Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Closing date: 01 Apr 2019
ROLE PURPOSE:
Under the general direction and guidance of the Director of Programme Development and Quality, ensure all health programming in humanitarian contexts is of excellent technical quality, attracts significant donor funding and contributes to Save the Children’s strategic objectives.
The Humanitarian Health Technical Advisor is expected to provide technical advice and support to project staff to ensure programming objectives are successfully achieved, with frequent visits to the field to support high quality programme implementation. S/he shall maintain a detailed and current understanding of health needs in all emergency hotpots where Save the Children works, and will lead the development of the DRC response strategies for health, including but not limited to mobile strategies and epidemic disease control and response. S/he will represent Save the Children emergency health work with donors, partners, the cluster and government authorities.
SCOPE OF ROLE:
Reports to: Health and Nutrition TA
Key Working Contacts: OFDA, RRMP and other health managers; area and field managers; other TAs and Country MEAL Manager; business development staff; Head of Awards.
Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in DRC since 1994, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. Current programming focuses on child protection, education, health, and nutrition. Save the Children has programming operations in Kinshasa and five provinces (Kasai Oriental, Lomami, Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu) and supports partner programming in three other provinces. The annual budget in 2018 is $28 million.
KEY AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
General management
* As a senior member of the DRC Country Programme, demonstrate behaviours that are consistent with Save the Children’s Mission, Vision and Values and ensure their broader application by staff across the programme.
* Contribute to a conducive and productive work environment and to the wider country programme agenda.
* Participate actively in all meetings, planning and review activities, providing enhanced insight into health programming.
* Participate in any donor visit to project(s) within the country office portfolio, as required.
* Carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way which reflects Save the Children’s commitment to safeguarding children, in accordance with our Code of Conduct and Child Safeguarding Policy.
* Comply with and promote Save the Children policies and practice with respect to child protection, code of conduct, health and safety, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures.
Strategic Planning
* Actively participate in the development and review of country strategy and annual plans.
* Lead the development of response strategy(s) for health, and develop annual response plans and master budgets for the emergency Health programme.
* Work with colleagues from other sectors to integrate programing to ensure children’s needs are met.
Programme Development
* Lead programme development for emergency Health in close coordination with programme and area managers, and proposal development, awards, finance and operations staff;
* Grow Save the Children’s health portfolio sustainably and strategically, consistent with the Country Strategy and the emergency health needs of the population
* Coordinate with proposal development team on identifying opportunities and developing proposals for donors
* Analyse donor priorities and positions on issues related to Health; identify institutional funding opportunities
* Develop and maintain contacts with potential donors, partners and key technical agencies.
Programme Quality
* Lead the continuous assessment of Health needs, maintaining a watching brief on epidemic diseases in particular, and timely alerts, response planning, and proposal development in the response to the same.
* Ensure that the emergency health programme supports and demonstrates good practice in safeguarding and gender mainstreaming.
* Ensure recognized international best practices and Save the Children policies are applied in all of our health work;
* Provide or obtain from members/external sources, appropriate high level technical support on methods and practices to be rolled out within Health programming;
* Conduct regular visits (up to 50% of time) to the field offices to coordinate with field managers and senior field staff to ensure on the spot technical advice and problem solving for improved efficiency and programme quality.
* Regularly review and monitor programmes for child safeguarding issues. Take corrective action in modifying programme activities and/or report incidents.
* Where necessary provide technical training for project staff and partners as required (e.g. newborn child survival focus, community health workers, care and support, monitoring tools, programme quality tools, etc.).
* Ensure that new partnerships in this technical area reflect the programme quality we expect of ourselves.
* Support Programme Management staff to submit reports of the highest quality.
* Input into medical supply chain management by supporting the appropriate planning of drugs and other
Monitoring and Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL):
* With Health Programme Managers and the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Country Manager, collaborate on the development of tools to monitor and improve the quality of health work, including the roll out of IMPACT in all health programming
* Lead the process of lessons learning to ensure high quality programming, with support from the MEAL Country Manager, coordinating the collection of documentation across all health programming.
