The International Rescue Committee, one of the world's largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in scale and in the response required. No previous outbreak has had as many confirmed cases, or as wide of a geographic spread. The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the regions' borders, inaccessibility of the terrain and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission. The outbreak in Sierra Leone started in May 2014 and has rapidly spread due to pourous borders, insufficient contact tracing, community fears and misperceptions.
Currently the IRC is the lead organization in the Ebola Response Consortium (ERC) comprised of nine international NGOs working in all districts of the country on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in primary health care facilities and Ebola disease surveillance. The IRC will directly implement activities through the ERC in three districts - Bo, Kenema and Kono. In addition to the ERC, the IRC has existing health programs in Kono and Kenema districts supporting maternal, newborn and child health programs. Prior to the Ebola outbreak, the IRC was supporting two maternity wards and blood banks in Kono and Kenema Governement Hospitals, 169 Peripheral Health Units (PHU) in the two districts, over 2,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) implementing Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), and supporting the district health system to ensure the programs are of quality and sustainable. While these programs have changed since the Ebola outbreak, the IRC is continuing to support the continuation of primary health care.
SCOPE OF WORK: The Health Coordinator (HC)/ Senior Health Coordinator (SHC) will be the focal point for the IRC implementation of all health activities in Sierra Leone, specifically taking the lead on the management of staff in the three districts, implementation of the activities through the ERC, development of strategy to revise the non-Ebola health programs, and management of all health program grants. The position is based in Kenema with regular trips to the other IRC field sites, including Freetown for national representation. The Health Coordinator will report to the Deputy Director of Programs and will receive technical support from the Technical Advisor for Health Programs at HQ.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:
Technical Responsibilities:
- Lead the implementation of the IRC health programs at district level and directly manage the three Senior Health Program Managers
- Provide leadership, strategic vision and technical support to all aspects of the IRC Health program.
- Represent the IRC at the district and national level for primary health care activities; coordinate and collaborate with MoHS, WHO, CDC and other INGOs to coordinate for activities to improve the effectiveness of the strategy.
- Provide technical recommendations to the DHMT, NGOs and IRC health team at the district level to improve Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in primary health care facilities, disease surveillance, social mobilization, and coordination
- Lead the development of non-Ebola proposals, concept notes, and project redesign based on Ebola, and oversee the proper management of the programs, grants and human resources under the health sector.
- Ensure delivery of health program activities in a timely fashion, identifying new areas for program expansion and improvement as well as input on proposal development and report writing.
- Ensure that the health program is implemented in accordance with established MoHS and international protocols, guidelines and best practices.
- Oversee the health program budgets and grants, including monitoring of spending against BvAs, procurement planning, and activity plans to ensure accurate tracking of implementation and timely alerts to potential challenges/ obstacles.
- Work closely with the senior staff of the Education, WPE and other sectors to address any non-health interventions and advise in relation to the Ebola response.
- Work with the IRC Senior Management team in Sierra Leone and advise on contingency planning as the Ebola outbreak evolves.
- Conduct routine site visits to monitor program implementation, provide technical support to program staff, and to coordinate with district MoHS officials
Requirements:
- Clinical degree (MD, Nurse, Midwife) with experience in infectious disease control and/or holding public health qualifications (i.e., MPH, DrPH, PhD, etc), with at least 5 years of experience coordinating public health programs in humanitarian emergencies or post conflict situations. Experience with primary health care and reproductive health programs is an asset.
- Demonstrated knowledge of public health and surveillance practices. Experience with reinforcing infection control in health facilities is an asset.
- Extensive experience as a coordinator with strong management and training capacity in developing countries.
- Experience working in a multi-cultural setting and in preference in Africa
- Background in situation analysis, health assessments and program implementation; Experience implementing health programming in hard to reach areas/displaced communities
- Experience in capacity building and mentoring of health staff;
- Demonstrated leadership, communication, and facilitation skills;
- Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
- Willingness to travel extensively in Sierra Leone
- Excellent computer skills in programs such as: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint.
- Additional qualities: ability to multitask, ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, flexibility, and adaptability to transitions.
How to apply:
Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=c3RldmVueS4wMDQ4Mi4zODMwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay...
