Country: United States of America
Closing date: 24 May 2016
Global Health Fellows Program II
Evidence to Action (E2A) Research and Communications Intern
Service Delivery Improvement Division, Office of Population and Reproductive Health, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development
Anticipated timeframe: June 2016 – August 2016: Compensated 12 Week Internship
Location: Washington, DC/Arlington, VA
INT-P5-041
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP-II) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute in partnership with Global Health Corps, GlobeMed, Management Systems International and PYXERA Global. GHFP-II is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
GHFP-II’s goal is to improve the effectiveness of USAID health programs by addressing the Agency’s immediate and emerging human capacity needs. The program seeks to accomplish this goal first through the recruitment, placement and support of diverse health professionals at the junior, mid and senior levels. These program participants include fellows, interns, corporate volunteers and Foreign Service National professionals. The program then provides substantial performance management and career development support to participants, including annual working planning assistance, and ensures that professional development opportunities are available.
Looking to the future, GHFP-II also seeks to establish a pool of highly-qualified global health professionals that will ensure the Agency’s ongoing technical leadership and effectiveness. This objective is supported by an extensive outreach program that brings global health opportunities and specialized career advice to a diverse range of interested individuals, with a particular focus on those underrepresented in the field of global health.
BACKGROUND:
The Service Delivery Improvement Division (SDI) under the Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH) in the Bureau for Global Health (GH) develops and applies innovative strategies that improve the performance of individuals, organizations, and systems for the sustainable delivery of quality family planning services. PRH provides technical leadership, strategic direction, and implementation oversight, support to field missions, partner coordination, and performance tracking for the family planning component of the United States Government (USG)’s Global Health Initiative. A technical priority for the Office is meeting the reproductive health and family planning needs of adolescents and youth by integrating youth into global projects as well as building the capacity of staff and partners to implement effective youth programming approaches.
SDI manages the Evidence to Action (E2A) for Strengthened Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) Services for Women and Girls which serves as USAID’s global flagship project for strengthening the delivery of (FP/RH) services, and addresses the reproductive healthcare needs of girls, women, and underserved communities around the world by increasing support, building evidence, and leading the scale-up of best practices that improve the delivery of family planning services. E2A has worked in more than a dozen sub-Saharan African countries with plans to expand to other continents to apply high-impact FP/RH solutions and has generated a wealth of useful knowledge for different audiences, including implementers, policymakers, and health workers themselves.
An important component of E2A’s mandate is the promotion of strategies/practices that strengthen FP/RH service delivery and increase access to these services. A major step toward developing such strategies is to examine, where the opportunities exist, factors that facilitate or constrain the use of data by frontline health workers. In 2012, E2A completed an assessment of Ethiopia’s unique national and local health system and its use of data by Health Extension Workers (HEWs). This assessment was implemented to examine the extent to which HEWs use Health Management Information Systems (HMIS)/M&E data to improve/strengthen FP/RH service delivery at the community level. While a draft report of the assessment exists, it has not yet been revised and finalized. E2A also wishes to explore producing a publishable article for submission to a peer-reviewed publication based on this work. For more information about the project, please visit www.e2aproject.org
INTRODUCTION:
The E2A Intern will be assigned to the Research and Communications Teams at E2A, who play an integral role in measuring, documenting and disseminating high-impact FP/RH practices and related knowledge through platforms such as websites, newsletters, communities of practice, webinars and other events. The Research Team promotes and supports rigorous monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities that will meet the data needs of different stakeholders. The Communications Team employs a wide dissemination of evidence-based practices related to three of its priority focal areas—youth, method choice expansion and scale-up - and incorporates gender as a crosscutting issue that is embedded in the design and implementation of all its FP/RH service delivery activities. Through generation, translation, and dissemination of knowledge, E2A promotes a culture of evidence-based policy, organizational learning and accountability, and informs the need for policy makers and program managers to refine strategies with a view to achieving increased program efficiency and effectiveness.
The Intern will work closely with the E2A Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR), as his/her onsite manager, and will liaise closely with the E2A Deputy Director (who oversees both the Research and Communications Teams), E2A’s former Monitoring and Evaluation Director, and the Writer and Publications Specialist. S/he will work with the USAID team to finalize a report of this publication and to produce a finalized manuscript for publication based on the report. Additional analysis may be required to finalize data tables and presentation for the report and publication.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Gaining a greater understanding of USAID’s E2A Project, as well as family planning and service delivery activities.
- Gaining an understanding of publications cycle and product dissemination strategies.
- Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Assisting with the reviewing and editing of the E2A project assessment report on Health Extension Workers’ (HEWs) Data Use for decision-making.
- Assisting in drafting at least one peer-reviewed journal article based on the above E2A publication, including conducting a literature review and additional data analysis if changes or additions are made.
- Attending program-related briefings and events within and outside USAID as requested and assisting with engaging in social media conversations.
- Other tasks or responsibilities may be assigned based on organizational and programming need and/or the Intern’s own interests.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Currently enrolled master’s or other post-bachelor’s degree candidate in a program related to health; or, completion of such within past 12 months.
- Demonstrated knowledge/interest in Family Planning and Reproductive Health.
- Strong writing and qualitative and quantitative research and analysis skills using SPSS, Epi-Info, or Excel.
- Experience in conducting literature reviews.
- Strong attention to detail, together with excellent organizational skills and time management.
- US citizenship or US permanent residency required.
COMPENSATION:
$1,690 bi-weekly (exempt, salaried position).
How to apply:
Detailed information, including an online application and instructions, is available on our website at
www.ghfp.net. All applications must be submitted by May 24, 2016 at 5:00 pm eastern time.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.