Public Health & Emergency Response Manager

Job Description

Organization Background The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC has been working in Uganda since 1998 supporting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees and local communities. IRC Uganda has a country office in Kampala and field offices in Amudat, Imvepi, Kitgum, Kyegegwa, Lamwo, Moroto, Kiryandongo and Yumbe. Specifically, to health and nutrition, the IRC implements programming in Lamwo, Moroto, Kiryandongo, Terego, Madi Okollo and Yumbe districts. The current country program portfolio includes health and nutrition, protection and rule of law, women’s protection and empowerment, education and economic recovery and development programming.

ECHO Project The ECHO-funded health project, entitled, Epidemic disease surveillance and response and life-saving health services to newly arrived refugees and vulnerable host community members in Uganda, is a 12-month project covering 17 districts and refugee settlements across the South-west, Mid-West, West Nile, and Northern regions of Uganda. The project is implemented through a consortium led by the IRC in partnership with Medical Teams International (MTI). The project has four main result areas: 1) Strengthened epidemic preparedness and risk reduction at the district, community and health facility levels; 2) Enhanced outbreak response and safe care for suspected and probable patients of outbreak-prone diseases at district, health facility, and community levels in refugee settlements and surrounding hosting communities; 3) Increased safe, dignified and meaningful access and utilization of quality comprehensive healthcare services; 4) Increased access to and utilization of nutrition services for severe and moderate undernourished children under five and pregnant and lactating women.

Scope of Work The Public Health and Emergency Response Manager will directly report to the Deputy Health Coordinator with technical support from the ECHO health Consortium project coordinator. S/he will be responsible for ensuring quality, coordinated, infection prevention and control (IPC), rapid emergency response, with an emphasis on timeliness and best use of resources; leading and building staff capacity on IPC preparedness and response initiatives; and supporting the integration of Disaster Preparedness and Epidemic response into program development where feasible. She/he will liaise with the Health Managers in Palabek, Bidibidi, and Imvepi/Rhino to oversee the implementation of result areas one and two on strengthened epidemic preparedness and risk reduction at the district, community and health facility levels and enhanced outbreak response and safe care for suspected probable patients of outbreak-prone diseases at district, health facility and community levels in refugee settlements and surrounding host communities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Infection Prevention and Control •Ensuring the implementation of standard transmission-based IPC precautions for all departments of IRC’s health structures in collaboration with each IPC focal points and facility in-charges, manager, using existing tools (guidelines, checklists, and trainings). •Providing technical IPC supervision and guidance to all staff members at the IRC field project locations, with a particular focus on activities such as: Screening, Cleaning/PPE, water supply, sanitation (Latrine, showers facilities), solid waste, waste-water treatment/disposal and medical-waste management and vector control. •Participating in the definition of the IPC objectives and in collaboration with the IPC committee, defining, implementing, and monitoring the IPC assessments using Comcare. •Setting up regular monitoring mechanisms for IPC activities, analyzing the results, identifying priorities, and proposing solutions when necessary. Establishing, maintaining, and improving surveillance systems for health care associated infections in the facility. Participating and contributing to the elaboration of the contingency plan and EPREP regarding the IPC aspects depending on context and possible scenarios. •In collaboration with each facility in-charge, ensuring and maintaining the implementation of the standard precautions and transmission-based precautions in health structures in all departments including sterilization, laundry, kitchen, hygiene agents and providing technical supervision and expertise, support, training, and guidance to the staff on IPC related issues using existing tools such as audits, checklist, surveillance, etc. and developing training plans as required. •Setting up mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the adherence to additional precautions for air, droplet and contact transmissible diseases when indicated, adapting general guidelines to the health facility realities, putting isolation algorithms in place, and ensuring adequate nosocomial outbreak detection and response. •Designing and ensuring the implementation of correct ‘clean and dirty flows’ inside the health facility. Ensuring that the environmental standards in the facility are respected and together with the health facility in-charges, that the essential requirements are available in the health structures •Guaranteeing compliance to aseptic care techniques and to the correct use of antiseptics, disinfectants, and detergents. •Monitoring and analyzing the consumption and the quality of IPC materials and equipment and reporting

