Technical Systems Architect

Project Overview and Role:

Palladium is currently seeking a Technical Systems Architect to support implementation of the Translating Data for Implementation (Data.FI) award in Eswatini and other countries in the sub-Saharan African region.  Data.FI is a five-year global project funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Data.FI partners with PEPFAR programs to accelerate and sustain access to high-quality data to expedite HIV and COVID-19 epidemic control and maintenance. Data.FI supports host country governments to enhance existing health information systems (HIS) and conduct in-depth analysis of epidemiologic and program data to inform management responses to gaps in programming and sustain impact by supporting local partner transition.

In Eswatini, Data.FI will be responsible for liaising with government stakeholders in the design and implementation of the country’s Client Management Information Systems (ECMS) information system. To date, the introduction of CMIS has improved client services and facilitated data use for key programs, including HIV and Tuberculosis (TB). As core CMIS functionality is finalized and nationally deployed, Data.FI, under the Kingdom of Eswatini's leadership, will now be responsible for continuing to refine system functionality according to priority requirements, further integrating existing health information systems, enhancing data use, and improving system availability.

Location: Mbabane Eswatini/Remote from the following country offices: 

• Pretoria, South Africa
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 
• Washington, DC USA

Purpose of Position

In Eswatini, Data.FI will be responsible for liaising with government stakeholders in the design and implementation of the ECMIS information systems architecture, including systems interoperability, scale-up and governance. The Technical Systems Architect will support the government (MoH) and USAID to ensure that the ECMIS system development is undertaken in alignment with the GoKE eHealth Standards, and with data security specifications. The Technical Systems Architect will implement the ECMIS interoperability strategy, including integration of data from other electronic medical records systems (EMRs) from private facilities, and data exchange with aggregate systems such as DATIM. The Technical Systems Architect will work with peers and supervisees in the successful development and deployment of a Master Patient Index, and a centralized data warehouse with analytical dashboards for the HIV response for use-cases such as HIV case-based surveillance; and will oversee the ECMIS implementation and capacity building strategy for wide ranging users. The Technical Systems Architect will coordinate with the Ministry of ICT Government Computer Services to optimize network connectivity and hosting; and, with other stakeholders, will innovate and collaborate to solve persistent infrastructure barriers to successful ECMIS uptake, including connectivity issues and power outages.

She/he will work with Senior Data.FI Architects to leverage technical approaches in other Data.FI countries and align Eswatini products to industry best practices. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Support the Country Director and government leadership (MoH) to:

• Design and oversee the development systems interoperability with other EMRS and other specified health information systems, and data exchange with aggregate reporting systems such as DATIM, in line with the digital architecture framework 
• Enhance the CMIS and CMIS Lite in line with ratified specifications (e.g., through the development of the in-patient module.)
• Develop a data warehouse for Eswatini for the analyses of important use-cases for the HIV Response, such as HIV case-based surveillance
• Develop a Master Patient Index (MPI)
• Contribute to the capacity development strategy for ECMIS, through the development of technical capacitation materials
• Supervise a software development lifecycle team comprised of business analysts, programmers, quality assurance specialists and visualization experts.
• Oversee data security
• Innovate and collaborate with stakeholders to solve persistent infrastructure barriers to ECMIS use (including reliable power supply and internet connectivity)

Required Qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in Health Informatics, Information Technology, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• At least 5 years’ experience of oversight of health management information systems architecture
• Demonstrable experience and technical expertise in the creation and deployment of solutions involving multiple technology stacks/layers, software and system integrations and large data sets
• Experience with one or more cloud platforms (Azure DevOps)
• Experience in industry architectural patterns and frameworks i.e. (MVC, React.js, jQuery, Angular)
• Demonstrable experience in learning new business domains, processes and capabilities
• Proficiency with Eswatini ECMIS is preferred
• Familiarity with open-source global goods, including demonstrated experience using DHIS2 is preferred
• Demonstratable software development or health information systems development experience
• Strong knowledge of OpenHIE, OpenHIM; experience developing or leading teams interoperating health systems & development of repositories of health data
• Experience developing or leading teams to develop analytics platforms for data visualization; strong proficiency with BI platforms (Metabase, Superset, Tableau, Power BI)
• Knowledge of project management principles, the software development life cycle and ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams 
• Ability to effectively write technical documents such as sys/admin manuals and user guides
• Fluency in English required

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.