System Designer: Health Information System - Management Sciences for Health

The HIS System Designer/Integration Officer will provide embedded technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and/or National Public Health Institute to design, integrate, and operationalize digital health information systems that support collaborative surveillance across malaria, notifiable diseases, and broader public health functions.

Working in a paired technical model with an embedded Epidemiologist / Disease Surveillance Specialist, the Officer will ensure that digital architecture, interoperability, and system workflows are directly driven by surveillance needs, epidemiological priorities, and decision-making requirements, while remaining fully aligned with Global Fund GC8 grant architectures and implementation frameworks.

The role emphasizes sustainability, institutionalization, and value for money, avoiding parallel systems and strengthening national ownership.

This position is subject to award and funding. We are seeking HIS System Designers (local candidates only) in Ghana, Senegal, and Zambia.

Key Responsibilities

• HIS architecture, design, and integration
• Map and document existing surveillance and routine HIS architectures (e.g., DHIS2, case-based surveillance platforms, laboratory systems, community reporting tools).
• Design and support implementation of integrated system architectures that enable interoperability across malaria, IDSR/notifiable diseases, laboratory, and public health emergency functions.
• Support development and refinement of interoperability standards, data exchange protocols, metadata harmonization, and system governance arrangements.
• Ensure alignment of system design with national digital health strategies, enterprise architectures, and Global Fund-supported platforms.
• Surveillance workflow digitization (in collaboration with the Epidemiologist)
• Jointly map end-to-end surveillance workflows, from data capture to analysis and response, ensuring systems reflect operational and epidemiological realities.
• Translate surveillance requirements (case definitions, reporting timelines, aggregation levels) into functional system specifications.
• Support configuration of digital tools (e.g., DHIS2, dashboards, analytics modules) to enable timely, actionable surveillance outputs.
• Data quality, system performance, and sustainability
• Design and implement automated data quality checks, validation rules, and feedback mechanisms aligned with surveillance standards.
• Support system performance monitoring, uptime, data completeness, and timeliness tracking.
• Strengthen national capacity for system maintenance, hosting, and administration, reducing long-term reliance on external technical assistance.
• GC8 grant design and implementation support
• Contribute to GC8 funding request development, ensuring HIS and digital integration components are clearly scoped, costed, and feasible.
• Align HIS investments with Global Fund modules (e.g., malaria, RSSH, pandemic preparedness) and performance frameworks.
• Support early implementation planning, including sequencing, roles, and coordination across departments.
• Governance, coordination, and institutionalization
• Support development of governance instruments (e.g., MOUs, SOPs) for data sharing, system stewardship, and joint analytics.
• Facilitate coordination between NMCPs, surveillance units, HIS/ICT departments, laboratories, and emergency response teams.
• Contribute to institutionalization of integrated systems within routine government structures.
• Documentation, learning, and reporting
• Contribute to country inception, design, and implementation reports with clear, grant-facing documentation.
• Support cross-country synthesis of lessons related to HIS integration, feasibility, costs, and sustainability.
• Provide inputs to Secretariat-facing learning products informing GC9 preparation.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a relevant field.
• Minimum 6 years’ experience in system design, software development, and technical leadership roles, preferably in global health.
• Proven experience in open-source technologies and development (e.g., DHIS2, OpenMRS, PostgreSQL, Python, TensorFlow, Superset).
• Hands-on expertise in developing and documenting SRS, technical manuals, and SOPs for complex, distributed systems.
• Track record of leading DevSecOps processes, agile sprints, and user-centered design workshops.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across sectors, engage with governance bodies, and establish data-sharing policies.
• Knowledge of international interoperability standards (HL7 FHIR, ICD-11, WHO SMART, DPG) and Principles for Digital Development.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and localization; ability to support translation, accessibility, and community engagement.
• Strong communication skills and ability to produce clear technical and user-focused documentation.

Desirable Skills

• Experience with Raspberry Pi, KoboToolbox, mobile data collection, and visualization tools.
• Knowledge of AI/ML for predictive analytics in public health or climate contexts.
• Fluency in English; proficiency in French or other languages spoken in the target countries is advantageous.
• Strong project management skills; experience developing and tracking sustainability indicators.

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