Epidemiologist, Post-Campaign Coverage Survey (PCCS)

Job Description | CHAI Cameroon

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries, while strengthening the capabilities of governments and the private sector in those countries to create and sustain high-quality health systems that can succeed without our assistance. For more information, please visit: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org.

Overview of the role

Specific deliverables, timelines, and quality standards will be agreed with the supervisor at the start of the contract and will form the basis of the renewal decision. Depending on the survey timeline, they are expected to include:

1.     An inception note and integrated survey workplan covering all workstreams, with timeline, responsibilities, budget tracking, and a risk and mitigation log, within the first two weeks.

2.     A final survey protocol, including sampling design, sample size calculation, indicators, questionnaires, and analysis plan, validated by EPI and partners and submitted for ethical clearance and administrative authorization.

3.     Tested electronic data collection tools, a field manual, supervision tools, and training materials, together with a trained team of supervisors and enumerators.

4.     Fieldwork completed according to protocol, supported by supervision reports, a data quality monitoring dashboard, and documented corrective actions.

5.     A cleaned, documented, and weighted dataset with preliminary results presented to EPI and partners.

6.     A draft survey report with key findings and actionable recommendations, and dissemination materials for validation by stakeholders.

Survey management and workstream coordination

·       Take primary responsibility for the overall management of the PCCS, ensuring that all workstreams progress in a coordinated way against the agreed workplan, budget, and quality standards.

·       Develop, maintain, and track the integrated survey workplan, identifying dependencies, bottlenecks, and risks early and proposing solutions.

·       Coordinate the contributions of EPI, INS, partners, consultants, and any survey firm or data collection contractor, including clarifying roles and monitoring the quality and timeliness of their outputs.

·       Serve as the secretariat and technical focal point for the survey steering or technical committee, preparing agendas, presentations, and meeting minutes and following up on decisions.

·       Provide regular progress updates to CHAI leadership, the Ministry of Public Health, and partners.

Technical design and approvals

·       Lead the development of the survey protocol in line with WHO guidance on vaccination coverage surveys, including the sampling frame, multi-stage cluster sampling design, sample size, target populations, and core and equity indicators.

·       Design and adapt questionnaires to capture coverage by card and recall, campaign awareness and communication channels, reasons for non-vaccination, zero-dose and under-vaccinated children, and relevant equity dimensions.

·       Prepare and follow up submissions for ethical clearance and administrative authorizations, and ensure that informed consent and data protection procedures are in place.

Field implementation and quality assurance

·       Support the recruitment of supervisors and enumerators, and plan field logistics, cluster assignments, and team movements with the operations team.

·       Design and deliver training of field teams, and organize the pilot test and the revision of tools based on its results.

·       Oversee household listing and data collection, conduct field supervision visits, and implement quality control measures such as spot checks, back-checks, and daily data review.

·       Provide rapid feedback to field teams and partners to enable timely course correction.

Data management, analysis, and reporting

·       Set up and manage electronic data collection platforms, and monitor incoming data in real time for completeness, consistency, and quality.

·       Lead data cleaning, weighting, and analysis that accounts for the complex survey design, including coverage estimates with confidence intervals, design effects, and disaggregation by region, district, sex, urban or rural residence, and other equity dimensions.

·       Triangulate survey results with administrative campaign data and other sources, and interpret discrepancies for the programme.

·       Draft the survey report, presentations, and policy briefs, facilitate the results validation workshop, and support EPI to translate findings into concrete recommendations for future campaigns and routine immunization.

Finance, administration, and compliance

·       Track survey expenditure against budget and flag variances early.

·       Prepare, review, and provide initial sign-off on participant and field team payment documentation, and follow up to ensure timely payments.

·       Submit activity and expense reports on schedule and ensure that all activities comply with CHAI policies and grant requirements.

·       Maintain complete and well-organized survey documentation to support audit and learning.

·       Perform other responsibilities related to the survey as requested by program leadership.

·       Master's degree in Epidemiology, Public Health, Biostatistics, or a related field, with a minimum of five years of relevant professional experience.

·       Demonstrated experience working on immunization programmes, with solid familiarity with the EPI and the Cameroon health system context, including campaign planning and delivery, microplanning, and immunization data systems.

·       Proven experience designing, managing, or implementing household or facility surveys, whether small- or large-scale; experience with vaccination coverage surveys is strongly preferred.

·       Strong grounding in sampling methods and survey statistics, with proficiency in at least one statistical package such as Stata, R, or SPSS, including analysis of complex survey data.

·       Demonstrated project management skills, with a track record of coordinating multiple workstreams, partners, and contractors to deliver on time and within budget.

·       Experience with electronic data collection platforms such as ODK, KoboToolbox, or SurveyCTO.

·       Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical results clearly to government and partner audiences.