Position Title: Data Officer

No. of Positions: 1

Locations: Peshawar

Pathfinder Overview:

Pathfinder International is a global leader in sexual and reproductive health. We place reproductive health care at the center of all that we do—believing that it is not only a fundamental human right, but is critical for expanding life opportunities for women, families, communities, and nations, and paving the way for transformations in environmental stewardship, decreases in population pressures, and innovations in poverty reduction. Pathfinder provides women, men, and adolescents with a range of quality health services—from contraception and maternal care to HIV prevention and AIDS care and treatment. Pathfinder strives to strengthen access to family planning, advocate for sound reproductive health policies, and, through all our work, improve the rights and lives of the people we serve.

Project Overview:

The USAID funded Building Healthy Families Activity (BHFA) aims to expand access to and utilization of essential health care in Pakistan, including quality family planning (FP) and maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services, to improve health outcomes for some of its most vulnerable populations. BHFA operates in Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, addressing environmental and health barriers to the uptake of integrated FP/MNCH services.

Job Summary:

The Data Officer will support in execution of an enterprise management information system at the province level that meets the needs of Pathfinder and its programs to support key decisions by managers and leaders. They will manage appropriate investments in data systems, applications and tools, central reporting, data quality and audits, and user-friendly reports and tools. The Data Officer will support the MEL department in promoting Pathfinder technical assistance to health facility data collection, national HMIS, and data-driven initiatives to encourage evidence-based policy and practice. They will ensure compatibility with donor requirements and the government reporting process.

Key Job Outcomes:

Management Information System

• Lead and maintain Pathfinder management information system based in DHIS2.
• Allows for interoperability and integration across applications supporting data collection, reporting, and analysis. Implements DHIS2 system and procedures that ensure reliable information is available at all data use points.

Data Standards

• Develop standard operating procedures for regular reporting, data quality audits, data integrity, data privacy, calculation of key performance indicators and global metrics, analysis and sharing.
• Oversees compliance across information systems.
• Supervises system access, managing logins, rights and security; roles and responsibilities for staff supporting and using the system, training staff on use; ensuring integration and interoperability between DHIS2 singular systems; building or updating input and output views, working with outside vendors to update.
• Ensures compatibility with donor requirements and government reporting processes, as required.

Data for Decision-making and Strategic Direction

• Provides access to information and promotes the use of health delivery and program data at all levels across Pathfinder, ensuring that the organization can track program performance, meets donor reporting requirements, learns from results, demonstrates contributions to coverage, and estimates global impact on strategic priorities.
• Presents findings to program owners and leadership in a way that is useful for decision support, benchmarking, performance tracking, isolating Pathfinder contribution to health coverage and impact, and donor cultivation.

Data Views and Data Capacity

• Oversees designing and building objects in data collection work with the database and reporting software to develop easy-use dashboards, forms, and the like for staff members to review and analyze data trends, ensuring principles of health science, epidemiology and demography are upheld throughout.
• Builds capacity for production and interpretation of report outputs, tabular and graphic depiction of data, and data visualizations.
• Creates dashboards and produces regular reports that help managers see opportunities to improve delivery, increase scale, and gain efficiency.

Technical Assistance

•  Fosters best practices tracking health services and outputs of Pathfinder programs at facility and district level.
• Supports national HMIS and evidence-based practice and policy as mandated with Pathfinder programs.
• Contributes to external working groups for the standardization of indicators and best practices for data collection and use.

Lessons Learned

• Develops the system and guidelines for the enterprise for use of findings gained from information systems and interoperability, shares lessons learned and documents the identification of visibility opportunities for Pathfinder.
• Designs and conducts evaluations and reviews of information systems.

Education and Work Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences, Information Systems, Statistics or a similar field.
• 4 years of progressively responsible experience, preferably in global health analytics, data for decision-making, or health information system management.
• Ability to analyze existing tools and databases and provide software solution recommendations.

 Preferred Education and Work Experience:

• Master’s Degree required in public health, health science, epidemiology, or demography, including data management and analytics, or a related field.
• 3 years of experience in data system management.

 Minimally Required Job-Specific Competencies:

• Database Management Systems: Foundational knowledge of the DHIS2 platform and data quality exercises.
• Data Collection: Good analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Data Reports: Ability to track record of data collection tools as part of the data reporting.
• Technical Support: Ability to provide technical support for MOH (Ministry of Health) registers and reporting.
• PC Applications: Foundational knowledge of SPSS or other statistical programs.
• Software Applications: Foundational knowledge of MS Office products, including MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Organization, Planning, and Multi-tasking: Advanced organizational and planning skills, project planning and management skills. Proven ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and multi-task with minimal supervision.
• Communication and Influencing Skills: Proven ability to influence others through diplomacy and proven oral and written communication skills.
• Organization, Planning and Multi-tasking: Advanced organizational and planning skills, project planning and management skills. Proven ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and multi-task with minimal supervision. Proven ability to coordinate activities.
• Self-Management and Teamwork: Ability to work independently or as a member of the team, ability to be detail-oriented and consistently accurate, ability to manage stress effectively in a fast-paced environment, and ability to quickly learn new systems, processes and procedures and adapt local practices to global standards.
• Matrix Management: Ability to thrive in a matrixed organization.
• Confidentiality: Proven ability to maintain confidentiality on work-related issues.

Preferred Organizational Competencies:

• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Services: Foundational knowledge of family planning and reproductive health principles, practices, and services of assigned program, including program strategies and indicators.
• Passion for Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: Demonstrated commitment to family planning, reproductive health services, gender, maternal, child health services, and eradication of harmful traditional practices. 

Other Information:

• Travel required (20% or less).
• Uses cellular and office phone, laptop or desktop computer.
• This job description focuses on the main duties of the position and is not intended to list every potential task or assignment.
• Duties can and will change to meet the changing priorities of the department and organization.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Statement

Pathfinder International provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Safeguarding and Protection Statement

Pathfinder is committed to the safeguarding and protection of the people we serve and our staff. We have zero tolerance for any type of behavior that inflicts harm on children, young people, adults, our staff, and partners including sexual abuse, harassment, bullying, and exploitation. We do everything possible to ensure that we recruit only those who are suitable to work with us. We expect that everyone we hire will abide by our safeguarding and related policies and will report any suspected or known violations. This job is subject to a range of vetting checks as legally permitted in the country where they are being hired. By applying, the job applicant acknowledges they understand our intent to verify suitability to work with us.