Emergency Preparedness Planning •Lead response planning for ongoing responses to ensure all relevant parties at the district and field offices are aware of objectives of the project. •Support local health authorities to: - Assess and map existing and emerging health risks in the district and prepare a district-specific risk profile based on a risk assessment. - Assess health needs of affected populations in cooperation with technical units. - Assess capacities for emergency management, including preparedness, and identify resource needs and funding gaps •Maintain epidemic preparedness plans to ensure ERT and other relevant staff at field offices are ready to respond to rapid onset disasters. •Provide technical support to the DHTs, field-based staff and VHTs on emergency preparedness issues, including delivery of training and simulations (emergency preparedness / emergency response trainings). •Closely monitor and stay up to date on context-specific factors informing and/or impacting IRC EPP e.g., early warning data, security and access issues, other actor mapping, and make recommendations to the Field teams and ECHO Health Project coordinator accordingly. •Work closely with M&E unit to ensure data collection and monitoring tools are aligned with and responsive to emergency program M&E frameworks, core indicators, and inclusive of the needs of vulnerable groups. •Work in closely with HR Coordinator and maintain the country emergency team (CET) register, ensure its up to date and recruit replacement staff as and when required. •Coach and mentor staff and VHTs on emergency preparedness and response.

Emergency Response and Programming •Initiate, and as necessary lead, needs assessments and data collection to feed into project design; Support field teams where needed to develop/refine tools for, and/or conduct and compile information from, rapid assessments. •Lead and coordinate the delivery of IRC emergency interventions in response to e.g., displacement to due to conflict or natural disasters, disease outbreak, and other emergencies as they arise and based on needs. •Strengthen the epidemic surveillance and referral pathways from the community level to the district level. •Ensure an integrated sector approach when implementing a response through engagement and consultation with sector programme managers and field coordinators from the inception of the response. •With support from the supervisor and health managers, oversee the implementation of emergency response activities, ensuring timely procurement, spending, and implementation plans and that overall stated goals and objectives are tracked and met. •Ensure child protection, gender and conflict sensitivity are integrated into all response planning, learning and proposal development. •Ensure compliance with IRC policy, procedures and practices throughout preparedness and emergency response activities, including adherence to Do No Harm principles.

Coordination and Representation •In collaboration with field coordinators, closely monitor and communicate with key staff as needed on new or anticipated developments in population movements, security context, accessibility constraints, and natural or environmental phenomena that require epidemic surveillance. •Coordinate with health managers and ensure IRC is adequately represented at relevant district level forums (e.g., working groups, and other coordination meetings; launches and briefings) providing feedback, analysis, and recommendations to the field teams and the ECHO Health Project Coordinator. •Identify opportunities for and take forward concrete actions toward enhancing coordination with other NGOs during the onset of a rapid onset emergency response.

Reporting & Documentation •Compile or contribute to the writing of assessment and project reports. •Compile and disseminate any data, reports, briefings, etc. (IRC’s or other agencies’) relevant to IRC preparedness and response activities in a timely fashion. •Perform all other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

•Minimum of bachelor’s degree in public health or related subject. •3 years professional experience in implementation of projects in an emergency context preferable with an INGO. •Strong program/technical and budget management skills, planning, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation skills •Strong written and oral communication skills, effective in representation and liaison •Ability to work well in and to promote teamwork; comfortable in a multi-cultural environment, flexible and able to handle pressure well. •Excellent Computer skills: MS Word, Excel, STATA (or similar data analysis tool) and GIS preferred

Deadline for receiving applications is 21st June 2022.

Professional Standards The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

We are committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer generous benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female professionals to apply.

All staff, regardless of role, are required to create a culture of client responsiveness by requesting and using client feedback data to make decisions. In addition, all staff are expected to demonstrate inclusiveness when making programmatic decisions and working with clients, partners and colleagues from diverse backgrounds. You can read more about the IRC’s commitment to client responsiveness here: https://www.rescue.org/resource/client-responsiveness-introduction-and-faq

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.