Company Overview
Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.
For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people’s lives.
Palladium is a child-safe organisation, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.
Project Overview and Role
Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.
For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved – and is committed to continuing to improve – economies, societies and most importantly, people’s lives.
Palladium is seeking a Software Developer to work in the MEASURE Evaluation activity in Senegal. The Consultant will support the Health Operation Centre (COUS) of Senegalese Ministry of Health (MSAS) in the implementation of Community-Based Surveillance of Zoonotic Diseases in selected pilot districts in Senegal. The Consultant will be posted at COUS and will be responsible for assisting in the configuration of the SMS platform, mInfoSante, for use in the community-based surveillance project noted above. The consultant will also assist in creating reports and visualizations of the data collected through the SMS platform.
Palladium is a child-safe organization, and screens applicants for suitability to work with children. We also provide equal employment to all participants and employees without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status.
The purpose of this consultancy is to assist with mInfoSante Software development for the Community-Based Surveillance of Zoonotic Diseases Project. This position will be embedded within Ministry of Health and report to MEASURE Evaluation country director. The key objectives are:
Documenting the steps involved in software development. Assist in the documentation of the surveillance business process for use in creating the configuration of mInfoSante.
Add zoonotic diseases in the platform
Development of web-based dashboard to effectively display alerts and data summaries
Training staff on the platform including troubleshooting
Responsibilities
The consultant will familiarize him/herself with the community surveillance project and software application. Assess feature functionality requests and draft a timeline for the completion of project in close collaboration with MEASURE Evaluation and IT Manager from COUS
Assist Measure staff in planning and facilitating workshops and other forums to advance the project.
Configure the software according to users’ specifications and perform all necessary tests before delivery.
Assist in coordinating and play and active role in user acceptance testing prior to training and implementation
Incorporate feedback on configurations and user interface as necessary
Assist with cleaning the current database
Develop a user guide for RapidPro and mInfoSante dashboard
Support documentation efforts for the software
Assist in setting up a bug tracking system to document, monitor and track issues and change. . Serve as a liaison between MEASURE Evaluation staff and the mInfoSante Manager to ensure issues are properly documented, prioritized and scheduled for implementation.
Carry out weekly briefings with country director to discuss progress and plan needed tasks
Provide remote technical support during and after training to users at the district, health post and community levels.
Assist with including any other IT related job as assigned by the Country Director
Deliverables
Data flows created in RapidPro and tested for all the zoonotic diseases and other necessary components
Database cleaned and developed to accommodate additional components
Current web dashboard improved and expanded to include zoonotic diseases
User guide for RapidPro flows’s and mInfoSante dashboard
System documentation for SMS application and mInfoSante, specific to this surveillance project. Report includes but is not limited to system design, requirements, finalized data flows, specifications for reports and data visualizations, requirements for maintenance and support and, recommendations..)
Bug tracking system set up and functional for both the business and technical staff on the project.
Requirements
The Consultant should meet the following requirements:
University degree in information technology, software programming or related area of study.
Experienced in RapidPro platform and/or other SMS-based platform. Should have previously been involved in a successful implementation of at least one RapidPro project in Africa.
Experienced in at least one modern object-oriented programming language including: python, php, etc. Many others are acceptable.
Experienced in developing and maintaining applications using a modern web framework. Cakephp is best. Cheetah, Pylons, Rails, and Catalyst are acceptable.
It is strongly advantageous for the consultant to be the author, maintainer, contributor, or other active member of at least one open-source project.
Have good writing and communication skills in French and Wolof. English is a plus.
Experience working with users in the documentation of requirements and testing of software.
Experience in conducting hands-on training, and providing post-rollout support via phone, email and hands-on technical assistance.
The candidate should be comfortable interacting with and speaking to software users and government officials from a wide variety of backgrounds and educational levels. It is essential that the candidate can convey technical information using language that is understandable to the audience.
Ability to travel for several days at a time to the district where the project is being implemented.