Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Category: Health
Global Health Fellows Program: Technical Advisor II or III: Maternal Child Health/Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Advisor
Health, AIDS, Population and Nutrition Office, United States Agency for International Development, Ethiopia
Assignment: Two year fellowship
GHFP-08-087
The Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP) is a five year cooperative agreement implemented and managed by the Public Health Institute (PHI) in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health, Management Systems International, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. GHFP is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The goal of GHFP is to improve the effectiveness of USAID Population, Health and Nutrition programs by developing and increasing capacity of health professionals in Washington, DC and overseas. This is accomplished through the recruitment, placement and support of junior, mid and senior level health professionals; a diversity initiative focused on providing internship and mentoring opportunities in international public health to underrepresented communities; and professional and organizational development activities to bolster USAID’s ability to maximize results and strengthen its leadership role in global health.
INTRODUCTION:
An integral facet of the United States Government’s (USG) and USAID’s HIV/AIDS programming is prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT), including antiretrovirals (ARV) prophylaxis for HIV-infected pregnant women and newborns and counseling and support for maternal nutrition. USAID/Ethiopia seeks to strengthen health systems and communities to deliver comprehensive PMTCT services to women through support for a wide variety of complementary interventions. These interventions include improvement of antenatal services, voluntary HIV counseling and testing for pregnant women, the provision of antiretrovirals and opportunistic infections drugs, and support for safer infant feeding practices. USAID/Ethiopia programs also provide multiple types of other psychosocial, clinical, and nutritional support to HIV-positive women including clinical and community follow-up of postpartum women, their infants and other family members. In addition, Ethiopia is a food focus country under The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the nutrition and food security emphasis of its portfolio is expanding. As such, efforts are underway to increase the linkages between nutrition and HIV/AIDS treatment and care support services, a necessary intervention to maintain the nutritional status of HIV positive women and children in order to enable them to adhere to treatment and live productive lives.
Technical Advisor Level II:
The Technical Advisor will serve as a member of the Family & Community Services Cluster (FCSC) in the Health, AIDS, Population and Nutrition (HAPN) Office in USAID/Ethiopia. The FCSC focuses on designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating care and support programs, with emphasis on community level responses to service delivery. The FCSC addresses family centered approaches that link all services for the HIV-infected family (PMTCT, palliative care, treatment, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) services). Services in particular include: home-based and palliative care, community-based counseling and testing, OVC, linkages and referrals to health facilities, home delivery of services adherence council, and food and nutrition support at the community level. In addition to advising programs on delivery quality PMTCT services, the Technical Advisor will work to strengthen the Government of Ethiopia’s community-based initiatives such as providing technical support to Health Extension Workers to increase uptake of antenatal care attendance at health centers and posts.
The Technical Advisor will be responsible for providing technical leadership in the area of maternal and child health (MCH)/PMTCT. He/she will work closely with Advisors on other HAPN teams, including Senior Reproductive Health and Malaria Advisors, to ensure the provision of basic care packages including bednets, family planning and HIV/AIDS services (including pediatrics) and integrated at the service delivery level.
The Technical Advisor will be a key advisor to USAID at technical and programmatic fora on Treatment, PMTCT, pediatric and MCH issues, and provide technical guidance to implementing partners including public and private institutions, host country governments, and non-governmental organizations. S/he will provide technical advice and leadership in the policy development, program planning, management, implementation and evaluation of MCH/PMTCT interventions including activities focused on integrating PMTCT into existing antenatal clinics (ANC) and MCH services. Additionally, s/he will interact with counterparts at the PEPFAR interagency level, national and federal levels as Ethiopia aims to greatly improve the reach and impact of MCH/PMTCT services.
Technical Advisor Level III:
The Technical Advisor III will have all the responsibilities and attributes of the Technical Advisor II (see above). In addition, the Technical Advisor III will serve as a senior advisor and technical expert on MCH/PMTCT activities and programs for the HIV/AIDS Team and will lead the effort to integrate PMTCT into most aspects of the family community and clinical services offered by PEPFAR.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Technical Advisor works to provide technical leadership to expand and strengthen the quality of PMTCT services in Ethiopia. The Advisor’s primary areas of responsibility include: providing strategic and technical leadership and direction to the USAID HIV/AIDS Team; supporting the PEPFAR Interagency team’s efforts, with emphasis on women and families; providing strategic technical advice for key PEPFAR planning and budget documents, such as the County Operational Plan (COP), semi-annual and annual progress reports, and Congressional Notification; and participating in the Interagency technical working groups in Ethiopia.
The Technical Advisor will:
* Serve as the primary USAID technical advisor to USAID contractors, working closely with them to design country programs and work plans.
* Regularly meet with USAID contractors to discuss issues related to program vision, strategy, design, and development/implementation.
* Serve as the technical advisor to USAID’s implementing partner’s PMTCT services at the health centers.
* Provide technical support on the program design and implementation of MCH/PMTCT guidelines, interventions and community-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs.
* Provide technical leadership ensuring that HIV-infected women are appropriately screened and treated to improve overall maternal health and child survival in Ethiopia.
* Work with other HAPN teams to ensure linkages to family planning, safe motherhood, child survival, malaria, tuberculosis, and increase access to food/nutritional programs and private sectors initiatives including income generation.
* Provide technical expertise and input to donors and USG agencies on PMTCT, treatment, family planning, safe motherhood and child survival activities.
* Provide guidance at the national and PEPFAR technical working group levels in Ethiopia to improve reach and impact of PMTCT services.
* Conduct appropriate analyses of relevant data in order to strengthen activities in the areas of PMTCT and pediatric HIV; in particular, data collection, tracking and reporting efforts collecting the numbers of HIV-positive pregnant women initiating ART while pregnant.
* Stay current with and review literature and ongoing research activities related to PMTCT and pediatric HIV.
* Serve as technical lead in the emergence of maternal health services for HIV positive women in public, private and community settings.
* Attend technical meetings and workshops, and participate in relevant training events related to PMTCT and pediatric HIV.
* Serve as a member of the PEPFAR Technical Working Group for MCH/PMTCT.
* Provide technical support for country operating plan development, review, and implementation.
* Provide strategic input and technical assistance to USAID HIV/AIDS staff in the design of new activities, and development of materials, briefings, and presentations to raise the importance of integrating PMTCT into maternal health and ANC services.
* Work to strengthen monitoring and evaluation of MCH/PMTCT programs.
Promote USG interagency collaboration and strengthen coordination with other multinational partners involved in PMTCT, such as WHO and UNICEF, Global Fund, World Bank, the Clinton Foundation, and others.
REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:
* Master’s or doctorate level degree in public health or related discipline.
* Knowledge of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), reproductive health, maternal and child health (MCH) and HIV prevention is highly desirable.
* Demonstrated ability to design and implement MCH/PMTCT programs in developing country settings.
* Experience working with USAID Missions, host country governments, USG health agencies and / or USAID partner organizations desirable.
* Experience working with PEPFAR desirable.
* High level of judgment, maturity, ingenuity and originality to develop strategies, and to analyze, develop, monitor, and evaluate program implementation.
* Ability to interpret strategy, to analyze, develop and present work results and to monitor and evaluate program implementation.
* Excellent interpersonal, facilitation and teambuilding skills/experience required.
* Demonstrated ability in maintaining close counterpart relationships, both governmental and in the partner community is highly preferred.
* Ability to work independently with light supervision.
* Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills.
* Willingness to travel throughout Ethiopia.
* US Citizenship required.
In addition to the above, the position requires the following at each level:
Technical Advisor II:
* Minimum five years’ work experience in public health or related field with a minimum two years’ experience in an international/ resource poor setting.
Technical Advisor III:
* Minimum ten years’ experience working in maternal and child health with a minimum three to five years’ experience in an international/resource poor setting.
* Demonstrated ability to design and implement successful MCH/PMTCT programs in developing countries.
* Advanced skills in facilitation, influence, and teambuilding.
SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Starting salary commensurate with experience and salary history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.
All candidates are required to apply through GHFP’s online recruitment system, which allows you to store your CV, profile and bio data form in our database. A separate cover letter describing your qualifications and experience, interest and familiarity with issues relating to this position, and how this position relates to your career goals is required for each application. All online applications must be submitted by
We are proud to be an affirmative action employer.
To Apply: Visit the Recruitment section of our website at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/
Posted on July 16th, 2008 | Filed under: Health