Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) Reproductive Maternal, Newborn and Child Health plus Nutrition (RMNCH +N) Technical Director at Jhpiego - John Hopkins University

Overview

• The Reproductive Maternal, Newborn and Child Health plus Nutrition (RMNCH +N) Technical Director will be responsible for providing leadership in strengthening the health systems including RMNCH quality service delivery for the Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) Quality of Care (QoC) project in Nigeria.
• The RMNCH Technical Director will provide technical leadership and support for the State/LGA primary health care level activities in five States in Nigeria specifically focusing on onsite Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and New born Care (CEmONC) capacity building, Quality of Care, Nutrition and Referral activities.
• This integrated health project aims to contribute to reductions in child and maternal morbidity and mortality in target states, and to increase the capacity of health system to sustainably support quality health facility services. The project will operate for a period of one year.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and technical expertise in high impact reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) services that is sound, evidence-based and responsive to the needs of the five selected States and the US government.
• Provide advice on the integration of these services into established service delivery systems at different levels of care in the State.
• Collaborate with other state and other stakeholders to apply lessons learned, innovations and quality methods to ensure evidence-based practices are translated to improved implementation of interventions.
• Provide technical leadership to the building of local capacity using proven training approaches and quality improvement methodologies.
• Provide technical support to key stakeholders including review of technical documents and provide input to relevant policies and strategies.
• Provide technical leadership in the development of strategies for increasing the percentage of pregnant women, including married adolescents, who deliver under the care of a skilled birth attendant leading to a reduction of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality.
• Supervise all RMNCH Advisors and others as needed.
• Coordinate closely with other government and development partner programs in the State.
• Contribute to and coordinate with the program’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) team on activities to ensure that the program meets set targets in accordance with national and USG standards.
• Represent program at national and state level stakeholder meetings and technical working groups in relation to RMNCH and related technical areas.

Management

• Contribute to annual work planning, training plans and quarterly reports and other required technical reports.
• Provide leadership on the timely, accurate and appropriate reporting of program activities and results.
• Advocate and ensure quality program implementation consistent with MOH Nigerian Guidelines, global best practices including advice on relevant latest health developments & publications.
• Coordinate the evaluation of program progress against deliverables on a quarterly basis.
• With the MCGL management team, oversee program design, implementation, quality assurance and monitoring of work plan.
• Coordinate with the other members of the technical team, FMoH, SWAp team and NGO partners to develop and implement feasible facility and community-based approaches.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor which contribute to the achievement of program goals.

Required Qualifications

The RMNCH Technical Director must be a proven leader in the field of international RMNCH with senior-level management experience in public health programs.  S/he must be well recognized by the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) community in Nigeria. The Technical Director must be intimately familiar with the context in Nigeria and have in-country experience with USG programs. Additional qualifications include:

• A Medical doctor, Midwife/Nurse or any other closely related health care professional; specialization in obstetrics and gynecology or Public Health and other health related courses (e.g. MPH, MSC, PhD in international health, Social sciences or other relevant degree) will be an advantage.
• Minimum of 7-10 years working experience in the areas of RMNCH, Nutrition, family planning and HIV/AIDS.
• Previous experience working on a USG or UN funded project will be an added advantage.
• Familiarity with the FMOH, SMOH structures and functions especially as it relates to MNCH is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated expertise in working directly with host-country senior government officials and policy makers in maternal health.
• Experience working with host-country partners, organizations, and institutions.
• Strong skills in leadership, design, implementation and monitoring of program components; e.g. services, training, quality improvement, advocacy and coordination.
• Demonstrated capacity to work with African experts and partners in developing technical materials and providing training to improve service delivery, advocacy and resource mobilization for expanding RMNCH.
• Experience with technical leadership for programs funded by US Government and/or other donor programs in developing countries, with significant Nigeria experience.
• Strong verbal, listening, writing, and intrapersonal skills essential for effective coordination among several institutions and staff involved in a broad range of activities
• Strong ability to multi-task will be highly desirable.
• Fluent in English, (written and oral communication) and Hausa and/or Fulfulde.
• Willingness to travel throughout Nigeria as necessary.