Senior Strategic Information Advisor, DOS LEAP Global - Zanzibar

Location: Zanzibar Dexis is a dynamic professional services firm dedicated to partnering with government and community leaders both in the U.S. and internationally to achieve critical social outcomes in a rapidly changing world. At Dexis, you will experience a corporate culture of inclusiveness, respect, fairness, and trust. You will be given the means and mentorship needed to succeed, and your creativity will be rewarded. LEAP Program Description Global Solutions Ventures (GSV) – a joint-venture partnership between ZemiTek, LLC and Dexis Consulting Group – is implementing the Long-term Exceptional Technical Assistance Project (LEAP Global), a mechanism originally used by USAID to battle against infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, and pandemic influenza. As of July 1, 2025, LEAP Global transitioned to the U.S. Department of State (DOS). This initiative aims to address the complex human resource challenges faced by national infectious disease programs in the USA-supported countries. The intervention of this project is to hire and embed technical expert advisors and subject matter experts within government entities. By directly embedding the technical expertise within the national programs, LEAP provides long-term, sustainable lifesaving support to empower host governments to lead and manage key aspects of their infectious disease portfolios and improve coordination between the U.S. Government and the host country. About the Position The Senior Strategic Information Advisor will support the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Program (ZAMEP) in carrying out life-saving humanitarian assistance (LHA) in full alignment with the new Presidential Executive Order (EO) directives.  The primary focus of the Senior Strategic Information Advisor will be providing technical guidance on all aspects of strategic information which includes data management, collection, analysis, and use, reflecting best practices designed to improve data quality and use, and ultimately advance malaria outcomes on daily basis to ensure the ZAMEP program is able to collect, analyze, and share data for decision making. The Senior Strategic Information Advisor will work with ZAMEP to support the planning, development and implementation of advanced data management and reporting systems within the program. The Senior Strategic Information Advisor will be based at the ZAMEP office which is part of Ministry of Health (MOH). The Advisor will receive day-to-day directions from the ZAMEP Program Manager, who will serve as the onsite Manager/Supervisor. The Senior Strategic Information Advisor will write a report and submit it to the U.S. Department of State in Dar es Salaam at Office of Foreign Assistance (OFA) and ZAMEP on a weekly and monthly basis, as described below. Responsibilities Improve capacity of ZAMEP to collect, analyze and report key malaria indicators: Build the capacity of the ZAMEP M&E Unit in malaria reporting, data management including data collection, data analysis and use, dissemination and reporting. Identify ZAMEP knowledge gaps and support development of monitoring and data analysis tools to meet the needs of the program. Provide technical assistance to the ZAMEP monitoring and evaluation unit in design visualizations, reports, and tools that help different target audiences easily digest the information and offer potential solutions to data gaps. Participate in and support malaria program evaluations conducted by ZAMEP. Participate in the review process of the ZAMEP strategic plan and monitoring and evaluation component and provide technical expertise on the improvement of data quality issues. Provide guidance on the formulation, adoption and implementation of key performance indicators and targets for ZAMEP. Support ZAMEP Monitoring and Evaluation Unit with writing malaria monitoring and evaluation technical documents and evaluation tools such as theories of change, logical frameworks, indicators and corresponding indicator reference sheets, reporting templates and systems, and analysis of work plans, protocols, and reports. Support the adoption and utilization of malaria monitoring and evaluation framework in the national electronic malaria surveillance system in collaboration with other stakeholders. Improved program performance as a result of efficient and effective monitoring and evaluation using evidence-based best practices Advise ZAMEP leadership on ways of improving performance using information obtained from the monitoring and evaluation activities. Provide a technical support to the development and implementation of strategies to improve data quality, data sharing, and data visualization and analytics, while establishing a culture of data-informed resource allocation within ZAMEP. Provide a technical support to the routine review and analysis of key indicator performance on the national and regional levels and provide up-to-date findings and recommendations to relevant stakeholders. Provide technical leadership and expertise to all areas of data management, including ensuring appropriate data collection (manual and automated), inventorying, and cataloguing in the existing ZAMEP monitoring and evaluation tools and data systems. Work with the program to conduct rigorous analysis of data from a variety of sources to locate implementation obstacles and opportunities, and to employ cutting-edge approaches and tools to generate visualizations. Work with ZAMEP M&E team to monitor and evaluate progress towards achievement of national targets on malaria, country operational plans, and expected outputs. Support the ZAMEP in resolving problems at the national and sub-national levels that hinder the effective and efficient implementation of the malaria M&E activities. Train and mentor, the ZAMEP Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in data analysis and visualization. Support the ZAMEP team with the risk identification and management to improve program performance towards elimination Strengthen coordination and implementation of operational/implementation researches Provide technical assistance to the ZAMEP M&E Unit to design and implement malaria-related studies, surveys and evaluations if needed. Support identification and prioritization of operational/implementation researches based on the malaria epidemiological trends, program implementation challenges and evidence gaps Support development and periodical reviews and ZAMEP operational research agenda Provide technical support on developing research concept, protocol, data collection tools, analytical plan and research reports Facilitate collaboration with research institutes, universities, technical partners and implementing agency Support the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of approved operational studies Promote appropriate ethical review, data quality, confidentiality, and research governance procedures. Support the analysis, interpretation, documentation, and dissemination of operational research findings. Facilitate the translation of research evidence into policy recommendations, operational guidelines, and programme improvement actions. Monitor the implementation of recommendations generated from research studies and programme evaluations. Improved Coordination of M&E Activities among stakeholders: Organize regular consultations/meetings with ZAMEP, monitoring and evaluation experts, USG-supported malaria projects, other donor-funded projects in Zanzibar, and other stakeholders in malaria response in