Malaria in Pregnancy Specialist Non-profit Careers – Jhpiego

Job Title:       Malaria in Pregnancy Specialist
Organisation: Jhpiego
Project Name: USAID Malaria
Action Program for Districts (MAPD)
Duty Station: Kampala,
Uganda
About US:
Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated
with The Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years in East and Southern Africa,
Jhpiego has empowered front-line health workers by designing and implementing
effective, low-cost, hands-on solutions that strengthen the delivery of health
care services, following the household-to-hospital continuum of care. Jhpiego
partners with organizations to build sustainable, local capacity through
advocacy, policy development, human resources for health and quality and
performance improvement approaches.
About USAID MAPD Program:
The Malaria Action Program for Districts (MAPD) is a five-year project
funded by U.S Agency for International Development (USAID)/PMI. The project
aims to prevent and control Malaria illnesses and deaths in order to minimize
the social economic effects of the disease among the overall population of
Uganda especially in children under-5 years of age. The program will operate
over a five-year period in 43 districts in the Central (excluding Wakiso and
Kampala), Mid-Western and West Nile regions.
Job Summary: The Malaria in
Pregnancy Specialist will provide technical and program oversight and direction
in the areas of malaria in pregnancy for a a new project funded by USAID Uganda
Malaria Action Program for Districts Activity. This Uganda PMI flagship program
aims to centrally support the scale up of malaria prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment within districts facilities in accordance with National Malaria
Control Strategic Plan. Responsibilities include providing leadership and
technical guidance in the development and implementation of MIP activities at
district facilities, promoting the uptake of intermittent prevention of malaria
in pregnancy (IPTp), participating in district MIP technical advisory groups,
and improving databases that monitor MIP achievements. This position will
ensure the technical and methodological soundness of activities and, in
collaboration with the project team and partners, support the design of service
delivery strategies, based on sound and current scientific evidence.
Key Duties and Responsibilities: 
·        
Provide technical oversight, strategic direction
and ensure appropriate support for the implementation of program activities in
malaria in pregnancy at district level
·        
Promote WHO’s new recommendations on
intermittent prevention of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) uptake and guidelines,
as a core component of the WHO three-pronged approach
·        
Continue to support NMCP and District Health
Management Teams to include male involvement in MIP to improve IPTp uptake.
LLIN use and case management for pregnant women
·        
Assist in sustaining and improving existing
databases that monitor achievements in MIP at district and contribute to
regional and national level achievements
·        
Develop and implement a capacity building plan
for local partners to apply MIP strategies for malaria prevention and treatment
·        
Provide leadership in creating demand for
antenatal care services and MIP services through community approaches targeting
pregnant women
·        
Guide the integration of MIP services with
maternal, newborn and child health, FP/RH, HIV and TB, and nutrition
·        
Ensure use of reviewed evidence-based clinical
training materials, job aids, and curricula, supervisory systems and other
training materials for implementation of MIP in line with the needs of USAID
and the Government of Uganda
·        
Provide mentoring and capacity building at the
individual and organizational level in MIP prevention and treatment
·        
Lead “train the trainer” sessions, site
strengthening, in-service and/or pre-service education, follow-up and
supportive supervision to project-supported health facilities, as required by
program activities
·        
Work closely with colleagues to develop a cadre
of MIP champions who will facilitate links to other community-level health
programs/services
·        
Coordinate assessments, site strengthening,
follow-up and supervision, advocacy, demand creation, policy support,
capacity-building and M&E across program sites as required by program
activities
·        
Take lead in the formulation of approaches for
scale up of MIP services in districts, including accessing hard-to-reach
populations and integration of services
·        
Support the National Malaria Control Programme
(NMCP) to revitalize and coordinate MIP technical working groups at national
and district levels. Actively participate in MIP technical advisory group
meetings, and represent Jhpiego in professional forums by participating and
presenting in pertinent meetings and conferences
·        
Analyze potential MIP strategies within the
context of the program and explain these, as necessary, to policymakers,
funding agencies, and/or program staff
·        
Work with health care providers, local
authorities, community members and program team members to identify clinical,
community-based service delivery issues that impede access to care
·        
