Jobs in Africa

Closing Date: September 5, 2008
Location: Ethiopia | Category: Expired Jobs

Global Health Fellows Program
Technical Advisor II: Human Resource Capacity and Health System Strengthening Advisor
Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Assignment: One year fellowship
GHFP-08-090

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 and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. GHFP is supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

GHFP’s goal 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
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, with a population estimated at 78 million in an area almost twice the size of Texas. Ethiopia’s federal structure reflects the diversity of its 83 ethnic groups and languages: there are nine ethnically based regions and two special administrative areas, one of which is the capital, Addis Ababa. Addis is home to about 4% of the population, while approximately 85% of the population lives in rural areas. Religion plays a major role in the lives of most Ethiopians, and despite the diversity of the faiths followed within the country there is remarkable religious tolerance and harmony.

The national adult HIV sero-prevalence is estimated at 2.2% in 2008, with a 7.7 % urban rate and a 0.9% rural rate.

At less than $10 per person per year, total funding for health in Ethiopia is grossly inadequate, even in relation to the minimum costing scenario set out in the Third Health Sector Development Plan (HSDP3). Moreover, the decentralization of responsibility for basic service delivery in Ethiopia and the diversity of external development partners make harmonization and health system strengthening particularly challenging. Support for generic (as opposed to disease-specific) components of the health system, including the development of human resources capacity, is particularly lacking.

In response to these challenges, Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has adopted a number of innovative approaches to the production and retention of human resources, and its Health Extension Program (HEP) is increasingly attracting international attention. Ethiopia is one of four President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief countries (PEPFAR) in Africa in which the USG has committed to work with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and national governments to build human resources capacity as a key component of the broader health system.

In order to facilitate implementation of HSDP3, the FMOH is working with Regional Health Bureaus, Woreda (district) Health Offices and development partners to improve harmonization and alignment to thereby strengthen the health system in its entirety. This effort is guided by the Health Harmonisation Manual (HHM) and its objective is summarized as ‘One Plan, One Budget, One Report.’

Strong national ownership of the harmonization and health system strengthening agenda is reflected in the leadership provided by the Minister of Health. Within FMOH, the Planning and Program Department (PPD) provides strategic direction and support on issues pertaining to health policy, planning and information management in order to ensure that policies are well formulated and that plans, programs and projects are coordinated, integrated, monitored and evaluated so as to achieve the national health goals and objectives.

Despite the importance of its objectives and the dedication and effort of its staff, PPD lacks sufficient skills and capacity to fulfill its challenging objective. Although various external partners have provided valuable technical assistance on human resources and harmonization in recent years, there remains a need to build capacity within PPD itself, especially now that PEPFAR and other major external funding partners are increasingly seeking to integrate disease-specific support into the overarching mission of building a robust health system capable of reliably delivering a range of basic health care services. The human resources capacity of PPD needs to be enhanced in order to ensure that increasing amounts of funding from various sources can be utilized effectively to develop the health system as a whole.

Recently, the FMOH has finalized a human resource strategy (HRS) that will further delineate areas in which bi- and multi-lateral contributions to workforce development can best be directed. Implementation of the Ethiopian HRS will be critical to ensure overall achievements within the health system. The capacity of PPD will need to be further strengthened to oversee the HRS efforts to better synchronize health care initiatives in line with the FMOH health objectives.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Human Resource Capacity and Health System Strengthening Advisor will be supported by the USAID Capacity Development and Policy Cluster, which is part of the HIV/AIDS Team in the Health, Population, AIDS and Nutrition (HAPN) Office. The Cluster addresses cross-cutting issues, including access, equity and quality in relation to health services. In practice this involves, inter alia, initiatives to strengthen health policy, human resources for health, donor coordination, health financing, organizational capacity, public/private partnerships and governance of the health sector.

The Technical Advisor will be assigned to Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Health and accountable to the Planning and Programming Department. His/her overall aim will be to build human resources capacity within the Ministry, with a view to mobilizing, coordinating and harmonizing support for health system strengthening, thereby expediting implementation of HSDP3 and accelerating Ethiopia’s progress toward the Millennium Development Goals for health. The Advisor will make operational the HRS. As part of this assignment, s/he will help FMOH develop a strategic approach to communication, especially with international partners on issues pertaining to building capacity for human resources for health.

