Location: Kigali, Rwanda | Category: Health
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:
The Health Commodity and Logistics Technical Advisor (Technical Advisor) will provide technical, management and coordination services to support USAID/Rwanda’s Health Team: Increased Use of Community Health Services including HIV/AIDS. This health initiative supports reproductive health, child survival, HIV/AIDS and malaria activities for USAID/Rwanda. The Technical Advisor will be responsible for accurate planning, implementation, management, monitoring, results reporting, advocacy, and performance improvement of USAID commodity procurement and logistics activities. In addition, the Technical Advisor will also serve as the United States Government (USG) focal point for all HIV related commodities procured with The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds, malaria commodities procured with The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) funds, and all other family planning and maternal and child health commodities procured by the USG in Rwanda.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Technical Advisor will work closely with the Health team, sector partners, and other donors to provide technical expertise, program management and coordination on planning, implementation, and technical monitoring of health commodity procurement and logistics. This includes HIV/AIDS, drugs for preventing mother to child transmission, CT, CD4, family planning, and malaria. Specific responsibilities include;
I.
Technical leadership in HIV/AIDS, Malaria, other Health and Health Commodity and Supply Chain Management
- Provide leadership and technical support to USAID supported commodity activities, including HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and malaria.
- Analyze and report on field data and relevant technical developments in commodities and logistics to Mission staff and management.
- Contribute to any changes or updates to the Health Team portfolio and supporting documents, including activity design documentation; related technical, policy, social soundness, gender and budgetary analyses; the annual Health Team budget request to USAID/Washington (USAID/W); and the Health Team’s Agreement (SOAG) with the Government of Rwanda (GOR).
- Maintain high level of technical expertise and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, malaria and family planning logistics management and independently analyze and apply current technical data to the local context.
- Present technical issues, analyses or briefs as needed for program negotiations and policy dialogue with the GOR and other partners.
- Participate in workshops, special committees and other activities as a technical advisor to the Mission and make recommendations on program directions and management.
- Keep informed of national and international initiatives and policies and state of the art developments related to health commodities and logistics in HIV/AIDS, malaria and family planning, particularly constraints and opportunities to ensure an appropriate Mission response to the changing Rwandan environment.
II. Program Management:
- Serve as Activity Manager for USAID programs to provide technical direction and administrative oversight, including: establishing routine communications conducting and documenting site visits and inspections; maintaining current files on the status of partner activities, resources and work plans; ensuring contract and award management compliance with USAID regulations; identifying successes and barriers to achievement, recommending future actions; ensuring financial records’ compliance.
- Support USAID reporting, including preparing portions of key documents such as the Annual Report and the Congressional Budget Justification.
- Prepare correspondence and cables related to implementation, management and evaluation of health activities.
- Provide strategic guidance to implementing partners to ensure their programs are aligned with GOR and USG policies and objectives.
- Facilitate program implementation by interfacing with GOR and USG to ensure all administrative and bureaucratic requirements are followed and/or fulfilled.
- Assist the Health Team in maintaining program technical and administrative documentation.
- Contribute to development of all mission reports including: Country Operational Plan, Annual Work Plans, Quarterly accruals, Semi-Annual and Annual portfolio reviews, Annual Reports, regular quality assessments and site visit reports.
- Prepare regular and ad hoc program reports for the Mission, USAID/W, and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), including the Country Operational Plan, Semi-Annual and Annual Report submissions, Congressional Budget Justification, and special technical or field briefings as required.
- Assist the Health Team in monitoring program results by identifying or modifying key progress indicators for short and long term results; providing quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; reporting to stakeholders; and making recommendations based on the findings.
- Monitor USG logistics partners according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) they have signed with the GOR, USAID and with other implementing partners.
- Facilitate the design and creation of MOUs and joint work plans where necessary.
- Ensure that all USG-supported Supply Chain activities are coordinated with other areas of the health system and GOR, including Strategic Information and the Health Management Information System (HMIS).
- Assess the performance of USG Implementing Partners and advise on the best practices, procurement mechanisms and priority activities to ensure efficient and effective supply chain activities in Rwanda.
III. Coordination:
- Work with Health and other Mission Program Teams, Mission management, implementing partners, local NGOs and GOR staff at all levels to support strengthening institutional capacity.
- Collaborate with other Health Team staff in support of USAID/Rwanda in the preparation of program planning and reporting documents for the Mission and USAID/W.
- Serve as a liaison between the Health Team and USAID/W (Africa and Global Health) bureaus and OGAC and PMI/Washington for specific program elements under his/her responsibility, and keep the Health Team fully informed of developments and program issues.
- Coordinate with other USG-supported programs in health and other sectors to capitalize on linkages and maximize synergies for greater development impact at the community level.
IV. Other Duties:
- Assist in coordination and planning discussions with the Ministry of Health and other GOR offices, donors and implementers.
- Monitor the political environment and other donor activities to inform USAID/Rwanda’s funding and programmatic decisions.
- Assist in making Rwanda’s Central Medical Stores, CAMERWA, a direct USG funding recipient through technical assistance to CAMERWA, ensuring financial, procurement and corruption assessments and reports are timely and of high quality.
- Seek out Public Private Partnerships.
REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE
- Master’s degree in public health, pharmacy, business administration or related field.
- Minimum five years’ progressively responsible experience in public health, including experience in strategic planning and activity design, program planning and budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation with at least two years in an international/resource poor setting.
- Previous experience with family planning, malaria or HIV-related commodities programs, particularly in a decentralized context in the developing world, is desirable.
- Demonstrated managerial, administrative, analytical and decision making abilities, with exceptional attention to detail.
- Ability to readily analyze, understand, and discuss issues around supply chain management.
- Demonstrated ability to identify priority actions, generate and complete work plans within short time frames.
- Strong quantitative and data analysis skills, and a high degree of computer literacy for data analysis, report writing and presentation.
- Ability to communicate technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical colleagues.
- Familiarity with, and sensitivity to, socio-cultural and institutional factors affecting program development and implementation in Sub Saharan Africa, preferably in francophone East Africa.
- Ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken English required.
- Ability to also communicate in French or Kinyarwanda is desirable.
- Demonstrated ability to work in a complex political environment and ability to manage host government interests and expectations.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to interact with implementing partners, GOR and US government colleagues.
- US Citizenship or US Permanent Residency required.
- Applicants must also be able to obtain medical clearance for posting to Kigali.
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: 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 October 24, 2008.
Posted on October 18th, 2008 | Filed under: Health