Technical Advisor, Orphans and Vulnerable Children at Jhpiego - John Hopkins University

Position Reports To: TBD
Position Supervised: TBD

Overview

• The Technical Advisor, OVC will provide technical and program oversight and direction in the provision of integrated holistic services to HIV/AIDS-affected and -infected children under the age of 17 (OVCs) and their households for a CDC-funded HIV prevention, care and treatment (comprehensive services) project in Nigeria.
• Responsibilities will include providing leadership and technical guidance in the development and implementation of OVC activities, including the direct provision, subcontract, or referral of all OVC 6+1 services (education, nutrition/food, health care, psychosocial, support, protection/legal services, shelter, and economic strengthening for caregivers).
• The Technical Advisor, OVC will also ensure that implementation plans include family-centered strategies that strengthen the capacity of the family unit to care for children in need, community-based strategies that involve community stakeholders in the care and support of OVC, and a needs-based approach that assesses and responds to the unique needs of each individual child and household.
• 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.
• This position is contingent upon award. Nigerian nationals are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical oversight, strategic direction and ensure appropriate support for the implementation of program activities for OVCs
• Develop new/Review evidence-based clinical training materials, job aids, and curricula, supervisory systems and other training materials needed for implementation of the program to meet the needs of CDC and the Government of Nigeria
• Provide mentoring and capacity building at the individual and organizational level in specific areas of expertise relating to OVCs
• Coordinate assessments, site strengthening, follow-up and supervision, advocacy, demand creation, policy support, capacity-building and M&E across program sites as required by program, activities
• Lead the formulation of approaches for scale up of interventions for OVCs
• 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 OVC 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 and community-based service delivery issues that impede access to services for OVCs
• Identify appropriate facility- and community-based strategies to address OVC service delivery gaps
• Identify clinical training needs and assist in the design and implementation of measures to address those needs
• Advocate with national, district and community-level health institutions to raise awareness about their role in improving health outcomes fir OVCs
• Guide the MOH, professional associations, other national stakeholders in the revision/development of evidenced- based standards for competency in strategies and interventions to support OVCs
• Mobilize international level clinical/technical expertise to resolve clinical issues that shape or effect local public policy or program design.
• Contribute to strengthening the referral system.
• Document and maintain an inventory of successful tools and approaches to supporting OVCs
• Contribute to the development of business proposals, technical reports and publications as they relate to OVCs
• Author and co-author abstracts and presentations for journals and conference
• Work with M&E staff to design, implement a plan to track data/results related to OVC

Required Qualifications

• Degree in Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Nursing required. Master’s degree in relevant field preferred.
• At least eight years’ experience applying community outreach approaches.
• At least eight years’ experience training community health workers and/or CBOs in OVC support services.
• Experience building capacity at individual and organizational levels.
• Skilled in at least two or more of the following technical areas: strengthening service delivery programs, performance and quality improvement, psychosocial support, monitoring and evaluation.
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender inequalities, stigma, economic barriers, discrimination and the legal rights and status of OVCs in Nigeria.
• Demonstrated in-depth understanding of the Nigeria healthcare system and existing OVC, support platforms and programs, especially at the community level.
• Ability to liaise with MOH, NGOs, FBOs and CBOs.
• Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in national programs and technical staff.
• Strong oral and written communication and presentations skills in English.
• Computer literacy including strong skills in word processing and Excel.
• Familiarity with CDC and PEPFAR administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems.
• Proven track record managing a project team and fostering teamwork.
• Ability to travel unrestricted within Nigeria and internationally.
• Nigerian nationals encouraged to apply.