Senior Quality Improvement Specialist (Gombe, Jigawa) at Jhpiego - John Hopkins University

Overview

• The Senior Quality Improvement (QI) Specialist provides  clinical and technical leadership for the design, implementation, scale-up, and institutionalization of Quality Improvement (QI) approaches across states, LGAs, health facilities, and communities. The role is hands-on, field-oriented, and clinically grounded, with direct responsibility for ensuring high-fidelity application of QI tools, methods, and standards, particularly in high-volume and high-burden facilities and communities.
• Working closely with the QI Advisor and State Team Lead, the Senior QI Specialist will supervise and mentor QI Specialists, provide technical backstopping to complex service delivery settings, and lead the integration of clinical quality and patient-centred care across HIV, TB, Malaria, RMNCH, and community health platforms. The role serves as a visible technical authority for QI at state and LGA levels.

Responsibilities

Clinical & Technical Leadership in Quality Improvement

• Provide advanced clinical and technical leadership, together with the QI Advisor, for the design, implementation, expansion, and institutionalization of Quality Improvement (QI) and Leadership & Management (L&M) interventions across states, LGAs, facilities, and communities.
• Lead rigorous application of QI methodologies (e.g., PDSA cycles, root cause analysis, process mapping, driver diagrams, run charts) to address complex clinical quality gaps, patient flow challenges, and service delivery bottlenecks—particularly in high-volume and high-burden facilities and communities.
• Serve as thetechnical authority on QI standards, indicators, tools, and measurement, ensuring fidelity, clinical rigor, and consistency across all service delivery platforms.

Supervision, Capacity Building & High-Volume Facility Backstopping

• Supervise, mentor, and coach QI Specialistsand provide technical oversight to government QI teams to strengthen coaching, supportive supervision, data use, and implementation fidelity.
• Lead and supportQI capacity building through training, on-site mentoring, skills-building, peer-to-peer learning, and clinical improvement collaboratives using blended in-person and virtual approaches, including support to monthly Leadership & Management meetings.
• Providedirect technical backstopping to high-volume and high-burden facilities and communities demonstrating complex clinical, operational, or data-quality challenges, ensuring quality, safety, and patient-centred care.

Integrated Service Delivery, Scale-Up, Digital Innovation & Data Use

• Guide and support the integration of HIV, TB, Malaria, RMNCH, and community interventions at service delivery points using QI approaches to improve coordination of care and patient-level outcomes.
• Provide senior technical oversight for expansion and scale-up of QI into new LGAs, facilities, and communities, ensuring quality is maintained during rapid growth and adaptations remain context-appropriate.
• Provide technical leadership for the use of HMIS and digital QI tools, including DHIS2, facility registers, dashboards, and digital reporting platforms.
• Strengthen data analysis, interpretation, and visualization to support real-time decision-making, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement at facility, LGA, and state levels.

Government Engagement, Institutionalization, Learning & Knowledge Management

• Support integration of QI intoroutine government systems by strengthening technical linkages with Ministries of Health, LGAs, and relevant agencies, and contributing to institutionalization, ownership, and sustainability.
• Serve as a senior technical liaison with government counterparts, partners, and professional bodies, and represent Jhpiego in high-level technical forums, coordination meetings, and learning platforms related to Quality Improvement.
• Contribute to program planning (workplans, SOPs, technical tools, indicators, and guidance) and coordination with government.
• Lead learning, documentation, and knowledge management, including synthesis of data-driven evidence, lessons learned, case studies, success stories, donor deliverables, presentations, and dissemination of best practices.

Required Qualifications

• Health professional qualification (Medical Doctor, Nurse, Midwife, Public Health, or related clinical discipline).
• Minimum of 7 - 10 years of experience in public health program implementation with strong emphasis on clinical Quality Improvement and service delivery.
• Demonstrated experienceleading and supervising QI teams and supporting complex, high-volume health facilities.
• Proven experience integratingHIV, TB, Malaria, RMNCH, and community health services using QI methodologies.
• Strong experience working withgovernment counterparts at state and LGA levels.
• Experience supportingdigital health tools, dashboards, or data-driven QI is an advantage.
• Excellent facilitation, mentoring, analytical, and technical writing skills.
• Proven ability to manage complexity, multiple stakeholders, and multi-state programs.
• Willingness to travel extensively within assigned states.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Familiarity with Nigeria’s health systems and reporting structure and demonstrated ability to collaborate with government level officials to strengthen program implementation
• Excellent writing and communications skills, including demonstrated technical writing skills for publication
• Ability to work effectively with diverse international teams and willingness to learn and empower others
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform
• References will be required.
• Demonstrated ability in working and collaborating with a wide range of local and international partner organizations
• Demonstrated experience in maintaining donor relations
• Excellent skills in facilitation, team building and coordination