Senior Programmer Job at Research Care and Training Program (RCTP)
Vacancy No. FN-014-05-2013
Program Description:
The Research Care and Training Program (RCTP), is a collaboration between Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Washington (UW).
RCTP leads the Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES) program, a comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment program working in over 100 clinics in Nyanza Province, Kenya.
Due to its continued growth, the program is seeking motivated, pro-active individual to fill the following vacancy:
Position: Senior Programmer (1 position)
Location: Kisumu
Position Purpose
To provide programming and software leadership and expertise to the Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES) program.
Position Summary
This includes the Open Medical Records System (Open MRS) software which will be integrated with Kenya EMR, the District Health Information System (DHIS), Microsoft Office tools (Access, Excel), and any other technologies and processes that may be adapted to enhance patient care, quality data, and system efficiency.
Technical training and mentorship of other staff for skill development and capacity building, as well as active participation in Technical Working Groups and forums are also key responsibilities of this position.
Key Responsibilities
- Work with FACES management and subject experts to identify the ongoing needs for the processing of clinical data. Establish future software and hardware requirements to best meet these needs, considering technological developments and their wider deployment in Kenya.
- Together with IT and management, insure that Open MRS and other data systems are deployed with adequate functionality, capacity, availability and security.
- Lead the systems team in programming and data abstraction to ensure that donor, program, and other stakeholder report deadlines are achieved.
- Lead the programming team to maintain and enhance any software needed for clinical data collection, storage, processing and reporting. Increase availability of data for reporting and analysis, and reduce possibilities for data errors. Actively join in this programming work, and collaborate with other team members to determine the most reasonable assignment of tasks within the team.
- Work closely with I-TECH to insure the successful conversion of FACES OpenMRS to the KenyaEMR platform.
- Represent FACES in the relevant programming forums and their application in Kenya (e.g. OpenMRS task force, DHIS task force etc) and collaborate with the county records officers.
- Participate actively in the systems team. Offer advice on software issues and MOH tools reporting.
- Meet with the data quality team and participate actively in defining and achieving data quality objectives.
- Mentor technical staff to strengthen their programming and data abstraction skills.
- Work closely with data quality officer and write software as required to assure data quality.
- Report to Deputy Director Information Systems.
- Other duties as may be assigned.
Requirements
- Minimum of Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science.
- Minimum of 2 years experience as a team leader designing and developing client/server database applications using an object-oriented language such as Java, Visual Basic, C#, C++, etc.
- An in-depth understanding of the SQL language and at least one SQL database (MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Postgres, etc.).
- Experience designing Microsoft Access databases and applications.
- Proven management and delegation skills.
- Good oral and written communications skills.
- A team player who works for the success of the organization and of all co-workers.
Preferred
- OpenMRS experience.
- Experience with other organizations in Kenya using the same technologies as FACES, such as OpenMRS and DHIS.
- Experience reading and writing MS Office documents (Access databases or Excel spreadsheets) from a Microsoft language (VBA, VB, C#, C++, JScript, VBScript) or from another language with a suitable interface (e.g. Java using POI.).
Applications must include the following:
- A cover letter stating current work (if applicable), current salary and date available to start work on the project
- A current CV with names and telephone contacts for at least 2 referees
- Copies of academic and professional certificates and copy of the latest pay slip
- At least two recommendation letters, preferably from previous employers
All applications must be sent electronically to the email address below followed by hard copies which should be delivered or posted so as to reach the following address by 10-May-2013: hrrctp@kemri-ucsf.org
Human Resources Manager
KEMRI – RCTP/ FACES Program
P. O Box 614-40100
Kisumu
Please write the Vacancy Number indicated in the advert.
Note: Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification