Emergency Health and Nutrition Specialist

Medical & Health

TITLE: Emergency Health and Nutrition Specialist

TEAM/PROGRAMME: Humanitarian Operations/Health and Nutrition

LOCATION: Ethiopia Country Office- with 50-70% travel to the field

GRADE: TBD

Employment Type: National

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 -

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

ROLE PURPOSE: The Emergency Health and Nutrition Specialist will be responsible to lead all technical development and humanitarian health and nutrition programs within the SWAN Consortium at country office level in planning and executing health and nutrition programs in rapid response mechanism, anticipatory actions, procurement and prepositioning, and distribution of emergency medical kts and supplies, capacity building actions, ensure the implementation of Save the children’s quality improvement frameworks including quality bench marks, common approaches aliening with the organizational strategic plan and priorities. The Specialist coordinate and lead technical assistance on health and nutrition programs in coordination with SC CO Health and Nutrition technical advisors, SWAN consortium members and local partners to ensure SWAN projects contribute to the achievement of the thematic program strategic plans. S/he will work to establish and strengthen relationship and a critical link among SWAN consortium, consortium members and local partners, and between the Save the Children’s global, regional and in-country stakeholders and partners. The position holder will be responsible to ensure lessons derived through implementation of SWAN projects are well articulated, documented and disseminated both internally and externally. He/she is in charge for the strategic mainstreaming relevant crosscutting issues in new projects.

SCOPE OF ROLE:

Reports to: SWAN Consortium Lead

Staff reporting to this post: No direct reports but will have a functional/technical management responsibility with SCI CO Health and Nutrition Advisors, health and nutrition focal points of the SWAN consortium members and local partners, and SCI health and nutrition managers, and Coordinators of the Area Programs using a matrix management arrangement

Budget Responsibilities: SWAN Project H&N Sector Budget at the consortium, consortium members and local partners levels.

Context: Humanitarian

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES with expected level of effort

A. Technical Leadership

• Provide technical leadership to SWAN consortium, Consortium members, and Local partners, and key stakeholders.

• Technically initiate, lead and supports the development of Emergency Health and Nutrition sector related technical strategies, guidelines, SOPs, rapid needs assessment, response plan preparation, and review, approval, implementation, operationalization, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting processes for the SWAN consortium RRMs. Also, actively engage in cholera and others diseases outbreak EAP development, anticipatory action proposal and plan development for disease outbreak and pandemics, implementation, monitoring, review processes.

B. Program Design and Proposal Development

• Scoping of opportunities through SWAN RRMs, SWAN consortium members and partners, SCI members and donors engagement.

• Contribute to initiation and lead the technical development of high-quality SWAN project proposals that takes into account the programing principles and quality standards of SCI

• Provide technical input to improve the planning through provision of up-to- date needs/data/information; data management and use for reporting.

C. Technical responsibilities in Quality Program Design, Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting

• Technically support and lead in delivering a timely and effective emergency primary health care service, particularly for maternal and child health services, communicable and epidemic prone diseases, reproductive health care, immunization and emergency nutrition services to address the urgent and life-saving needs of displaced population in priority and hot spot locations in the country.
• Lead and technically support during the selection and quantification of emergency medical supplies/kits and procurement processes, storage and inventory management, distribution, pipeline monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning practices.
• Coordinate and lead the provision of emergency basic health care responses through accessing the timely provision of life-saving medicines, medical equipment and other supplies so that access to emergency health care could be granted for the needy community affected by drought, flooding, conflict and/or disease outbreaks.
• Actively work to ensure the project achieves the expected results in Ethiopia and is implemented in accordance with the donor agreement, donor regulations, and internationally recognized quality of assistance standards. The job Holder will have the role of coordinating the design of the H & N programs
• The Emergency HN Specialist work with SWAN RRT when a need arises to conduct rapid multi-sectoral needs assessment, response plan preparation and approval with the national and sub-national clusters, and ensure rapid decision-making among consortium members, so that information and issues are escalated to the Cluster in real time.
• Coordinate, lead and technically support in the list out and selection of the types of kits and medical supplies depending on the standard and local need in consultation with the consortium partners and national Health Cluster Lead. Moreover, the staff works in the proper selection and quantification of the required emergency health kits and medical supplies will be done in line with the current/anticipated (SWAN and non-SWAN) stock available (current/forecasted) in-line with local need and donor approved budget amount with the guidance of health cluster lead.
• Closely monitor the transportation and distribution of medicines and medical supplies to regions, districts and ultimately to service delivery points per the decision of the consortium, clusters and other relevant bodies. He/she will establish a transparent and evidence-based supplies allocation and distribution tracking mechanism.
• Actively work towards availing the required essential and lifesaving mainly prepacked medical supplies, and the timely response to epidemic disease outbreaks, other hazards, MHPSS and GBV, and essential basic primary health care needs addressed immediately for the conflict and other hazards affected population
• Collaborate with SWAN supply chain manager, and SCI CO procurement team, the staff engage with amending and signing an agreement with MOH secure pre-import permit, for the selected and quantified medicines and medical items with the relevant government offices (Ministry of Finance and Ethiopia Food and Drug Authority) and Custom Authority.
• Initiate and complete procurement process followed by importing the health kits and medical supplies Per the experience of the last two phase of the SWAN project medical supplies procurement of supplies with the already identified supplies which will shorten the process of the procurement.
• Periodically monitor the central warehouse and ensure these stored medical supplies are in good condition as per the standard, and proper implementation of the stock management system. He/she regularly monitors, keep the physical integrity and safety of products and their packaging until it the products are distributed to the designated areas to respond for the emergencies. To ensure the quality of the medical products, Save the Children and the consortium members will ensure medical store are dry, well-lit, well-ventilated with no direct sunlight exposure.
• Follow up the international medical kits procurement, dispatching of already approved medical kits to respective locations through preparing the medical kits, medical equipment, furniture, IPC/PPE and pediatrics medicines distribution plan.
• Ensure the capacity building training provided to health workers and Rapid Response Teams in emergency affected areas, and Government Surge Capacity supported to timely respond for emergency health conditions
• Coordinate, lead and manage the entire processes of recruitment, establishing and deployment of the Mobile Health and Nutrition Team (MHNT) and provide essential health service where the public health system is weak or non-existing due to the conflict or other hazards.
• Organize and conduct monthly SWAN health technical team meetings, attend National health cluster meeting and share meeting minute with SWAN consortium Lead, and review BVA, and conduct joint health monitoring visit and share the report with SWAN Lead and SWAN MEAL manager to be shared with donors and cluster
• Compile monthly progress update response, consumption report and other updates, organizing PDM/Monitoring visit for distributed medical kits and supplies once the distribution done and share the report with SWAN consortium Lead.
• Actively engage in the overall SWAN project implementation follow up and supervision, technical review of SWAN multi sectoral or sectoral response plan, deployment to crisis affected locations with SWAN RRT teams when required and participate on SWAN rapid multi-sectoral needs assessments.
• Produce and roll out technical manuals, guidelines and tools to ensure the effective and quality implementation of projects.

C. Coordination and Collaboration

• Work closely with Lead Consortium and all Consortium Team Members of WASH, Emergency Shelter/NFI, Protection, MEAL, and Supply Chain for program approach innovation and holistic implementation of SWAN consortium Projects. He/she will assist in providing results-based strategic guidance, leadership, technical oversight, management, reporting and capacity building to the SWAN Consortium, consortium members, and local partners team both at head and field offices level
• Assist the coordination across consortium partners and within the consortium to ensure the project delivers high impact programming for IDPs, returnee IDPs, vulnerable groups and host community, children and women affected by displacement. In addition, she/he will assist in ensuring the design and implementation of health and nutrition sectors project activities and engages other key partners required to achieve results such as government officials, national clusters, the UN and other humanitarian coordination actors, as well as other implementing agencies outside of the consortium.
• Regularly collaborate with each of the clusters, including UNICEF, IOM and WHO on the SWAN priority intervention sectors, and other clusters considering SWAN’s flexibility to respond to urgent lifesaving needs over the country as needed in consultation with each cluster.

