REPRODUCTIVE, MATERNAL, NEWBORN & CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH ADVISOR

Full-time

Overview

Project Overview: 

Jhpiego received funding from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the Urban Health Activity.  The Activity aims to strengthen urban health systems and improve equitable health outcomes among urban communities in Target Districts of Kampala city, Mukono and Wakiso. Working with the Ministry of Health and City/District local authorities, the activity will support provision of equitable public health, optimize available resources and strengthen private sector capacity as part of sustainability efforts. The Uganda Urban Health Activity will address poor quality of care, congested public health facilities, ineffective referral systems, underdeveloped community and surveillance structures, limited private sector capabilities, and systemic gaps in the enabling environment in Target Districts. The project will contribute to; reduction in maternal, newborn and child morbidity/mortality, unmet need for family planning (including adolescents) malnutrition and an improved disease outbreak response. The project is expected to operate over a five-year period. 

Purpose of the position 

The Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Advisor will provide technical and strategic direction to the Urban Health Activity RMNCAH initiatives in the Target Districts. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Target Districts, project team and partners, the RMNCAH Advisor will support the design and implementation of evidence based strategies. The RMNCAH Advisor will provide hands-on technical assistance to the districts, particularly in the development, rollout and implementation of policies, technical guidelines to support the standardized application of the minimum healthcare package within the Target Districts. S/he is responsible for the implementation of quality improvement and service integration approaches across RMNCAH services. S/he will support capacity strengthening of staff, sub partners and grantees as required. 

Applications will be shortlisted on rolling basis

Responsibilities

  • Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for the project’s technical assistance efforts, ensuring evidence-based RMNCAH programming for facility and community-level interventions.   
  • Ensure technical quality of project activities across the Target Districts ensuring integration, quality and sustainability of interventions. 
  • Ensure use of quality improvement methodologies to identify root causes of performance gaps, design and implement corrective action for the integrated health services.  
  • Support development  and/or update of training materials, standards, job aids, and curricula, needed for implementation of the project to meet the needs of Government of Uganda  
  • Lead the development and refinement of RMNCAH capacity strengthening project inputs (trainings/mentoring/coaching, tools, guidelines, and standards) to support GoU interventions. 
  • Contribute to program/project design, implementation, learning, and monitoring and evaluation through active collaboration with project teams, partners and GoU structures at national, regional, district, facility and community levels. 
  • Lead the development of  project RMNCAH reports, presentations, abstracts and other documentation to disseminate project outputs and outcomes 
  • Manage RMNCAH contributions of sub partners and grantees, including defining scopes of work  
  • Maintain diplomatic and high-quality interactions and clear and consistent communications internally and with partners.  
  • Contribute to the learning agenda by identifying information gaps in RMNCAH that could be filled by secondary data analysis, literature reviews, field testing of new approaches and collaborative learning events. S/he will lead technical inputs on learning activities. 
  • Actively engage in networks and forums to support GoU RMNCAH priorities and promote involvement of multiple government sectors, donors, and the private sector in RMNCAH-related initiatives.  

Required Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in public health or equivalent. A clinical background with training in quality improvement is required 
  • Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant work experience with the GoU health system, preferably at regional or district level. 
  • Must demonstrate knowledge of RMNCAH issues in Uganda and the use of evidence based RMNCAH approaches in the public and private sector. Previous experience with the private sector is an added advantage.  
  • Demonstrated experience in supporting data use for decision making at district, facility and community level. 
  • Demonstrated experience in implementing and/or providing technical assistance to donor-funded health sector projects that have implemented activities in RMNCAH.  
  • Demonstrated skills in quality improvement, strengthening service delivery; in-service training and project management  
  • Demonstrated ability to create and maintain effective working relations with Ministry of Health, regional and district officials, healthcare workers and implementing partners.  
  • Experience leading diverse, moderate to large teams. 
  • Experience working with USG funded projects is desired