TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT IMMUNIZATION ACTIVITIES FOR THE GHANA CDC GENDER BASED INTERVENTION FOR IMMUNIZATION PROJECT

• Location: Accra, Ghana
• LOE: Up to a maximum of 152 days
• Terms of contract: 7 months; Consultant 
• Reports to: Senior Technical Officer, US-based

Purpose

Serve as lead technical consultant for the project 

JSI is currently recruiting for an Immunization Technical Officer, based in Accra, Ghana, to serve as lead consultant for a project funded by the CDC exploring gender based interventions to improve the uptake of routine immunization. 

The purpose of the project is to understand and increase family engagement in household immunization decision-making. This will be accomplished through formative research on how families in Ghana make decisions about immunization and related gender barriers and opportunities. The team will develop and deliver tailored engagement strategies and messaging on immunization that emphasize a family-based approach. Mothers, fathers, and other influential family members of vaccine-eligible children will be engaged through community-based actors such as community health workers (CHWs). The interventions will promote health-seeking behaviors that are beneficial for both routine and COVID-19 immunization. Interventions will be evaluated for effects on increased family engagement in and endorsement of immunization; knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to immunization among male caregivers and other family members; and immunization uptake among children.

Responsibilities
Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Working closely with Ghanian EPI at national and sub-district level to introduce, orientation and collaborate on program activities.
• Facilitate introductory meetings at national and district levels; provide on-going updates on project work to stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary investigator for the baseline data collection; responsible for oversight of the data collection firm (selection, training, data collection, data cleaning, final deliverables to Washington DC); contribute to data analysis and reporting and dissemination. 
• Support identification and hiring of HCD and Gender consultants
• In collaboration with HCD and Gender consultants (and the Washington DC team), design a co-ideation workshop for communities and community health workers to examine current barriers and enablers for routine immunization. 
• Support analysis and use of the data from the co-ideation workshop to finalize the design of gender-based intervention(s) and training for community-health workers. 

Deliverables:

• IRB protocol and approval (collaboration effort across all team members)
• Agenda and participant lists for all meetings
• Support for baseline data collection report (specific roles to be discussed with team)
• Synthesis report from co-ideation workshop including action plan for implementation (collaboration effort across all team members)
• Facilitation and session plans for CHW training (collaboration effort across all team members)
• Weekly engagement with Supervisor (email and standing weekly calls)
• Full assessment reports, and data sets, powerpoints and briefs
• Complete and timely expense reports for all trips taken;
• Detailed trip report for all trips taken;