Zanzibar. Provide support and technical guidance to USG malaria implementing partners on monitoring and evaluation aspects, including the selection, collection, reporting and analysis of malaria indicators. Provide relevant information to ZAMEP from the different implementing partners monitoring and evaluation activities. Contribute to the preparation of quarterly progress reports, annual project report, inception report, and ad-hoc technical reports for the MoH, Global Fund, DOS and other implementing partners in accordance with the required formats. Participate in Zanzibar Malaria Elimination (ZME) technical working group meetings facilitated by ZAMEP and/or Ministry of Health. Submit progress reports monthly as well as updates if specific requests/information are required to the U.S Department of State (Office of Foreign Assistance). Participate in regular bi-weekly calls with the DOS malaria team. Communications: Regular meetings/ conference calls with ZAMEP, partners, U.S Department of State (Office of Foreign Assistance) and Washington to review progress, discuss activities and address emerging issues. The Senior Strategic Information Advisor should provide information and avail himself /herself for calls/meetings with the U.S Department of State (Office of Foreign Assistance) as required. The Senior Strategic Information Advisor will provide monthly reports to the U.S. Department of State (Office of Foreign Assistance) and ZAMEP Program Manager. REPORTING: The Senior Strategic and Information Advisor will provide a detailed monthly report to the U.S. Department of State (Office of Foreign Assistance) and ZAMEP, which must be submitted by the 5th day of the following month. Additionally, the Advisor will submit a weekly progress report to the U.S. Department of State (and participate in weekly calls) to include a short paragraph about the main successes for that week. The format for reporting may be adjusted with concurrence from the GOR. The advisor will provide weekly progress reports in ZAMEP weekly meetings. Qualifications Master’s degree in the field related to monitoring and evaluation, statistics, social sciences, epidemiology, health informatics, public health, infectious disease, mathematics, economics, or other quantitative analysis and measurement for public health outcomes, or other equivalent quantitative discipline, is required. More than 7 years of progressive and responsible experience in providing technical expertise in the principles of strategic information (information systems, data management and analysis, surveillance, and impact assessment techniques). In-depth professional-level knowledge of techniques and approaches for gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and conducting surveillance of data, as well as using this information to drive decision making. Experience providing monitoring and evaluation technical assistance to large, complex public health programs. Demonstrated experience in the programming of health data-collection and data-quality programs/projects/activities. Demonstrated ability to review, analyze and advise all aspects of malaria programming at national and regional level. Up-to-date knowledge of global and national policies on all aspects of the management of malaria programs. Understanding of ethics related to health data management. Understanding of various international malaria surveillance systems and policies requirements. Experience working with the key stakeholders in malaria and other health programs, preferably the national stakeholders and international donors. Demonstrated leadership skills and experience in building and maintaining productive working relationships with colleagues and host government. Excellent skills in working with government counterparts and other partners including GF, Bill and Melinda Foundation, SWISS TPH implementing partners, local government etc. Experience working in a malaria program country is highly desirable. Experience in all aspects of analyzing health data – e.g., designing data collection tools, assessing data for validity, analyzing quantitative data, and presenting findings in a programmatically useful way. Demonstrated ability to analyze multiple sources of data to identify data trends and provide recommendations on project implementation. Software Applications: Strong knowledge and ability to use spreadsheets (e.g. Excel), databases (e.g. Access, CSPro), and analysis packages (e.g. SPSS, SAS, R), and the ability to help others and to learn new programs quickly are required. Demonstrated skills in oral and written communication in English. Demonstrated skills in oral and written communication in Swahili will be evaluated favorably. Knowledge of U.S. Government health initiatives and related reporting requirements and funding parameters. Good computer skills, including familiarity with Microsoft Office programs. Excellent organizational, planning, negotiating and problem-solving skills. Excellent written communication skills are required to prepare regular and ad hoc reports, activity documentation and briefing papers. Benefits Dexis offers benefits to support employees’ health, financial security, and well-being. The benefits outlined below are for full-time, US-based positions only. These benefits include: Medical and prescription drug coverage: A choice of three UnitedHealthcare medical plans, with coverage options for employees and eligible dependents. Dental insurance: Dental coverage for employees and eligible dependents, including preventive, basic, major, and orthodontic services, subject to plan limits. Company-paid vision insurance: Vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents, with premiums paid in full by Dexis. Employer-funded health reimbursement arrangement (HRA): Employees who enroll in the Silver HRA medical plan receive an employer-funded HRA to help pay eligible in-network deductible expenses. Company-paid life and disability insurance: Basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, plus short-term and long-term disability coverage. Optional supplemental insurance: Voluntary supplemental life and AD&D insurance options, including life insurance options for eligible dependents. Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Company-paid access to confidential counseling and legal and financial support resources for employees and their families. Health and wellness resources: Virtual care, behavioral health resources, and wellness programs available through the medical plan. Benefits assistance: Personalized support with benefit enrollment, coverage questions, claims, and finding providers through the Employee Care Center. Participation, coverage, and employee contributions are subject to applicable benefit plan terms and eligibility requirements. Dexis is on a mission to help solve today’s most pressing global political, social, and economic challenges and create a world where all people are safe and prosperous. As a Dexis employee, you will be challenged, empowered, and mentored. Our motto is “find a way or make a way” — that’s how Dexis goes “all in.” How will you? If you are passionate about this opportunity, apply now! Only those applicants who meet the above criteria will be contacted for interview. Dexis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, pregnancy, disability, age, genetic information, military service, veteran status, ethnicity, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, childbirth and related medical conditions, including lactation, or any other protected class under applicable law.