop data generation, collection, analysis, and flow mechanisms around all aspects of AMR to be part of the revised National Action Plan (NAP). The consultant will develop and incorporate robust data management practices into NAP that uphold data quality, integrity, and security across the One Health spectrum. By developing efficient data flow mechanisms, the consultant will facilitate seamless data exchange between various stakeholders involved in the implementation of NAP for AMR. A crucial part of the role involves integrating data from human health, animal health, and environmental sectors to provide a holistic view of AMR trends and patterns. The consultant will also design and incorporate effective data collection and reporting strategies to support evidence-based decision-making. This entails developing protocols and tools for timely and accurate data collection and creating dashboards and visualisations for comprehensive data analysis and reporting. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the revised NAP for AMR in Pakistan is grounded in robust, comprehensive, and actionable data, strengthening the country's capacity to combat AMR effectively.

Key Responsibilities:

The consultant will primarily be responsible for developing a comprehensive data governance mechanism, including a data flow organogram, ensuring precise and efficient data flow starting from hospitals and extending through all levels of data responsibility. This mechanism will delineate the tiers of data responsibility at each 

level, providing a clear structure for data governance. The consultant will ensure that the data flow for AMR across all One Health partners is developed and incorporated within the revised NAP for AMR. This includes integrating the data flow and ensuring seamless access and data-sharing among multiple stakeholders. The consultant will coordinate and support technical consultants in developing organograms for their respective sections, including aquaculture, environment, human, and animal health. This work will be conducted under the auspices of the TWG established by NIH to revise NAP AMR, ensuring a unified and collaborative approach to data management and integration. The consultant's specific deliverables and tasks are listed below.

Output-01: Review Existing Data Frameworks and Structures

Deliverables

1. Review of national and international AMR/C/U data structure
2. Meeting with the Technical Working Group advisory committee to develop collaboration and communication

Output-02: Stage 2 – Developing an action plan for the development of frameworks/mechanisms and incorporation into NAP

Deliverables

1. Identifying critical issues in data flow and management contributing to AMR/C/U
2. Meeting with data management experts, TWG members, and AMR experts for detailed discussions and validation of findings and possible solutions
3. Develop the initial data flow charts and organograms for each component, like AMR, AMC, and AMU, for departments like NIH, DRAP, and AHC. Starting from the health facility/laboratory level

Output-03: Consultation with Stakeholders on the findings and action plan

Deliverables

1. Visit the provinces and meet with stakeholders from all sectors (Human Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Animal Health, Poultry & Fisheries departments) and their concerned departments
2. Understand the different provincial data management systems across Pakistan.
3. Update the data flow charts and organograms by incorporating province feedback.

Output-04: Development of data governance frameworks/ flow mechanisms

Deliverables

1. Develop the data flow mechanisms for human health, animal health, and the environment considering the AMR/C/U
2. Data frameworks should cover all multidisciplinary departments and integration of data flow mechanisms.
3. Incorporation of different departments and their roles at each stage

Output-05: Consultative Workshop[TM1]  for Government Counterparts

Deliverables

1. Develop Agenda for a consultative workshop with government counterparts
2. Support the Technical Working Group to finalise the participant's list and draft the letters of invitation to participants with continuous coordination for maximum participation
3. Develop the group exercises (for participants from different sectors) based on draft-02 of data management of government sectors and One-Health data flow
4. Compile the suggestions and incorporate them in the Draft version of the data management
5. Share the revised dataflow framework mechanism with TWG and FFCGP team for review and comments
6. Incorporate the comments raised by all concerned colleagues.
7. Share the final report on the data flow mechanism for AMR/C/U with FFCGP

Output-06: Government Endorsement

Deliverables

1. Create a presentation highlighting the benefits and necessity of the AMR/C/U data management strategy.
2. Meetings with key government officials (MoCC, AHC, MoNHSR&C, NIH, DRAP, PCRWR) and other departments to secure the endorsement of the data management frameworks and mechanisms from all concerned departments.

Output-07: Incorporation of data workflows and data management organograms into the National Action Plan for AMR

Deliverables

1. Meet with the team responsible for the National Action Plan revision to discuss and incorporate the data sections within the National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR)
2. Ensure the drafting format is designed as per the Government of Pakistan design policy
3. Endorsement of final data flow framework and mechanism document by Technical Advisory Group for NAP-AMR

Additional Responsibilities: Complete tasks related to data, organograms, and NAP for AMR.

Requirements (Education, Experience, Skills, Languages etc.):

• Essential: Bachelor in medical/allied health sciences / public health/data sciences / Information Technology with post-graduation in data sciences or related field and any other similar post-graduation
• Desirable: Post-graduation in Health data sciences, PhD in health policy management, computer sciences
• At least seven years of experience in data management and expertise in different data management platforms
• Demonstrated expertise (ability and experience) in developing data management workflows at the national/international level
• Demonstrated expertise (ability and experience) in planning/strategy development/execution.
• Expertise in communication with government sectors and experience working with the government will be an added advantage
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills in English and Urdu, adaptable to different audiences,
• Familiarity with AMR, Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), and other multi-sector health initiatives is an asset.
• Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment, and commitment and drive, with a clear focus on results.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities whilst maintaining attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
• Demonstrated commitment to achieving results with a creative and innovative approach.