Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent (MNCAH) Health Advisor at Save The Children

Role Purpose

• The Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Advisor will provide technical leadership and advice to other programme staff on the Breakthrough-Action (B-A) project, staff in the programme states and Ministry of Health officials at state and LGA level in the area of MNCAH
• S/he is responsible for strategic planning, coordination and monitoring & evaluation of programme activities in relation to social and behaviour change for MNCAH and for supporting the state programme teams in strategic and operational planning and programme implementation
• S/he supervises and works closely with related sector specialists.

Responsibilities
The MNCAH Advisor will:

• Provide technical leadership and guidance for the implementation of the MNCAH components of the B-A project, working closely with other program technical advisors.Take the lead in strategic planning, coordination and monitoring and evaluation of MNCAH programme activities related to social and behaviour change (SBC) under the program
• Write quarterly progress reports about the MNCAH component of the programme.
• Prepare and present PowerPoint presentations for review and planning meetings or any relevant programme dissemination events.
• Ensure that internationally agreed best knowledge and practice is brought into the programme.
• Provide mentoring and capacity-building for programme teams at state level and for implementing partners in relation to social and behaviour change for MNCAH.
• Support staff to prepare, implement, follow up and monitor plans for all training and capacity building efforts and to organise programme activities.
• Promote coordination among local stakeholders.
• Ensure that project activities are in line with the local law and international standards, laws, and policies, in all activities
• Ensure active collaboration, information sharing and joint meetings between the programme and local authorities and other stakeholders to identify and strengthen support for project activities and avoid duplication.
• Coach and supervise state-level MNCAH staff/team
• Develop and maintain understanding of major stakeholder agendas and represent the programme and it’s interests with key players in the health sector in Nigeria (government, implementing partners and research institutes) at Federal and State levels

Essential Skills Requirements

• Master's Degree in Public Health, MNCAH, or a closely related field.
• At least 5 years of experience implementing SBC, health promotion, MNCAH or similar public health programmes in Nigeria
• In-depth knowledge of key MNCH interventions for the reduction of maternal, child and newborn mortality, including best practices in SBC, and how to operationalize these
• In-depth knowledge of the state of the art of adolescent sexual and reproductive health programming, including best practices in SBC for adolescents and awareness of practices that are no longer considered “evidence-based” 
• Familiarity with existing national policies, guidelines and programs in the context of MNCAH in Nigeria
• Knowledge and experience in development and implementing MNCAH SBC strategies
• Experience in providing technical support to partners, particularly government at senior levels.
• Expertise in project leadership and management, including organizational development and staff management.
• Excellent reporting and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and advocacy skills.
• Computer literate (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook)
• Ability to work in a team.
• Experience in quality assurance of MNCH services and in conducting maternal and perinatal death reviews (Audit) and Criterion Based Audit will be of added value.
• Willing and able to work in a challenging environment and have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to respond with flexibility and creativity.

Desirable Skills:

• Experience of working in Northern Nigeria will be of added value.
• Experience in working with NGOs, CSOs, FBOs will be of added value.