Regularly analyse the data in IMPACT and take appropriate actions to support programme implementation is on track for achieving the agreed targets
Collaborate with the MEAL team for setting up accountability mechanism at health facilities and project/programme levels and support follow up on implementation of such mechanism by the team in the field
Participate in the design of baseline, mid-term and end of project evaluations for Health programmes, or Health components of multi-sectoral programmes. Monitor the evaluation process and provide input and clarification as needed. Review evaluation findings and ensure that lessons and recommendations are captured by the country office, and that new programmes/corrective actions are formulated and implemented as per findings.
Ensure use of the programme learnings and evidences in designing future strategies and programmes
Advocacy and Policy Development
Engage with the Ministry of Health and Cluster stakeholders on policies, strategies and other initiatives and developments affecting health in emergency contexts.
Regularly assess and communicate the implications for Save the Children’s programme and priorities of any changes in the operating environment relevant to this theme in close collaboration with the relevant advisor(s).
Help to clearly articulate the priority advocacy messages for Save the Children’s emergency health programming in DRC; working with the Advocacy team, contribute to policy briefs and position papers as and when required.
Represent Save the Children and advocate for our policy positions with UN agencies, donors, Ministry of Health, NGOs and others
Actively participate and effectively and positively represent Save the Children in Clusters, working groups and technical meetings at the national level, and ensure appropriate and effective representation at provincial levels
Ensure active dissemination of programme findings and lessons learned through the production of high quality lessons learned documents and their effective dissemination to key stakeholders
Participate in and contribute to SC global conversations on health in humanitarian contexts
Staff Management and capacity development
Ensure the recruitment and training of health programme staff in technical areas of expertise as appropriate and ensure availability of appropriate professional development opportunities.
Actively take part in the performance management (objective setting and reviews) of health managers and/or coordinators through direct line managers to ensure provision of technical leadership in line with Save the Children’s ambition for quality health programming.
SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)
Accountability:
Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved
Ambition:
Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
Future orientated, thinks strategically
Collaboration:
Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to
Creativity:
Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
Willing to take disciplined risks
Integrity:
Honest, encourages openness and transparency
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
A medical or public health professional with a Master’s Degree, with of working at a senior advisory and managerial level in Health for international NGOs, UN or government
Excellent understanding of the Health sector in the DRC context, particularly issues related to maternal, new-born and child survival.
Clear understanding of the intersection of WASH, Health and Nutrition in DRC
Proven representation and advocacy skills.
Strong commitment to capacity building of national staff and partners with willingness to adopt participatory and consultative approaches.
Experience writing donor funding proposals for large institutional grants in excess of US$1 million.
Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and negotiate clearly and effectively at all levels, taking into account cultural and language difficulties.
Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
Strong solution and results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mind-sets.
Experience solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy-in.
Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner.
Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies.
Fluency in English and French, both verbal and written, required.
Commitment to Save the Children values, including willingness to abide by and enforce the Child Safeguarding policy.
Position based in Goma
The Organisation
We employ approximately 25,000 people across the globe and work on the ground in over 100 countries to help children affected by crises, or those that need better healthcare, education and child protection. We also campaign and advocate at the highest levels to realise the right of children and to ensure their voices are heard.
We are working towards three breakthroughs in how the world treats children by 2030:
* No child dies from preventable causes before their 5th birthday
* All children learn from a quality basic education and that,
* Violence against children is no longer tolerated
We know that great people make a great organization, and that our employees play a crucial role in helping us achieve our ambitions for children. We value our people and offer a meaningful and rewarding career, along with a collaborative and inclusive workplace where ambition, creativity, and integrity are highly valued.
Application Information:**
Please apply using a cover letter and up-to-date CV as a single document. Please also include details of your current remuneration and salary expectations. A copy of the full role profile can be found below
We need to keep children safe so our selection process reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
Applicants are advised that Save the Children International does not require any payment or expense during the entire recruitment process. Any request in this direction should be immediately reported as contrary to the values and practices of our organization.
How to apply:
Application Email:Fsy.30992.3830@savethechildrenint.aplitrak.com