Health Advisor
With 75 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.
Come join our 31,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!
Employee Contract Type:
Local - Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)Job Description:
The Health Advisor leads World Vision Malawi’s health and nutrition programming. Sponsorship-funded maternal, newborn and child health programming is delivered through 28 Area Development Programmes in 16 districts. Grant-funded programming extends delivery to almost nationwide coverage and includes Global Fund-supported HIV and tuberculosis services and malaria prevention. The Advisor supports integrated health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in coordination with the WASH Manager. As part of the Business Development and Impact technical team, the Advisor works with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning, Finance, Communications, sector advisors, local partners and Operations to strengthen programme quality and resource mobilisation.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
1.Resource Mobilisation, Donor and Government Engagement
- Lead technical contributions to resource mobilisation by identifying and tracking opportunities, developing fundable health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene concepts, and contributing technical content, evidence and costed inputs to competitive proposals.
- Maintain current intelligence on sector developments, evidence, innovation, government policies and plans, donor priorities and funding mechanisms.
- Map and engage bilateral and multilateral donors, development banks, relevant health financing mechanisms, United Nations agencies and World Vision Support Offices. This includes the Global Fund and Gavi where relevant.
- Maintain a forward-looking funding pipeline and health engagement plan, identifying the purpose, timing and follow-up for priority engagements.
- Prepare and conduct targeted donor and government meetings with clear agendas; document minutes, commitments, action owners and deadlines; follow up actions; and update the engagement plan and tracker.
- Work with Business Development and Impact, technical colleagues and Communications to prepare sector capacity statements, competency statements, briefs, presentations, case studies and other evidence-based external engagement materials.
- Share opportunities and funding intelligence with the senior leadership team and Operations.
2.Programme Quality, Learning and Technical Support
- Provide technical guidance across World Vision Malawi’s health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene work in 28 Area Development Programmes in 16 districts and across grant-funded and emergency programmes delivered with local partners and by World Vision Malawi.
- Lead or facilitate technical consultations at national and district levels with government counterparts, Operations teams and partners to resolve implementation challenges and promote consistent quality.
- Develop, adapt and support the use of technical guidance, standards, tools and standard operating procedures.
- Work with Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning colleagues to develop and adapt assessment, monitoring and learning tools that capture relevant standards, indicators, inclusion and safeguarding considerations and are practical for teams and partners.
- Contribute technical input to grant opening and management meetings; review programme and donor reports for technical accuracy and evidence; facilitate after-action reviews; and support application of lessons.
- Promote safeguarding, child protection, gender and disability inclusion, and accountability to affected people, escalating significant risks promptly.
3.Programme Design
- Lead or contribute to health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene contextual analyses, needs assessments and evidence reviews across Area Development Programmes, and grant-funded programmes, emergency responses and funding opportunities for which World Vision Malawi is positioning or preparing proposals.
- Use assessment findings, government priorities, donor strategies and emerging evidence to identify needs and design options.
- Co-design technically sound programmes with local partners, government structures and relevant academic and technical institutions.
- Contribute to design workshops, theories of change, results frameworks, logical frameworks and proposal content, including programming in primary and community health, maternal and child health, nutrition, immunisation, malaria prevention, Global Fund-supported interventions and water, sanitation and hygiene.
- Work with Business Development and Impact, Finance, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning, and Operations to prepare feasible designs with clear activities, targets, staffing, implementation arrangements and costed budgets.
4. Sector Coordination and Representation
- Represent World Vision Malawi in relevant national and district health and nutrition coordination mechanisms, including the Health Cluster when activated; the Health Sector Working Group and related health development partner mechanisms; relevant Ministry of Health technical working groups for primary health care, community health, maternal, newborn and child health, immunisation, nutrition, human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, malaria and health systems strengthening;; and national multisectoral nutrition platforms, including the Civil Society Organization Nutrition Alliance (CSONA).
- Engage with relevant district health coordination structures.
- Present World Vision Malawi’s work, evidence and results; contribute technical input; and respond to information and data requests within agreed timelines.
- Maintain and update the coordination engagement tracker; document decisions and actions; and share relevant updates with senior leadership and operational technical teams.
5.Partnership Development
- Identify and assess suitable local partner organisations and technical, academic or research institutions based on their experience, geographic reach, capacity and complementarity with World Vision Malawi’s health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene priorities.
- Support due diligence, capacity assessment and onboarding in line with World Vision partnership guidance.
- Clarify partner roles and contributions in programme designs, proposals and budgets.
- Identify opportunities for formal collaboration with relevant ministries, departments, district authorities and institutions, and coordinate the drafting, review, approval and follow-up of memoranda of understanding with the appropriate World Vision Malawi leads
Knowledge, Qualifications and Experience Required
- Master’s degree in Public Health, Health Systems, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Nursing, Medicine or a related field.
- A relevant bachelor’s degree with substantial additional experience may be considered.
- Current professional registration is required where applicable to the discipline.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and standard programme design and reporting tools.
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in health, nutrition or water, sanitation and hygiene programme design, technical advisory, programme quality or partnership development.Demonstrated experience in donor and government engagement, needs assessments, proposal design and representation in sector coordination forums.
- Experience working with local partners and government health structures in multi-sector, grant-funded, sponsorship-funded and/or humanitarian programmes.
- Knowledge of Malawi’s health system and experience in one or more areas such as primary health care, community health, maternal and child health, nutrition, human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, malaria prevention, or water, sanitation and hygiene.
- Knowledge of Malawi’s health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene policies, strategies, coordination mechanisms and donor requirements; integrated community and facility-based programming, including Global Fund-supported work, maternal and child health and malaria prevention; safeguarding, gender and disability inclusion; and results-based programme design, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning, and adaptive management. Strong facilitation, analytical, writing and relationship-building skills.
Applicant Types Accepted: