MediCapt Toolkit and Curriculum Consultant
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. With a global network of thousands of medical, scientific, and legal experts, PHR uses the power of medical and scientific evidence to document violations of human rights and humanitarian law, prevent abuses, protect survivors, and promote justice and universal human rights for all.
Building upon its highly respected place in the field, and supported by a committed and talented team, PHR seeks a MediCapt Toolkit and Curriculum Consultant.
Location: Remote, Global
Reports to: Senior Program Officer, Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones
Organizational Overview
Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 by five physicians who were united in the belief that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical duties, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to prevent harm and promote respect for human rights. Since its founding, PHR has built a long and distinguished record of accomplishment by conducting groundbreaking investigations and advocacy, in concert with strategic partners.
PHR’s approach includes extensive documentation of the use of illegal and inhumane weapons in armed conflicts, attacks on civilians, and the physical and psychological impacts of torture and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Other core activities include protecting the rights of those seeking asylum in the United States, the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and halting attacks on medical facilities and frontline health professionals.
Role Description
In 2011, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) launched its Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones to confront impunity for widespread sexual violence, used as both a weapon of war and a common crime. Rare cases that made it to court often failed because of insufficient evidence to support survivors’ allegations. In that context, PHR saw medical professionals as powerful change agents and created an initiative to enhance collaboration between medical and legal professionals to collect, document, and analyze forensic evidence to hold perpetrators accountable, and to improve medical care and access to justice for survivors. PHR has been working with doctors, nurses, trauma counsellors, police officers, lawyers, and judges in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to develop comprehensive, standardized methods for collecting forensic evidence of sexual violence to increase the likelihood of effective and successful investigations and prosecutions of these crimes.
But health facilities and police stations using paper-based forms often lack proper storage for secure preservation or officials encounter difficulties traveling distances to transmit or retrieve evidence due to poor roads or lack of access to vehicles, among other complicating factors.
To address these challenges and to leverage mobile phone penetration even in the most resource-constrained environments, PHR has been developing a high-tech solution called MediCapt, a mobile application to help clinicians document forensic evidence of sexual violence during a patient encounter. This app converts a standardized medical intake form to a digital platform and combines it with a secure mobile camera to facilitate forensic photography. Clinicians can use the app to compile evidence, photograph survivors’ injuries, and securely transmit the data to police, lawyers, and judges involved in prosecuting these crimes. Digitizing these forms minimizes the chances of loss, tampering, or theft of medical evidence, while preserving chain of custody.
Our partners in the DRC and Kenya see MediCapt as a solution for yielding stronger evidence, preserving chain of custody, and improving data security and privacy. Among its key features, MediCapt includes sophisticated encryption, cloud data storage, high fidelity to chain of custody standards, and tamper-proof metadata. Significantly, the Android-based app is designed to securely collect data in conflict zones, as well as remote locations where internet connectivity and/or wireless data transmission is limited. PHR has been collaborating with clinicians in the DRC and Kenya to improve MediCapt’s features (offline printing, secure photo capture capacity, and back-end review for quality improvement and assurance). We have also been working with health care facilities to integrate the app into clinical workflows and co-developed implementation protocols. We went “live” with patients in Naivasha, Kenya in 2018 and we will soon pilot with patients for the first time in the DRC.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is seeking a Consultant to support the MediCapt team develop additional modules for a toolkit that will accompany users in using MediCapt in healthcare facilities and to finalize a training curriculum to teach end-users how to use the application.
MediCapt is an award-winning application developed by PHR that enables clinicians to document medical evidence of sexual violence cases digitally, capture forensic photographs, and store them securely. Clinician end users are currently using MediCapt with sexual violence survivors in Kenya and soon in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). PHR has already developed the first phase of the MediCapt toolkit that includes guidance organized in five sections:
- Phase 1: Site Preparation
- Phase 2: Introduction to MediCapt and the User Manual
- Phase 3: Field Testing
- Phase 4: Using MediCapt with Survivors
- Supplemental Resources and Appendices
The objective of the MediCapt Toolkit is to have final versions of all materials needed to implement the MediCapt project. As part of the MediCapt scaling strategy, PHR anticipates that other organizations will implement the project and the Toolkit will be the one-stop shop for all MediCapt materials. We are looking for a consultant to lead the development of additional the MediCapt Toolkit modules, including:
- Site Selection and Preparation Toolkit
- MediCapt Training Curriculum
- Information Technology Guidelines
- Justice Sector Engagement
- Sustainability: Maintenance, Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement, and Monitoring & Evaluation
Responsibilities
- Serve as lead on Phase two of the MediCapt Toolkit project;
- Draft needed materials and liaise with PHR experts to manage development of technical materials;
- Finalize the additional 4 MediCapt Toolkit modules and ensure the materials are ready for publication;
- Lead meetings with PHR staff and consultants to coordinate the project and participate in regular calls with the PHR team; and
- Complete four key deliverables:
| Deliverable | Estimated days |
| Brief summary of conversations with key MediCapt stakeholders on the content of the additional MediCapt toolkit modules and training curriculum | 8 |
| Work plan for project (and revisions of plan if needed from PHR input) | 2 |
| Draft MediCapt Toolkit Modules | 25 |
| Draft MediCapt Curriculum | 25 |
| Final MediCapt Toolkit, including feedback from PHR team | 5 |
| Final MediCapt Curriculum, including feedback from PHR team | 5 |
Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate
- Experience in developing tools, materials, programming, curriculums educational material, or research to address sexual and gender-based violence;
- Ability to adjust and create tools;
- Pro-activity and ability to work independently;
- Excellent project manager, flexible and skilled in executing multiple tasks, managing work plans and budgets, and working with diverse groups of stakeholders across multiple global teams;
- Superb oral and written communication skills in English;
- Experience working on tech-related global health, justice, or human rights projects;
- Excellent cross-cultural communication skills; and
- Ability to produce clear written products in English with minimal editing, French-language skill a plus.
Salary and Benefits
This is a consultancy role; compensation is commensurate with experience.
How to Apply
Please combine your cover letter and resume as a pdf or Word doc and send it to resumes@phr.org by August 6, 2022. Indicate Last Name/First Name, MediCapt Toolkit Consultant in the email subject line.
A complete application consists of:
a) A short cover letter explaining why you are qualified for/interested in the MediCapt Toolkit and Curriculum Consultant position with PHR and including an budget reflecting the deliverables above.
b) Resume/Curriculum Vitae.
Physicians for Human Rights is an equal opportunity employer. We recruit and hire without regard to race, national origin, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, prior conviction, arrest history, disability, marital status, veteran status, or age.