Save the Children is seeking a Health and Nutrition Technical Advisor (TA) for the anticipated 5 year USAID Food for Peace (FFP) Development Food Security Activities (DFSA). This person will take overall responsibility of Save the Children’s deliverables in the project. The Technical Advisor will provide overall leadership and technical direction for the project, ensuring achievement of project deliverables. The project focuses on sustainably reducing persistent acute malnutrition rates in two target counties in Kenya. The project will be implemented in two phases whose objectives are to research, test approaches, and collaboratively design a context-sensitive, multi-sectoral activity that sustainably reduces acute malnutrition; and to implement and adapt, in conjunction with Kenyan systems, a multi-sectoral systems-driven activity to reduce acute malnutrition; and strengthen relevant systems and institutions to manage and scale nutrition activities.
Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programs delivered both directly and through local partners. Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, nutrition and WASH. In 2012, as part of a global reorganization process, Save the Children combined the programs of SC UK, SC Canada and SC Finland to create a single operation in Kenya. In Feb 2014, we completed a second transition, which saw us join forces with the British INGO, Merlin, and merge their health and nutrition programs with our own. Save the Children now has an operational presence in Bungoma, Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa, Mandera, Turkana and Wajir and we work through partners in many other parts of the country. In total, we employ around 250 staff and had an operating annual budget in 2018 of approximately US$17.5million.
This position is contingent upon donor approval and funding.
Local Kenyan candidates only please.
What You’ll Be Doing (Essential Duties)
Technical assistance and capacity building
- Provide programmatic and strategic leadership, setting priorities in designing and managing the implementation of the project’s activities in collaboration with the other technical advisors and the implementation team
- Provide overall technical guidance and leadership for implementation of health and nutrition activities
- Provide technical leadership for health system strengthening and capacity building approach of health and nutrition activities
- Provide leadership for Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement measures in health and nutrition
- Contribute to health and nutrition formative research and pilot research design and implementation
- Work with the project System Strengthening and Institutionalization Lead and contribute to the development and execution of health and nutrition systems strengthening and capacity building efforts
- Review and analyze data for performance monitoring and utilize the data to take corrective actions
Representation and advocacy
- Represent the project in relevant internal and external fora including donor meetings
- Represent Save the Children in the project internal fora and management
- Work closely with the Head of Health and Nutrition, Head of Advocacy and Campaigns, PDQ and operations teams to develop policy research and advocacy strategy in health and nutrition in line with the Country Strategic Plan and global strategy of Save the Children
- Work with consortium members to further Save the Children’s mission for children.
People management, mentoring and development
- Lead and motivate the team to ensure effective project implementation
- Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate; ensure availability of and support appropriate professional development opportunities for staff in the project
- Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process.
Assessment, monitoring, evaluation and documentation
- Facilitate the annual work planning process in close collaboration with the prime, government teams and the project staff
- Ensure technical and administrative compliance with donor requirements
- Prepare high quality reports for donor(s) and meet all deadlines, which requires compiling information from a range of project staff and government partners
- Monitor health and nutrition program outputs and results and work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research team to ensure that results are documented and reported accurately and in a timely manner
- Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research team and take a lead in ensuring that all health and nutrition components have robust monitoring plans, baselines, reviews and evaluations in line with the project design and donor guidelines
- Work with the project Research and Design Lead to contribute to the health and nutrition researches and pilots
- Facilitate appropriate dissemination of research findings and good practices documentations in the project internally and externally to donors, governments, consortium partners and other key actors strategic for immediate and sustainable development of children in Kenya.
Knowledge management
- Serve as a technical knowledge, skills and experience hub for the sector in the project in documenting and sharing best practices and innovations for replication and advocacy together with quality program team
- Work with technical resources among Save the Children members to facilitate sharing and learning in health and nutrition good practices and leverage their support for strengthening health and nutrition related studies, assessments, innovations, advocacy and capacity building in favour of children in Kenya
Required Qualifications
- Degree in Nutrition/ Medicine/ Clinical Medicine/Nursing with a post graduate degree in public health/global health
- Experience in project planning and management techniques
- Knowledge of current global and regional public health debates in health and nutrition
- Minimum of seven years of relevant technical experience including at senior level; experience working within the devolved Kenyan health system is a must
- Up-to-date knowledge and skills on nutrition, including IMAM, MIYCN, BFHI/BFCI, supportive supervision and quality improvement systems
- Proven experience and skills in research and advocacy and influencing institutional, private and/or corporate donors and writing up high quality donor reports
- Experience working with local/national governments and capacity building of systems, partners and staff
- Ability to travel extensively for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams
- Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
- Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international and matrix management environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
- Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
- Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
- Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
- Fluency in English, both verbal and written
- Commitment to Save the Children values
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.
Save the Children is committed to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for the children it serves and helping protect the children with whom Save the Children is in contact. All Save the Children representatives are explicitly prohibited from engaging in any activity that may result in any kind of child abuse. In addition, it is Save the Children’s policy to create and proactively maintain an environment that aims to prevent and deter any actions and omissions, whether deliberate or inadvertent, that place children at the risk of any kind of child abuse. All our representatives are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with this commitment and obligation. Any violations of this policy will be treated as a serious issue.
We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Save the Children complies with all applicable laws.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi