Overview:
The Technical Director will provide technical and program oversight and direction in the areas of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) for a health service delivery program, which will support the development, introduction and scale up of high-impact RMNCH interventions in Guinea, as well as assisting efforts to rebuild and strengthen the country’s health system in the wake of the Ebola outbreak. The project will operate over a five-year period. Responsibilities will include providing leadership and technical guidance in the development and implementation of RMNCH activities, utilizing and contributing to cross-cutting approaches, such as performance improvement and data for decision making, under the leadership of the Chief of Party and in coordination with local Jhpiego Technical Advisors and technical leadership from headquarters. This position will ensure the technical and methodological soundness of activities and, in collaboration with the project team and partners, support the design of service delivery strategies, based on sound and current scientific evidence.
Guinean nationals strongly encouraged to apply
Responsibilities:
- Provide technical oversight, strategic direction and ensure appropriate support for the implementation of program activities in RMNCH
- Guide the integration of a range of health promotion activities and health care services at different levels of the health care system, including reproductive, maternal and child health (includes fistula prevention, detection and repair), family planning, HIV and TB, nutrition, malaria, and surveillance and infection prevention and control for Ebola and other potentially epidemic diseases.
- Provide technical leadership to the development of the project strategic plan, work plan, and program monitoring, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, USAID and other stakeholders
- Provide mentoring and capacity building at the individual and organizational level in RMNCH, program management and monitoring.
- Lead the formulation of approaches for scale up of RMNCH services, including accessing hard-to-reach populations and integration of services
- Actively participate in all Technical Advisory Group Meetings, and represent Jhpiego in professional forums by participating and presenting in pertinent meetings and conferences, as well as technical working groups
- Analyze potential RMNCH strategies within the context of the program and explain these, as necessary, to policymakers, funding agencies, and/or program staff
- Work with health care providers, local authorities, community members and program team members to identify clinical, community-based service delivery issues that impede access to care
- Identify appropriate facility- and community-based strategies to address RMNCH service delivery gaps
- Identify clinical training needs and assist in the design and implementation of measures to address those needs
- Formulate and test sustainable solutions to service delivery gaps, utilizing cross-cutting approaches such as performance and quality improvement and in-service training/pre-service education
- Advocate with national, regional and community-level health institutions to raise awareness about their role in improving health outcomes in RMNCH
- Guide the MOH, professional associations, other national stakeholders in the revision/development of evidenced-based standards for competency in RMNCH
- Mobilize international level clinical/technical expertise to resolve clinical issues that shape or effect local public policy or program design
- Collaborate with all local stakeholders and implementing partners, especially the MOH and other implementing partners, in order to ensure that all activities conform to the requirements and regulations
- Conduct regular reporting to the Chief of Party, and program and technical staff, of successes, challenges and lessons learned in implementation related to areas of technical expertise
- Document and maintain an inventory of successful tools and approaches for RMNCH
- Author and co-author abstracts and presentations for journals and conference
- Manage technical contributions of subgrantees, including providing scopes of work
- Maintain excellent relationships with USAID and in-country stakeholders and develop rapid responses to USAID requests
- Work closely with the Chief of Party and/or Country Director on setting program priorities and directions, and responding to requests for support from local counterparts.
- Work with M&E staff to design, implement a plan to track data/results related to RMNCH
- Ensure timely implementation of all program inputs related to RMNCH, including planning and implementing assessments, site strengthening, follow-up and supervision, advocacy, demand creation, policy support, capacity-building and M&E across program sites, in close coordination and collaboration with USAID, relevant ministries of health
- Assist in the preparation of donor reports and project reports
- Oversee data collection, analysis and development of conclusions and recommendations to further strengthen program implementation
- Ensure availability of resources/facilitate the procurement of equipment and supplies required for project implementation
- Coordinate and monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of short-term consultants as required
Required Qualifications:
- A medical degree (doctor or nursing) or Master’s in Public Health (doctorate preferred)
- At least of 10 years’ relevant professional experience, including at least 7 years’ experience in design, management, and implementation of large donor-funded health programs, particularly orientated at the community level, preferably in West Africa
- Demonstrated capability and high level expertise in the practical technical skills necessary for strengthening RMNCH service delivery at the regional, national, clinical and community-level
- Proven ability to conceptualize, describe, and communicate a vision of what will work well in the Guinean environment, and help set the stage for its achievement
- Experience developing M&E tools and practices, indicators, and mentoring staff on good monitoring practices
- Experience building capacity at individual and organizational levels, including coaching, mentoring and developing the capacity of technical staff
- Proven track record of effectively managing a project team composed of several technical experts and fostering team work
- Skill in at least two or more of the following technical areas: strengthening service delivery programs, training, pre-service education, performance and quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation
- Possess effective skills for interacting with the private sector, as well as senior-level policy-makers (e.g., MOH officials and dignitaries, executives of NGOs, FBOs, CBOs) and senior members of the donor community
- Experience with public-private partnerships for expansion of programs is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated in-depth understanding of Guinean healthcare system, as well as the broader political, social, economic and cultural context; experience living and working in Guinea strongly preferred
- Familiarity with USAID or other USG administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills in French and English (at least an equivalent to the Foreign Service Institute level 3/3 proficiency in both English and French)
- Strong skills in word processing and Excel spread sheets
- Ability to travel domestically up to 30% of the time
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Jhpiego offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive employee benefits package including: medical and dental plans; paid vacation, holidays and sick leave; personal accident insurance; 403(b) retirement plan; life and disability insurance; travel insurance; education assistance plan and more.
Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.