The Technical Advisor will:
Strengthen the human resources capacity of FMOH to mobilize funding for health and improve harmonization of external support with a view to building the health system as a whole. Specific responsibilities include:

• Liaise with USG partners, multilateral and bilateral donors on issues related to the implementation of Ethiopia’s Human Resources for Health Strategy

• Strengthen PPD’s capacity for harmonization of external assistance

• Help PPD ensure that the key aspects of various funding channels are clearly understood by donors, and that funds provided through these channels are efficiently absorbed, thereby giving donors confidence to increase funding

• Build capacity for development of funding proposals to international partners (especially the Global Fund, PEPFAR and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations)

• With the Minister and PPD counterparts, promote adherence by bilateral and multilateral donors to principles of harmonization and alignment (as set out in the Health Harmonisation Manual) and assist FMOH in developing a plan for monitoring partners’ adherence

• Provide technical input to annual workplans for non-governmental orgranizations as directed by FMOH.

• Enhance PPD’s human resources capacity for sourcing, managing and coordinating technical assistance

• Strengthen FMOH’s human resources capacity for strategic communication with international development partners. Specific responsibilities include:

• Assist the Minister and PPD in promoting understanding of HSDP3 – and, in particular, the Health Extension Programme (HEP) – among development partners.

• Help FMOH to strengthen coordination among donors and international initiatives to ensure harmonization with Ministry of Health goals and objectives.

• Coordinate preparation of reports, briefing, conferences, publication, training, and other means of promoting wide understanding of improved knowledge and methods.

In addition, the Technical Advisor will:

• Coordinate and support functions related to health resource capacity development at the federal and regional level

• Support the FMOH coordination with PEPFAR and other major funding initiatives (e.g. Global Fund, GAVI, Protection of Basic Services and the Multi-country HIV/AIDS Program for Africa) within the context of sector-wide approaches and in line with the principles of harmonization and alignment

• At the national level, facilitate regional and district planning activities to ensure appropriate involvement of all relevant partners including PEPFAR partners

• Promote integration of human capacity development initiatives supported by partners, including in-service and pre-service training

• Conduct or commission appropriate analyses of relevant data in order to strengthen activities in the areas of human and organizational capacity building

• Help FMOH make the best use of mechanisms for joint working with partners, including Joint Consultative Meetings, Annual Review Meetings and Joint Core Coordination Committee, by working closely with Ministers and the PPD Program Coordination and Monitoring Team

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

1. Master’s degree or higher in public health, health management, HIV/AIDS or other relevant field.
2. Minimum five years’ experience in health systems development and capacity building in developing countries.
3. Minimum five years’ experience in program design, strategic planning, resource mobilization, program management and implementation within a minimum of two years working in an international or resource poor setting.
4. High degree of judgment, maturity, ingenuity and originality to interpret strategy, to analyze, develop and present work and to monitor and evaluate implementation of programs.
5. Demonstrated experience working with a wide range of development partners, including multilateral and bilateral donors as well as private foundations and civil society.
6. Demonstrated knowledge of internal processes within the US Government and other health sector development partners, (e.g., policy conditionality, thematic priorities, decision-making mechanisms, and preferred funding channels).
7. Experience with global health partnerships and disease-specific initiatives.
8. In-depth understanding of current challenges and opportunities for health systems in Africa, knowledge of Ethiopia’s health system an advantage.
9. Understanding of factors that contribute to the current crisis in human resources for health in Africa, and of the pros and cons of various approaches to meeting this challenge.
10. Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills and ability to work with diverse teams.
11. Ability to source and manage consultants for strategic assignments (involving multiple stakeholders and/or complex systems) in developing countries.
12. Willingness to travel within Ethiopia.
13. Amharic or other Ethiopian language skills preferred.
14. US Citizenship or US Permanent Residency required.
15. Ability to obtain medical clearance for Addis Ababa required.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
Starting salary commensurate with experience and salary history. The Public Health Institute offers a comprehensive benefits package including professional development programs.

We are proud to be an affirmative action employer.

To Apply: Visit the Recruitment section of our website at https://www.ghfp.net/recruitment/. 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 September 5, 2008.

Posted on August 9th, 2008 | Filed under: Expired Jobs