State Team Lead/Service and Quality Improvement Coordinator at Jhpiego - John Hopkins University

• State Team Lead/Service/Quality Improvement Coordinator will be responsible for providing leadership for the state team and also leadership in capacity building, mentoring and supportive supervision in the technical area of RMNCH for the upcoming Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) Quality of Care (QoC)/CEmONC project in Nigeria. The State Team lead/Service/Quality Improvement Coordinator will provide technical assistance at the State selected secondary and 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 and health care providers to sustainably support quality Comprehensive and Basic Emergency Obstetric and new born services (BEmONC and CEmONC) and Nutrition services at secondary and PHC level of care. The project will operate for a one-year period.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance on service and quality improvement that is sound, evidence-based and responsive to the needs of the appropriate State and US
• Provide technical leadership, and build 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 as necessary for QI at secondary and primary health care facilities.
• Support service/quality improvement efforts, approaches and tools at all supported health facilities in selected states.
• Support nutrition and referral services and systems at the state to ensure they are functional.
• Develop strategies for increasing the percentage of pregnant women, including married adolescents, who deliver under the care of a skilled birth attendant
• Advocate with State Ministry of Health for adoption of new evidence based quality improvement (QI) best practices at health facilities in project sites.
• Advocate with other ministries, community, NGO’s, and religious leaders to support and promote service/quality improvement components and increase uptake of health facility services by women and their children.
• 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 state level stakeholder meetings and technical working groups in relation to service/quality improvement of RMNCH, Nutrition and related technical areas.

Management

• Provide leadership of the MCGL QoC/CEmONC team at the State.
• Contribute to annual work planning, training plans and quarterly reports and other
• required technical reports.
• Contribute to timely, accurate and appropriate reporting of program activities and results.
• Ensure quality program implementation consistent with MOH Nigerian Guidelines, global best practices and US Government Nigerian Strategic Directions.
• Evaluate program progress against deliverables on a quarterly basis
• With the State Team, oversee program design, implementation, quality assurance and monitoring of work plan.
• Coordinate with the other members of the technical 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 State Team Lead/Service/Quality Improvement Coordinator must be a proven leader in the field of RMNCH service and quality Improvement with senior-level management experience in public health programs. The State Team lead/Coordinator must be intimately familiar with the context in Nigeria and have in-country experience with US Government programs. Additional qualifications include:

• An experienced Midwife/Nurse or any other closely related health care professional; other related courses (e.g. MPH, MSC or other relevant degree) will be an advantage.
• Minimum 8 years of experience working in RMNCH in Africa, preferably in Nigeria
• Demonstrated expertise in working directly with host-community, senior government officials and policy makers in RMNCH.
• Experience working with host-country partners, organizations, and institutions
• Strong skills in management of staff, program design, implementation and monitoring of program components; e.g. services, training, supportive supervision, clinical mentoring, advocacy and coordination.
• Demonstrated capacity to work with State Ministry of Health, SPHCDA, Local Government Authority and partners in developing technical materials and providing training to improve service delivery, advocacy and resource mobilization for expanding quality improvement of RMNCH services.
• Experience with working on RMNCH programs funded by the 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.
• Fluent in English, (written and oral communication) and Hausa and/or Fulfulde.
• Willingness to travel throughout Nigeria as necessary.