Identify appropriate facility- and
community-based strategies to address MIP service delivery gaps
·        
Identify clinical training needs and assist in
the design and implementation of measures to address those needs
·        
Formulate and test sustainable solutions to
service delivery gaps, utilizing cross-cutting approaches such as performance
and quality improvement and in-service training/pre-service education
·        
Advocate with national, regional, district and
community-level health institutions to raise awareness about their role in
improving health outcomes in MIP
·        
Guide DHMTs, professional associations, other
district stakeholders in the use of evidenced-based standards for competency in
MIP
·        
Mobilize national level clinical/technical
expertise to resolve clinical issues that affect local public policy or program
design
·        
Collaborate with all local stakeholders and
implementing partners, especially the Ministry of Health and other implementing
partners, in order to ensure that all activities conform to the national
requirements and regulations
·        
Carry out regular reporting to the senior malaria
advisor, and program and technical staff, of successes, challenges and lessons
learned in implementation related to areas of technical expertise
·        
Document and maintain an inventory of successful
tools and approaches for MIP
·        
Take lead in the development and submission of
abstracts, papers and presentations to journals and conferences
·        
Actively contribute to annual work planning and
preparation of donor reports
·        
Actively contribute to maintaining excellent
relationships with USAID and in-country stakeholders and develop rapid
responses to USAID/DC and Mission requests
·        
Work closely with the Technical Team on setting
program priorities and directions, and responding to requests for support from
local counterparts.
·        
Work closely with M&E staff to design, implement
a plan to track data/results related to maternal, newborn and child health
·        
Contribute to development of the project
strategic plan, work plan, and program monitoring, in close collaboration with
the Ministry of Health, USAID and other stakeholders
·        
Ensure timely implementation of all program
inputs related to maternal, newborn and child health, including planning and
implementing assessments, site strengthening, follow-up and supervision,
advocacy, demand creation, policy support, capacity-building and M&E across
program sites, in close coordination and collaboration with USAID, relevant
ministries of health
·        
Manage the data collection, analysis and
development of conclusions and recommendations to further strengthen program
implementation
·        
Ensure availability of resources/facilitate the
procurement of equipment and supplies required for project implementation
·        
Coordinate and monitor the efficiency and
effectiveness of the work of short-term consultants as required
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience:
·        
The applicant for the Jhpiego Malaria in
Pregnancy Specialist should hold a medical degree (doctor or nursing) or
Master’s in Public Health
·        
A minimum of seven years’ experience applying
malaria in pregnancy programs;
·        
At least five years’ experience in managing $10M
per year in donor-funded projects and in the design and implementation of
overseas health projects; preferably in the East and Southern Africa;
·        
Qualification as a “master trainer”; experience
training health workers on clinical aspects related to family
planning/reproductive health
·        
Previous experience building capacity at
individual and organizational levels
·        
Skill in at least two or more of the following
technical areas: strengthening service delivery programs, training, pre-service
education, performance and quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation
·        
Prior experience with a mix of practical
technical skills in malaria necessary for strengthening malaria service
delivery at the regional, national, clinical and community-level
·        
The ability to liaise with senior MOH officials
and dignitaries, executives of NGOs, FBOs, CBOs, the for-profit business
community, and senior members of the donor community;
·        
Broad knowledge and understanding of Ugandan
healthcare system, particularly the public health system, experience living and
working in Uganda preferred
·        
Strong skills in word processing and Excel
spread sheets
·        
Familiarity with USAID or other USG
administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems
·        
Proven track record managing a project team composed
of several technical experts and fostering team work
·        
Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical
capacity in national programs and technical staff in the areas
·        
Excellent written, presentation, communication
and organizational skills in English
·        
Excellent presentations skills in English
·        
Ability to travel up to 50% time
How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested Ugandans are encouraged to apply
online by uploading an updated resume, cover letter and three professional
references at the web link below.
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