PAHO Consultant - Statistical Implementation of an SDH Monitoring System at National, Subnational, and Local Level

OBJECTIVE OF THE OFFICE/DEPARTMENT

This is a requisition for employment at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

Contractual Agreement:

Non-Staff - International PAHO Consultant

Job Posting:

May 30, 2025

Closing Date:

June 11, 2025, 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Primary Location:

Off Site

Organization:

DHE Social and Environmental Determinants for Health Equity

Schedule:

Part time

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY

Consultancy for the development and implementation of the monitoring system for Social Determinants of Health (SDH) at the national, subnational, and local levels, and for the strengthening of the health information system of the Metropolitan Region Health SEREMI in Chile.

Job description:
The Health Promotion and Social Determinants of Health Unit (DHE/HP) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is responsible for leading processes and programs in the area of social determinants and equity, health promotion, urban health, and community participation, among others.
A social determinants of health (SDH) monitoring system is a type of public health surveillance system that focuses on the collection, analysis, and reporting of data related to SDH and the policies or interventions that address them. Its purpose is to establish associations and causal pathways between these determinants and health outcomes, enabling a better understanding of how inequities are generated and promoting actions to achieve health equity.
As part of the Special Initiative on Social Determinants of Health, efforts are underway to build an SDH monitoring system at national, subnational, and local levels. Special emphasis has been placed on the local level, as implementing such systems at the territorial level is expected to significantly support local governments in reducing health inequities.
In 2024, progress was made in consolidating a database with 74 indicators on SDH and related policies at the national level across Latin American and Caribbean countries. This laid the groundwork for generating subnational indicators in the four countries participating in the Special Initiative. Additionally, four pilot municipalities were identified to implement the local-level monitoring system: Suaza (Colombia); La Pintana, Renca, and Calle Larga (Chile). In these municipalities, the design and implementation process of the SDH monitoring systems has begun and is currently ongoing.
By 2025, it is expected that the local pilots will be completed and the experience systematized to develop technical guidance that facilitates their scalability across the region. Furthermore, PAHO/WHO, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Region Health Department (SEREMI) of Chile, will work on updating its health information system, transforming it into a monitoring system for health inequities and social determinants of health.
Consultancy Objectives
This consultancy has the following objectives:
1. Provide support and follow-up for the process of mapping, identifying, prioritizing, and constructing indicators of Social Determinants of Health (SDH) and their associated policies in pilot municipalities, with local-level indicators for the development and updating of the PAHO regional mapping. This includes feeding into previously collected information by PAHO and updating the results dashboard.
2. Advise on updating the health information system of the Metropolitan Region Health SEREMI in Chile and another unit or department at the subnational level in Latin America, with the goal of transforming them into monitoring systems for health inequities and SDH.
3. Develop the implementation of the SDH monitoring system by integrating the three levels—national, subnational, and local—for the four countries of the Special Initiative, incorporating advanced analytics and innovative data in the system’s visualizations and reporting, feeding into the system's statistical resource repository.
4. Identify, define, and implement novel indicators based on mapping information sources at the local and subnational levels.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:

Description of Activities

For objective 1:

• Program the online form in SurveyToGo and train municipalities in its use for the registration of mapped information sources.
• Provide follow-up and technical support in collecting information sources on SDH in each pilot municipality.
• Identify gaps in local indicators compared to the 74 indicators proposed by PAHO/WHO
• Coordinate with local stakeholders to prioritize indicators and strategies to improve their availability and update.
• Systematize the process of identifying and selecting indicators in the pilot municipalities, with emphasis on their applicability and usefulness in local management.
• Add the systematized information to PAHO's SDH information source mapping and update the dashboard visualizations used for these purposes.

For objective 2:

• Collaborate in the integration of SDH indicators at the national, subnational, and local levels into a unified monitoring system within the two participating subnational departments or units.
• Evaluate existing health information systems, identifying gaps for their transformation into a monitoring system for health inequities and SDH. This includes analysis of available indicators, convergences and divergences with PAHO/WHO indicators, and recommendations.
• Develop a statistical analysis plan based on ecological information analysis for health inequities and SDH monitoring systems. This plan should include more advanced analyses, allowing the calculation of association measures and other analytical metrics between health and SDH.
• Implement the development using ecological analysis and generate automated functions in Python or R to enable the implementation and scaling of the analysis plan for two examples per participating subnational level.
• Provide training and technical assistance to subnational-level teams from the departments or units in the Region for the use of the developed functions and the acquisition of internal capacities.

