Required number: One

Location: Debre Berhan town with frequent field travel to Woredas of North Shewa zone

Duration of contract: 1 year, with possible extension

Report to: DIPH team at EPHI

Supervision role: None

Project Information

The Informed Decisions for Actions in Maternal and Newborn Health Project (IDEAS) aims to improve the health and survival of mothers and babies through generating evidence to inform policy and practice in Ethiopia, Nigeria and India. IDEAS uses measurement, learning and evaluation to find out what works, why and how in maternal and newborn health programmes. IDEAS is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. One of the IDEAS research themes is supporting local decision-making. One initiative of this theme is the Data-Informed Platform for Health (DIPH), which aims to improve the administration of Maternal and Newborn Child Health programmes and services at the district level. The DIPH brings together a variety of stakeholders into a single platform, facilitating their deliberation on, and understanding and use of, key district-level data. The approach is embedded in existing decision-making procedures at the district level, and adds a structured process of coordination between different government departments and other stakeholders, who share data formally for evidence-based decision-making, planning and resource allocation. We aim to use an action-research approach to adapt, implement and evaluate the DIPH in Ethiopia, North Shewa zone.

The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) in  partnership with the London School of  Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), are implementing DIPH Project in North Sewa zone. The project will be ended in October 2021.

Therefore, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) would like to hire a project staff with duty station in Debre Berhan.  An applicant who fulfil the following qualifications and experience will be selected for the position. The incumbent will be worked under the supervision of the DIPH team at EPHI within the Health System and Reproductive Health Research Directorate.

Job brief:

We are looking for a Data Manager and System Administrator to assist with managing field data: maintain, upgrade, manage our software, hardware and networks.

The incumbent should be comfortable with both Linux and Windows server management and installation of JAVA based applications (tomcat server) and PostgreSQL/MySQL database.

Resourcefulness is a necessary skill in this role. You should be able to diagnose and resolve problems quickly. You should also have the patience to communicate with a variety of interdisciplinary teams and users. Your goal will be to ensure that our technology infrastructure runs smoothly and efficiently.

Responsibilities include:

• Installing and configuring software, hardware and networks
• Monitoring system performance and troubleshooting issues
• Ensuring security and efficiency of IT infrastructure

Main activities and responsibilities:

• Data Management

◦     Assist field staff in using ODK based survey forms to collect data (technical queries).

◦     Download data from database and prepare appropriately formatted data excel/csv files.

◦     Clean and validate data, if required.

◦     Consolidate data from all users and prepare simple data summary sheets for monitoring and analysis.

• Server and software management

◦     Install and configure software (JAVA) and database (PostgreSQL) in the Linux/Windows server.

◦     Update installed software and database with any new version.

◦     Monitor performance and maintain systems according to requirements.

◦     Troubleshoot issues and outages.

◦     Upgrade systems with new releases and models.

◦     Set up accounts and workstations.

◦     Ensure security through access controls, backups and firewalls.

• DIPH Application installation and management

◦     Install standalone version of DIPH application (application and database) in project Districts.

◦     Troubleshoot any issues in using DIPH.

◦     Train district and regional staff on DIPH and use of different reports and data.

◦     MSc in IT or related field and 5 years work experience or BSc in IT or related field

with 7  years work experience.

◦     Proven experience as a System Administrator, Network Administrator or similar role.

◦     Experience with databases, networks (LAN, WAN) and patch management.

◦     Knowledge of system security and data backup/recovery.

◦     Familiarity with various operating systems and platforms.

◦     Resourcefulness and problem-solving aptitude.

Essentials: Degree in IT and related fields.

Desirables: Prior experience of working in IT in health systems.

** Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.