Deputy Country Director / National Technical Advisor

Job Description

POSITION: Deputy Country Director / National Technical Advisor (DCD/NTA)

LOCATION: Kampala, Uganda

SUPERVISOR: MCSP/Uganda Country Director

The Maternal and Child Survival Program (MCSP) is a global, USAID Cooperative Agreement to introduce and support high-impact health interventions with the ultimate goal of ending preventable maternal and child deaths (EPMCD) within a generation. The Program is focused on ensuring that all women, newborns and children most in need have equitable access to quality health care services to save lives. MCSP supports programming in maternal, newborn and child health, immunization, family planning and reproductive health, nutrition, health systems strengthening, water/sanitation/hygiene, malaria, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and pediatric HIV care and treatment.

MCSP will provide support to continue working with the Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI) and its partners at national and district level to develop the human and organizational capacity that is needed for the delivery of quality routine immunization services. MCSP’s objectives focus on achieving measurable and sustainable results, including: (1) Strengthened institutional/technical capacity for UNEPI to plan, coordinate, manage, and implement immunization activities, and (2) Improved district capacity to manage and coordinate the immunization program as guided by UNEPI leadership. MCSP will build upon the results and lessons learned from the earlier implemented Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) Uganda, an immunization-focused program supporting UNEPI and five select districts. The MCSP project will also expand the promising work on Reaching Every Community-Quality Improvement (REC-QI) concepts. RESPONSIBILITIES:

The MCSP DCD/NTA will work with the Country Director (CD) in managing the project’s activities at the national level and MCSP districts, with UNEPI (and as possible to sit at their Kampala office two days per week) and other immunization and health partners (particularly other USAID projects). The DCD/NTA will fill the role of the CD in his/her absence and assist in communication with USAID/ Uganda and the Government of Uganda. Specific tasks may include:

1. Program planning

• Assist in strategic planning with MCSP team, UNEPI, and district health management teams

• Work with MCSP staff on the development of detailed annual work plans and budgets

2. Recruitment, team building and supervision of project staff

• Oversee the recruitment of district staff, when appropriate

• Supervise and provide technical support to MCSP’s district staff

3. Technical leadership (capacity building/community partnership/ active monitoring)

• Ensure high level, quality technical work is performed by the MCSP team and district staff as they carry out logistics/cold chain assessments and related interventions, systematically collect and use immunization data to inform decision-making and implement REC-QI

• Lead and supervise the implementation of a sustainable capacity building strategy for health workers and mid-level managers at
district level-building on lessons from MCHIP

• Develop the terms of reference for technical consultants and supervise their work

• Document, disseminate and integrate best practices in scaling up REC-QI

• Conduct Annual performance reviews for staff directly under him/ her

4. Policy formulation in collaboration with UNEPI and other partners

• Support UNEPI and partners to develop/refine national immunization plans and policies

• Participate in all EPI-related regular meetings at national level (e.g. EPI Technical Group)

5. Project monitoring and evaluation

• Support the design of the project’s performance monitoring tools and procedures

• Review monthly and quarterly performance data and participate in project problem-solving

• Plan and manage annual project review meetings with UNEPI and partners, including USAID

6. Communications with and reporting to USAID clients, immunization partners and headquarters

• Coordinate and plan meetings with UNEPI, USAID, and other partners at national level

• Disseminate proven tools and approaches among the project’s focus districts, advocating with other USAID projects for their inclusion of EPI into annual work plans

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. MBchB, plus advanced public health training (Dr PH, MPH), or equivalent experience

2. At least 7 years of experience working on immunization programs (EPI)

3. Knowledge of the technical aspects of immunization programs

4. Experience with health worker in-service training, developing training aids and techniques, improving quality of services, etc

5. Experience developing low-cost and innovative community approaches to increasing the coverage of immunization and/or other primary health care services

6. Experience working with The Government of Uganda’s PHC and MOH structures, and with health workers at district, sub district and health facility levels

7. Understanding of Uganda’s local government and districts traditional structures

8. Prior USAID project experience desirable

9. Excellent oral communication, writing and documentation skills;

10. English fluency in reading, writing, speaking

This position is based in Kampala with approximately 40% in-country travel.

How to Apply

To apply, please visit:

http://www.jsi.com/JSIInternet/Work/jobpostings.cfm

Job Categories: Administration Jobs in Uganda and NGO Jobs in Uganda. Job Types: Full-Time.

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