For objective 3:

• Provide follow-up and technical support for the development of the 74 SDH monitoring indicators from PAHO/WHO at the subnational level. Prepare metadata sheets for each indicator, with standardized information on definitions, sources, calculation methods, and update frequency.
• Implement the required updates in the system for the integration of indicators at the national, subnational, and local levels. Develop automated functions in R and Python, as well as a structured repository of reusable code and scripts for technical teams at various levels.
• Develop a statistical analysis methodology that complements descriptive visualization with more advanced analyses, including measures of association and multivariate analysis, initially applicable at the national level with plans for expansion to subnational levels.
• Integrate advanced analytics and visualization tools into the design of the regional monitoring system of the Special Initiative.

For objective 4:

• Identify, based on the activities developed at the subnational and local levels in objectives 1 and 2, thematic gaps or relevant dimensions of the SDH that are not covered by the current indicators.
• Develop criteria for the selection of novel indicators, considering technical feasibility, data availability, relevance for decision-making, and alignment with local priorities, based on what has already been incorporated for evaluating the 74 indicators.
• Design metadata sheets and calculation methodologies for the newly defined indicators, including their formulation, periodicity, level of disaggregation, and primary or secondary data sources.
• Program automated functions in R or Python for calculating and visualizing the new indicators, facilitating their integration into existing monitoring systems and dashboards.
• Create training materials on the use of the new indicators, promoting their ownership, interpretation, and application in planning, evaluation, and accountability processes.

Deliverables

First payment: 15 July

Amount: USD 2,400

• Progress report on the mapping process of information sources on SDH at the local level, identifying gaps in relation to the indicators proposed by PAHO/WHO, and participation in training workshops for the local teams involved in the Special Initiative (Suaza, La Pintana, Calle Larga, and Renca). The report also includes the update of metadata at the regional level based on the previous PAHO database and the developed dashboard.

Second payment: 30 August

Amount: USD 1,350

• Progress report and technical support for the development of the 74 indicators at the subnational level, including the development of metadata sheets for the four countries of the initiative at the subnational level, and the generation of the associated documentation.

Third payment: 31 September

Amount: USD 4,900

• Statistical implementation of the SDH monitoring system at the national, subnational, and local levels in the four countries of the Special Initiative, using the 74 indicators proposed by PAHO/WHO. This includes a methodological report on advanced data analytics for the national and subnational levels within the existing dashboard featuring the 74 indicators, as well as the implementation and developed code integrated into the system’s resource repository and the necessary training materials for its use.

Fourth payment: 31 October

Amount: USD 3,950

• Report on the activities carried out with the subnational-level departments or units, including the analysis plan developed, the scripts defined for each of them, and usage recommendations. A general report will be prepared, along with individual reports for each of the participating departments or local-level areas.

Fifth payment: 30 November

Amount: USD 2,300

• Methodological report on the novel indicators developed in the municipality, including their respective technical manuals and implementation at the local level, as well as their integration into the monitoring system. The report will identify at least three indicators in each of the participating municipalities and define a standardized methodology for their use in other countries and levels.

Technical supervision: The chief of the Health Promotion and Social Determinants Unit supervises the consultancy. The consultant will work remotely and is expected to be available during the working hours of PAHO headquarters in Washington, DC. Any changes in the completion or advancement of products, due to unforeseen or uncontrollable circumstances, should be discussed beforehand with the technical supervisor and the consultant.

Travel: The consultant is expected to work remotely from their home base, and regular exchanges will be via email, phone, equipment, and other online platforms.

Consultant profile:

Education: University degree in Statistics, ideally with a postgraduate degree in Biostatistics and Advanced Analytics.

Years of experience: Minimum of 7 years of experience in biostatistics in public health.

Areas of expertise: Experience in the development of public health surveillance systems with a focus on equity and social determinants of health. Experience in handling secondary data, population surveys, and administrative records.

Other skills and competencies: Proven proficiency in R and Python.

Languages: Fluency in spoken and written Spanish and English is required.

Desirable:

• Previous work experience with PAHO/WHO in the relevant field will be an asset.
• Work experience in SDH monitoring systems will be valued.
• Experience in social determinants of health projects.

Duration:

1 July – 20 December 2025

 

Amount:

US$ 14,900

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to identify candidates for other similar consultancies at the same level.
• Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently may be selected for consultancy assignments falling in this area of work or for similar requirements/tasks/deliverables.  Inclusion in the Roster does not guarantee selection for a consultant contract.  There is no commitment on either side.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• All applicants are required to complete an on-line profile to be considered for this consultancy. For assessment of your application, please ensure that your profile in the PAHO Career page is updated; all experience records are entered with elaboration on tasks performed at the time.  Kindly note that CV/PHFs inserted via LinkedIn are no accessible.
• A written test may be used as a form of screening.
• If your candidature is retained for interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. PAHO/WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. PAHO will also use the databases of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp and College Navigator, found on the website of the National Centre for Educational Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator to support the validation process. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
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