Global Health Fellows Program II Data Science Intern

Data Analytics Hub, Strategy, Analysis, Evaluation and Outreach Division, Office of Policy, Programs and Planning, Bureau for Global Health, United States Agency for International Development

Anticipated timeframe: September 2016 – March 2016: Compensated 6 month internship

Location: Washington, DC/Arlington, VA

INT-P5-049

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 Bureau for Global Health (BGH) is the USAID/Washington operating unit charged with providing technical support to improve the health of people in the developing world by expanding health services, including: family planning/reproductive health and maternal/child health; strengthening health systems; and addressing HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, avian influenza and other public health threats. BGH's primary role in the health program area is to strengthen field operations, promote research and technical innovation, and provide leadership and training.

Within BGH, and under the Office of Policy, Programs and Planning (P3) is Global Health Data Analytics Hub. The Hub provides expert technical leadership for BGH in the synthesis, analysis, dissemination and use of data for decision-making and strategic recommendations across USAID’s priority areas of global health. The vision for this central unit is to aggregate, organize, manage and synthesize data on global, country and regional trends related to health, as well as on USAID programming impact; identify trends, anomalies, and relationships; develop and utilize consistent data reporting practices; produce cutting-edge data visualizations to enhance information communication; ensure consistency in data reporting, and enhance USAID’s demonstration of its technical and scientific expertise. The Hub addresses the strategic questions facing USAID in the health area, both emerging from the corporate priorities of the BGH leadership and those arising from the data and programs in technical areas.

INTRODUCTION:

The Data Science Intern (Intern) will be housed in the Global Health Data Analytics Hub. The Intern will assist the Data Hub team with dataset management, data mapping, generating web contents and maintaining Data Hub’s website and online communications. S/he will also have opportunities to provide technical assistance and support to field missions on a variety of data analytics and data science activities with special focus on data collection, management, and monitoring and evaluation. Under USAID's Open Data policy, all data collected through USAID's projects are open access to the public with very few exceptions due to security/privacy issues. The Intern will also use publicly available data sources such as the Demographic and Health Surveys, the World Bank, OpenStreetMap, and others. The Intern will receive technical guidance from the GH Data Hub Lead as his/her onsite manager and will work closely with technical USAID counterparts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Gaining experience in the field of data science and monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
• Gaining a greater understanding of USAID projects working on cross cutting data science and health information systems activities.
• Deepening skills in collaboration and coordination within a complex organizational and implementation structure.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Completing specific data science projects on topics of relevance to global health (including maternal, newborn and child health, tuberculosis, neglected tropical diseases, water and sanitation, and malaria and nutrition). Examples of such projects would include tracking global disease trends over time and comparing population-level health statistics across different wealth quintiles in a specific country or region.
• Collaborating with USAID staff to generate new content and/or prepare Data Hub’s analyses for online publications.
• Assisting with the preparation of documents and presentations for use in academic and applied settings that showcase the results of geospatial analysis.
• Assisting the team with conducting analyses of health data from a variety of sources in order to answer key policy and evaluation questions.
• Supporting missions, upon request, to define specific needs for analysis and evaluation, conducting analyses, and advising on analytic approach.
• Assisting in data science and M&E core functions, such as reporting of global health indicators, both within the framework of BGH, as well as publicly available datasets to track global health trends and results.
• Supporting BGH's data entry, validation and reporting needs as well as conducting data quality assurance measures.
• Participating in the bureau-wide M&E working group and supporting the team in managing deliverables of the working group.
• 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 public health and/or public policy, statistics or computer science; or, completion of such within the past 12 months.
• Experience in data analysis, biostatistics, data entry and validation, evaluation methods and research, including experience with statistical software such as STATA, R, and Tableau.
• Experience developing or maintaining dynamic websites using open-source web design programs, and/or Google sites.
• Experience with meta-data standards and database best practices.
• Experience living and working in a resource-challenged setting and/or familiarity with global health issues and interventions is preferred.
• Strong writing and analytic skills.
• Experience working effectively in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team setting.
• 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 July 29, 2016 at 5:00 pm eastern time.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Employer.