Senior RMNCH Technical Advisor at Jhpiego - John Hopkins University

Position Overview:

The Senior Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing leadership in strengthening the state health systems including RMNCH quality service delivery for the USAID Integrated Health Project (IHP) Nigeria. The Senior RMNCH Advisor will provide technical leadership and support for the State/LGA primary health care level 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 systems (public and private) to sustainably support quality PHC services. The project will operate over a 5-year period.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical lead and expertise on high impact reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCAEH+N) services that is sound, evidence-based and responsive to the needs of project states (all Task orders) and at the National level as identified.
• Provide advice on the integration of these services into established service delivery systems at different levels of care in the State.
• Collaborate with other stakeholders at the National and State level to apply lessons learned, innovations and quality methods to ensure evidence-based practices are translated to improved implementation of quality-of-care interventions.
• Provide technical leadership to the building of national and local capacity using proven training approaches and quality improvement methodologies.
• Provide trainings (providers and training of trainers) as well as follow-up support and clinical mentoring and coaching as necessary for RMNCH.
• Lead the provision of technical support to States on basic maternal health (MH) continuum of care (including antenatal through postpartum care, FP integration, birth planning and birth preparedness) for their – public and private health facilities State sites.
• Provide technical support to key stakeholders at the national and State level including review of technical documents and provide input to relevant policies and strategies.
• Work closely and collaborate with the IHP Senior Technical Director to prioritize and ensure all Jhpiego deliverables under FP, MNH and quality of care are met.
• Supervise the Integrated Primary Health Care Advisors (IPHC Advisors) in Ebonyi State (TO6) and FCT (TO7) other QISS staff as appropriate under the IHP project.
• Coordinate closely with other development partner programs at the national and state level.
• 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 donor standards.
• Represent program at national and state level stakeholder meetings and technical working groups in relation to RMNCAEH+N and related technical areas.
• Management
• Contribute to annual work planning, training plans, monthly reports, quarterly reports and other required technical reports and success stories.
• Provide technical leadership on the timely, accurate and appropriate reporting of program activities and results.
• Advocate and ensure quality program implementation consistent with FMOH RMNCH and WHO guidelines and strategic directions, 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 consortium partners, Project lead, SIOs and other program staff, oversee program design, implementation, quality assurance and monitoring of work plan.
• Coordinate with the other members of the technical team and partners to develop and implement feasible national and state-based approaches.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Project lead which contribute to the achievement of program goals.

Required Qualification/ Experience:

The Senior RMNCH Technical Advisor must be a proven technical leader in the field of international RMNCH with some management experience in public health programs. S/he must be familiar with the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) community in Nigeria. The Senior RMNCH Technical Advisor must be intimately familiar with the context in Nigeria and have in-country experience with donor programs. Additional qualifications include:

• A Medical doctor or Experienced Nurse or Midwife or any other closely related health care professional; specialization in obstetrics and gynecology or Public Health and other health related courses (e.g. PhD, MPH, and MSc in international health, Social sciences or other relevant degree) will be an advantage.
• Minimum of 9-10 years working experience in the areas of RMNCH, Nutrition, and family planning.
• Previous experience working on an international donor funded project will be an added advantage.
• Familiarity with the FMOH, SMOH, LGHAs structures and functions especially as it relates to MNCH is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated expertise in working directly with host-country government officials and policy makers in maternal health.
• Experience working with host-country partners, organizations, and institutions.
• Strong skills in technical issues, 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.
• 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 any local language.
• Willingness to travel throughout Nigeria as necessary.