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 of our work, improve the rights and lives of the people we serve.
Program Overview
TRANSFORM/Primary Health Care (PHC) is a USAID funded project to improve healthcare outcomes to End Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths (EPCMD) in Ethiopia, which in turn support Government of Ethiopia’s efforts within the Health Sector Transformation Plan (HSTP). TRANSFORM/PHC will operate in the four most populous regions of Ethiopia (Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region). This will be accomplished in part by: mitigating the drivers of child and maternal mortality in Ethiopia’s most populous regions through the facilitation and implementation of quality health service delivery; improved management and performance of health systems; and implementation of innovative and evidence-based social behavioral change and communication interventions. TRANSFORM/PHCU will strengthen the capacity of the health system to effectively use management tools and implement best practices at all levels of the health system and health care delivery with a major focus at the primary care level that includes primary hospitals and PHCUs.
Position Purpose
Under the guidance of the MEL Director, the Research Advisor is responsible for prioritizing and operationalizing the program’s research agenda by working closely with thematic area advisors and the MEL team. Her/his primary functions include design and implementation of operations researches, rapid assessments and program evaluations, using quantitative and qualitative methods.
Key Responsibilities
Draft research agendas in consultation with project staffs, partners, and stakeholders
Capacity building to technical staffs on operation research and provide technical expertise and oversight of evaluations, analyses, and assessments.
Provide critical expertise on assessment and evaluation methodology, including sampling procedures, survey methodologies, qualitative data collection methods, and gender-sensitive methodology
Draft and/or review data collection instruments for operational research studies and work with the MEL team to develop tools and systems for data capture, collation, and analysis
Provide technical direction in the planning and coordination of analytic activities, ensuring that the methodologies used to undertake the analytic requirements address gender, disability-inclusive, and/or conflict sensitive measures
Provide technical direction on human subjects research and ensure ethical clearance, where necessary
Coordinate publication of research findings
Develop standard research implementation guidelines
Collaborate with Monitoring and Evaluation officers to deliver high impact results.
Collaborate with the Learning Advisor to ensure that research findings are discussed, disseminated, and incorporated into the project’s implementation plan and technical approach
Job Requirement
Basic Requirements
Master Degree in research and evaluation, epidemiology, Bio-statistics, Demography, sociology or related fields with at least six (6) years of related experience, managing and coordinating research or evaluation activities within development programs
Demonstrated experience using quantitative and qualitative data analysis skills.
Demonstrated experience in gender and inclusive development analysis skills.
Experience in managing research agenda
Experience in publishing research results in national and international journals
Prior experience working in Ethiopia is mandatory
Excellent English communications skills, written and oral
Working experience and networks with research institutions, universities and consultant firms, preferred
Preferred Qualifications
Practical experience in using quantitative and qualitative research methods
Practical experience in using statistical applications such as SPSS, STATA, MS-Access, Epidata, etc..