Program Research Officer

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Position: Program Research Officer, Project: Building Healthy Cities

The East Meets West Foundation (EMWF), “the foundation for learning, healing and health", is a US-based non-governmental organization that assists disadvantaged communities in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia through programs in education, health, clean water and sanitation. Founded in 1988, EMW has a 32-year track record of innovative and effective work in Vietnam and a vast portfolio of completed projects. EMW projects and programs are known for their high quality, long -term sustainability, emphasis on results, and significant scale.

East Meets West Foundation is in partnership with John Snow Inc. (US), a health care consulting and research organization dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities in the U.S. and around the world, to implement the “Building Health Cities (BHC)” project in Da Nang city.

Building Healthy Cities (BHC), a five-year project funded by USAID, aims to embed a health equity lens into city policies, planning, and services while improving data flow for existing Smart Cities in India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Health and Smart Cities planning are related; decisions about transport, environment, sanitation, education, recreation, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and the built environment can have a major impact on health, despite being outside of the health sector. When this decision-making is harmonized, it can improve access to health services, decrease lifestyle and environmental risk factors for poor nutrition and non-communicable diseases, reduce speed of transmission during infectious disease outbreaks, and increase availability of usable data for urban health decision-making.

Building Healthy Cities will work in partnership with Smart Cities initiatives and urban health coordination structures to add value via improved health goals and metrics in proposed infrastructure and ICT projects, enhance interoperability of data systems, and increased efficiency of multi-sector urban spending. In addition, Building Healthy Cities can help Smart City citizens of every demographic have a voice in the process through integration of a mobile citizen reporting system. Our goal is to integrate health within the Smart City context, reduce time and costs of producing data for decision-making, and empower citizens to demand better health-related services.

East Meets West Foundation is seeking a Program Research Officer based in Danang, to support the BHC operations in the city. S/he will be primarily responsible for supporting the BHC Project Coordinator on all aspects of project research, reporting, and coordination with key officials in various sectors including Smart City Project authorities, Municipal Corporation, health, urban development, environment, transport, data systems, NGOs/CSO and other stakeholders. The Research Officer will be a member of the team in the project. Day-to-day oversight will be provided by BHC Project Coordinator under the directions of the EMWF/ Thrive Networks CEO/Country Director and in her absence the Deputy Country Director.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

A – Key Duties and Responsibilities:

The incumbent is supposed to fulfil the following key duties and responsibilities which include but are not limited to:

1. Project research, data collection, reporting (60%)

Be a lead focal point in conducting (primary/secondary/monitoring) data collection, preliminary data analysis and management, and reporting; Ensure to uphold the quality and standards expected of USAID projects during these assignments;
Specifically:
- Conduct quarterly Journey maps;
- Facilitate/support Systems map processes
- Conduct policy briefs, literature review
Conduct other research related to program activities in line with the donor’s requests.

2. Project Management, Coordination, Communication, and External Relationship (30%)

Support the management of day-to-day activities of the Project aligned with project expectations and approved global and city work plans;
Assist in developing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with government, private sector entities, and local institutions partnering with BHC.
Keep the City Project Coordinator and the BHC/ JSI Deputy Project Director apprised on complex and/or sensitive issues and work closely with the country support team to troubleshoot these and identify the appropriate course of action.
Support in identifying effective communication mechanisms to ensure proper brand identification at the city level and increase visibility of BHC work and success stories at both local and State level.
Assist to monitor progress of assigned activities against targets; take corrective action where necessary to realize project commitments;
Provide day-to-day support for Communication, Admin. and Finance Assistant
Support the facilitation of project events such as meetings and workshops, study tours, donor/guests visit(s) and the like.

3. Other support (10%)

Attend BHC/EMWF/partners meetings on regular basis to share and receive information across country teams.
Comply with rules and regulations of the organization (EMWF), donors and comply with local laws.
Be ready to act as a substitute or temporary focal point as designated
Other tasks that are requested from time to time

B- Qualifications and Required Competencies:

EMW seeks a results-oriented individual with the ability to produce high quality deliverables, managing multiple concurrent tasks, and meet tight deadlines with attention to detail. The successful candidate is required to have:

Postgraduate degree in Public Health, Sociology, Social Work, Economics, Health Management, Administration or related fields;
Three to five years of experience of working in public health, urban development, administration or related fields desirable;
Ability to network with senior government officials, NGOs and private sector;
Substantial experience in basic (quantitative and qualitative) research activities primarily in the societal and environmental field that include but are not limited to data collection, analysis, synthesis; literature/desktop review; command of statistics Software like STATA or SPSS;
Excellent oral and writing skills (both in English and Vietnamese) and analytical thinking;
Proficiency in Computer skill (MS Office Suite) required;
Proven ability to work independently to create relationships and networks with government entities and utilize them to achieve objectives;
Hands-on experience and strong facilitation and presentation skills, especially in workshops, group discussions, etc.
Very strong team spirit
Based in Danang with occasional travel as needed.

Salary and benefits will be determined based on experience and qualifications.

The deadline for the above position is 12 July, 2020. All interested candidates are welcome to contact and submit their applications to:

EAST MEETS WEST FOUNDATION E-mail: thoi.phan@eastmeetswest.org