D. Advocacy, Networking and External Engagement:

• Provide technical leadership in policy dialogue and on health and nutrition technical and policy engagement in collaboration with other National and international organizations
• Participate and represent SCI/SWAN on various national technical advocacy platforms, taskforces, clusters, working groups and subgroups as appropriate
• Develop and maintain relationships with SC member health and nutrition teams and working groups
• Participate in regular child survival and immunization technical working groups, health and nutrition sector review meetings, joint supervision and other national level sector led activities relevant to child health and immunization
• Regularly coordinate with member and regional office health and nutrition technical staff, identify staff health and nutrition technical support requirements, inclusive of field visits, as and when necessary

E. Evidence and Learning

• Extract, synthesize and produce high quality evidences and work closely with evidence and learning team in disseminating findings internally and externally

• Roll out the technical evidence and learning plans and agendas and produce and present high quality reports

• Monitor new developments in MCH and Immunization technical areas and facilitate transfer and application of knowledge

• Provide technical leadership and closely work with MEAL and other sectors in strengthening Monitoring and Evaluation and use of data across all levels to improve program performance

• Identifies emerging practice, pilot and assesses nutritional impact and added value for communities and advises on modifications to standard programing based on the result to maximize health and nutrition impact.
• Identify, introduce and take measures for scaling up effective and efficient or evidence-based best/innovative practices/approaches for emergency and development context emergency response and apply in emergency settings.
• Exercise digital technologies in health and nutrition program, generates evidence of the effectiveness of digital health and nutrition tools to improve quality of health and health services.
• Undertake health and nutrition community of practices sessions regularly for SWAN consortium partners
• Understand and apply cross-cutting issues of resilience, EW EA, gender, child participation, disability and others to ensure their incorporation into program design and implementation

KEY COMPETENCIES (Indicative / Key Competencies) - A selected candidate is expected to possess the competences shown below.

Technical competencies:

• Drives MNCH and MIYCN Programming including SCI Common Approaches, programming principles, Theory of Changes and Program Quality Framework and applies them in all stages of a program
• Understanding of impact of emergencies on health programming and health outcomes: Engages in the humanitarian aid architecture, the cluster approach and inter-cluster coordination of public health information
• Writes strong and high quality documents such as proposals, reports, technical papers
• Able to build sustainable and integrated MCH and Immunization programmes: Builds the capacity of others to design and implement integrated MCH and Immunization sensitive and specific programming and advocacy
• Able to link local to national and global level advocacy efforts, supporting localization of change and influencing global policy development
• Advance adaptive and innovative health and nutrition
• Proven experience and competencies in designing and implementing quality health and nutrition projects at community levels
• Designing of adoptable, efficient and high quality health and nutrition programs
• Data analytic and presentation

Generic Competencies

• Being the Voice of Children: Promotes evidence-based policy and public engagement that includes the voices of children and their communities
• Advancing Equality & Inclusion: Displays a commitment to ensuring everything we do considers the most deprived and marginalised children
• Building & Strengthening Partnerships: Promotes working with diverse partners as critical to delivery
• Child Rights: Promotes the rights of children in own work and in work with colleagues and peers.

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS (our Values in Practice)

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children in ensuring staff health and safety

• Holds staff accountable to deliver on their responsibilities to ensure all staff working in safe working environment - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary support to improve staff health and safety practices and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same

• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others

• Future orientated, thinks strategically

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters

• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength

• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions

• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

Education

• Master’s Degree in public health or other related field.

Experience and Skills:

• Minimum of 6 years of experience in technically leadership and management of large scale MNCH and MIYCN projects in rapid emergency humanitarian response mechanism and different crises/hazard operating contexts
• Proven experience of high quality and winning project design and proposal development experience
• Possess strong technical competencies in core common approaches and programming principles of SCI
• Proven experience and competencies in producing and disseminating high quality and impact program evidences and lessons
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in team situations
• Experiences in providing impactful technical support on health and nutrition TWGs at national or regional levels for Federal Ministry of health or Regional health bureaus
• Good knowledge and experience of the Ethiopian health and nutrition systems and policies
• Experience in developing donor relationships, working with national level technical working groups, working with government partners, with partner agencies
• Experience in policy analysis and policy engagement experience
• Strong result orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mind sets
• Good skill and competencies in communicating, organizing group discussion, and presentation
• Good computer skill (MS word, MS excel, and other data generating tools)
• Commitment to Save the Children values

Additional job responsibilities: The role holder could carry out additional duties as assigned by SWAN Consortium Lead based on his/her level of skills and experience

Equal Opportunities

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SCI’s global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Gender Equality Policies, supported by relevant procedures

Child Safeguarding:

We need to keep children safe so our selection process, which includes rigorous background checks, reflects our commitment to the protection of children from abuse

Safeguarding our Staff:

The post holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with the SCI anti-harassment policy

Health and Safety

The role holder is required to carry out the duties in accordance with SC Health and Safety policies and procedures

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Added 2 hours ago - Updated 2 hours ago - Source: savethechildren.net