Senior Technical Specialist - Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) at GAC

Context

• Global Affairs Canada (GAC) requires the services of Technical Specialists to provide expert analysis and advice on health-related issues, trends and practices in Nigeria, primarily but not limited to the northern states, as they relate to the Canadian development programme
• Canada is engaged in supporting a variety of health-related initiatives in Nigeria, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, polio eradication and strengthening routine immunization, human resources for health and health systems strengthening
• These efforts are delivered primarily through partnerships with multilateral organisations and Canadian/international non-governmental partners.
• The Technical Specialist must be able to provide technical services and advice to Canada in the areas of monitoring and evaluating performance of projects in the Nigeria Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) portfolio, policy dialogue, donor coordination, health sector performance and trend analysis, sector- based opportunity and constraint assessment, policy analysis, strategic planning, programme and project feasibility assessment, institutional capacity analysis at the federal and state levels, programme and project planning, implementation facilitation, results achievement and lessons learned
• Consistent with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy, the Technical Specialist must be able to explicitly and systematically integrate women’s and girl’s empowerment as well as considerations related to reducing gender equality gaps and eliminating barriers linked to gender equality, vulnerability and inclusion, into all aspects of her/his work.

Essential Qualifications/Experience
Candidates for this role are required to demonstrate in their expression of interest how their combination of education, training and work experience is suited to the provision of expertise to Canada’s Development Program in Nigeria.

Education:

• Postgraduate Degree from an accredited, recognized institution in a relevant discipline such as Public Health, Global Health, Women's Health, Sociology, International Development or another related field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years experience (combined) working in RMNCAH in Nigeria, including:
  • Sexual and reproductive health
  • Immunization (including polio eradication)
  • Health system strengthening
  • Reducing the burden of harmful practices affecting women and children
• Demonstrated experience of 5 years or more providing advice, including drafting briefing notes, sectoral analyses, and monitoring and assessment reports for senior decision makers in donor agencies, government, civil society organizations or private sector
• Demonstrated experience of 5 years or more performing monitoring and/or external evaluation of health programming
• Demonstrated experience with donor funding and donor approaches to RMNCAH and SRH, health system strengthening, reducing the burden of key diseases and harmful practices.

Knowledge (to be assessed at a later date):

• Knowledge of Global Affairs Canada policies, programs and initiatives, particularly as they relate to gender equality and reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health
• Knowledge of Nigeria's health system at federal, state and local government level including knowledge of Nigeria’s health strategies, plans and flagship programs
• Knowledge of Results-Based Management (RBM) including the function of the Logic Model (LM) and Performance Measurement Frameworks (PMF), and theories of change
• Knowledge of development implementation issues and challenges to achieving project results
• Knowledge and application of epidemiology and public health
• Knowledge and understanding of the global health context including international health architecture
• Knowledge of global partnerships for health including Gavi, GFF, GPEI and GFATM
• Knowledge and application of the wider determinants of health, particularly gender.

Skills and Abilities (to be assessed throughout the selection process):

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills
• Demonstrated time management skills and timely delivery of reports/deliverables
• Ability to undertake travel to northern areas of Nigeria in potentially security- compromised contexts
• Prioritization and strong judgment

Note: This process will also be utilized to establish a database of Senior Technical Specialists that could be used at a later date, depending on the needs of Global Affairs Canada in Nigeria.