Health Information specialist

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

The cross-border humanitarian assistance from Gaziantep, Türkiye, into North-West Syria is provided by the United Nations and a large number of international, Syrian and Turkish agencies. Established in 2013, the overall coordination of the Syria response from Türkiye is run by UNOCHA. The Türkiye humanitarian coordination architecture is comprised of nine clusters, including the Health Cluster (HC). Led by the World Health Organization, the HC coordinates the cross-border delivery of humanitarian assistance for the health sector in NW Syria, and works towards restoring the disrupted health care services. The HC has an extensive membership of actors split between formal members (required for agencies wishing to have access to OCHA’s humanitarian funds) and observer members. Currently 53 health cluster partners are directly involved in health service provision in NW Syria, and these submit monthly reports through the HC’s 4W reporting mechanism (Who, What, Where, When).

HC meetings and technical working group meetings are open to NGOs, UN agencies, donors, formally recognized observer members such as ICRC/IFRC, representatives from the Idleb and Aleppo Health Directorates, and the White Helmets. Coordination meetings are held every two weeks, with monthly meetings of a number of technical working groups (TWGs). The HC and TWGs are the decision-making bodies responsible for information management and strategy development for the NW Syria health sector. The UNV will support the Information Management team of the HC.

Under the direct supervision of the Health Cluster Information Management Officer, and with indirect support from the WHO technical team, the UN Volunteer will provide support to the Health Cluster’s Health Information Technical Working Group as follows (HI TWG):

1. Participates in the HI TWG meetings, and supports the TWG by monitoring and reporting on the progress towards implementation of the TWG Workplan for the TAMWIL project.
2. Contributes to the formulation of the questionnaire for the Health Facility Assessment (HFA) to be conducted by the contracted independent Third Party Monitoring Team, and uses the resulting data to conduct analyses as follows: a. Compares the result of the HFA to the self-reported data collected by the Health Cluster through its HeRAMS reporting tool (number of health facilities, staff, services provided). Presents results of the HeRAMS validation exercise to the HI TWG. b. Assists the HI TWG and the WHO Technical Team in the development of a “priority/quality label” for health facilities in NW Syria using the HFA results
3. Supports the HI TWG in the development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for the revisited Essential Package of Health Services for NW Syria.
4. Participates in and supports the team that is responsible for assigning geographical codes (urban/semi-urban/rural/remote rural) codes to the communities in NW Syria, and is responsible to prepare the final outcomes of the discussion (Excel worksheet, GIS map).
5. Provide capacity building support (if and when possible) to the NW Syria Health Information Systems Unit.
6. Any other tasks relevant to the support of the TAMWIL project that lies within the scope of the UNV’s personal capacities.

☒ Adaptability and Flexibility ☒ Commitment and Motivation ☒ Integrity ☒ Knowledge Sharing ☒ Planning and Organizing ☒ Technological Awareness ☒ Working in Teams

information management, including management of databases, assessing data quality, and conducting basic data analysis and presentation of results (i.e. pivot tables, GIS mapping, etc).
Skills and experience description

• Demonstrated interest and/or experience in data management (mandatory); using GIS/mapping software (mandatory); Humanitarian Assistance (preferred); Health/Health Systems (preferred) • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; • Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing; • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment; • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines; • Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded;

Gaziantep, previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep, is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximately 185 km east of Adana and 97 km north of Aleppo, Syria.

The city is served by Oğuzeli Airport, which has commercial flights to domestic and regional international destinations. The city is further served by Turkish State Railways which operates the Gaziantep Railway Station in the City Center. Local transport consists of buses as well as an affordable taxi system. Additionally, Gaziantep has a three line light rail system called the Gaziantep Tram which consists of three lines, is 35 km long and carries 75,000 daily passengers. The city is also easy to walk through.

Gaziantep has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet and often snowy winters.

The city is known as the culinary capital of Turkey. Restaurants are plentiful and affordable, mostly offering a blend of Turkish and Syrian cuisine. The city is also famous for its sweet desserts and its pistachios. Most supermarkets and corner shops offer a wide variety of foods, with some foods such as pesto or Asian foods available in specialty shops.

Nearly all homes are apartments, with most buildings housing only a relatively small number of apartments (around15-20). Many apartments for rent are furnished although essentials such as linens and kitchen equipment easily procured locally. Rents are low, around $400-$500 per month for a 2-bedroom apartment with a balcony. Apartment quality varies, but with a little effort a newly furbished apartment can be found with central heating and air-conditioning within the first weeks of stay. Electricity, water and gas are centrally provided and reliable, with electricity cuts a rare occurrence.

For young children, there are no international schools / English language schools available in Gaziantep. Local primary and secondary schooling is all taught in the Turkish language. The city has a few universities, some offering courses in English.

Once a Turkish residency permit is issued you can open a Turkish bank account, which will facilitate payment of bills such as rent, gas, water, electricity. ATMs offering cash withdrawals are scattered within easy walking distance throughout the city, most of which allowing international/credit card withdrawals