Reference:DK/UGA/HND
Country: Uganda
Job Title: Health & Nutrition Director RWANU
Contract Grade:C
Contract Length:2 years
New Post or Replacement:Replacement
Accompanied / Unaccompanied:Unaccompanied
Exact Job Location:Moroto Town, Karamoja
Reports To:Programmes Director
Responsible For:100 National Staff and 1 Senior Nutritionist (International)
Liaises With:Programmes Director, Systems Director, Field Operations
Manager- Karamoja, Nutrition PSO, Chief and Dep Chief of Party RWANU, District Government, Technical Advisors-Concern
Who is Concern Worldwide?
We are an Irish-based international non-governmental humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and to working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. We work in partnership with the very poorest people in these countries, directly enabling them to improve their lives, as well as using our knowledge and experience to influence decisions made at a local, national and international level that can significantly reduce extreme poverty.
Concern Worldwide in Uganda
Concern Worldwide first started working in Uganda in 1980 with a famine relief operation in the Karamoja region. Since re-engagement in the 1990s Concern has implemented a range of projects supporting good governance and the decentralization process, enhancing people’s livelihoods through increasing agricultural production, mitigating against the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS and providing emergency water supply and sanitation services to IDPs.
Concern’s largest area of operation is the Karamoja region, an underdeveloped region one-day’s drive from Kampala. Our core programme in Karamoja is the USAID-funded Resiliency through Wealth Agriculture and Nutrition (RWANU) programme (2012-2017). This programme brings together livelihood and nutrition activities.
Role Summary
- The Health & Nutrition Directoris responsible for team leadership, overall management and successful implementation of Concern’s health and nutrition activities in the RWANU programme.
- RWANU is a USAID funded project which takes a preventive approach to reducing malnutrition, focusing on the first 1,000 days of life. The programme has a five year duration 2012-2017 and covers 4 districts in Southern Karamoja. RWANU is implemented through a consortium of three agencies ACDI/VOCA(prime), Welthungerhilfe and Concern.
- Concern is responsible for the delivery of health and nutrition interventions to 45,000 mothers in 4 districts. This programme comprises both direct implementation and support to government health services. Concern has a team of 124 staff (programme and support) working on RWANU with an annual budget of $2M.
- The RWANU Health and Nutrition component has a number of complimentary strategies aimed at improving nutrition outcomes for pregnant and lactating women and children. These strategies include supporting mother care groups at community level, promoting behaviour change on a number of critical health and nutrition behaviors, Water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities, promoting diet diversification through kitchen gardens, adressing gender through supporting men as agents of change, working with health centre management units and district health staff on health service provision and health accountability.
- The programme focuses on addressing chronic malnutrition but also has an early warning for acute malnutrition, supporting preparedness for nutrition crises through the nutrition Surge approach and initiating support to IMAM services as and when required. The Health & Nutrition Director also plays a key role in supporting cross-sectoral District Nutrition Coordination Committees as part of Concern’s contribution to Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) in Karamoja.
Detailed role specification
- Team Management & Leadership:
· Build a strong team by providing support in the form of coordination, planning, prioritization, coaching and supervision.
· Provide guidance and leadership to Concern RWANU team located across the Karamoja region
· Line management and mentoring of Senior Nutritionist, Health Manager, District Coordinators and close ccordination with Field Operations Manager
· Lead on roll-out of Concern’s organisational strategic initiatives in the Karamoja region
· Promote Concern Worldwide’s vision, mission and core values among staff
· Promote adherence to Concern’s organisational policies including Concern’s Programme Participant Protection Policy and Concern’s commitments as a member of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership
- Project Management:
· Manage the RWANU team and resources so that expected project targets and deliverables occur on time and within budget.
· Lead the team in programme planning. This includes annual Detailed Implementation Plans, activity sequencing, quarterly and monthly planning, quarterly reviews etc.
· Monitor progress in relation to the Detailed Implementation Plan (DIP) and take corrective action as required.
· Management of programme budget in line with Concern’s financial management procedures and donor requirements.
· Develop detailed annual procurement plan and liaise with the logistics department to ensure timely procurement and compliance
· Ensure that lne reports have regularly set and reviewed personal performance objectives which contribute to the delivery of RWANU.
· Participate in RWANU project reviews and management meetings with consortium partners
· In collaboration with the M&E function critically analyse project performance against anticipated results and use the information for project learning and adjustments
· Produce monthly, quarterly and annual reports for inclusion in internal (Country and HQ) and external (Ministry and donor) requirements.
- Technical Oversight
- The Health and Nutrition Director with the support of Senior Nutritionist (International position) will provide oversight and technical expertise to all health and nutrition aspects of the project which include:
· Quality control of the mother caregroup activities
· Supporting Integration of Agriculture, WASH and livelihood initiatives in care group approach
· Strengthening sustainability across health and nutrition activities in RWANU
· Supporting project activities on health unit management committees and health accountability activities
· Leading on new technical developments as and when they arise.
- Learning and Communication:
· Support the team in survey and assessment analysis and distil key learnings on the caregroup approach and malnutrition prevention work undertaken by RWANU
· Prepare updates and presentations on project progress and learning for a variety of a stakeholders and audiences
· Participate in internal working groups related to project approaches e.g. care groups, integrating agriculture/WASH and nutrition, gender, health accountability
· Lead on developing and disseminating learning on care group approaches/
- District Coordination and Representation:
· Participate and represent Concern in Karamoja regional interagency meetings.
· Ensure effective dialogue and relationships with local government and non-government stakeholders promoting synergy and cross learning.
· Liaise with local government leadership in four districts, facilitate local government participation in project planning and ensuring reports are submitted to various departments.
· Support District Nutrition Coordination Committees in target districts as part of Uganda Nutrition Action Plan (UNAP) and Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement.
Person specification
ESSENTIAL
Education, Qualifications & Experience Required:
· Advanced degree in Health-related field (maternal and child health, public health, health management)
Experience Required:
· Demonstrated leadership skills and excellent interpersonal skills.
· Demonstrated managerial and organisational skills in a development setting
· Experience in working with health systems in challenging development contexts.
· Experience in managing large teams and significant budgets
· Ability to coordinate teams and activities across various locations
· Ability to coach, mentor and develop staff.
· Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills
Concern’s Code of Conduct & Programme Participant Protection Policy (P4)
Concern has a Staff Code of Conduct and a Programme Participant Protection Policy which have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of programme participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Concern staff, consultants, visitors to the programme and partner organization, and the standards of behaviour expected of them.
In this context staff have a responsibility to the organization to strive for, and maintain, the highest standards in the day-to-day conduct in their workplace in accordance with Concern’s core values and mission.
Any candidate offered a job with Concern Worldwide will be expected to sign the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment. By signing the Programme Participant Protection Policy and the Concern Staff Code of Conduct candidates acknowledge that they have understood the contents of both the Concern Staff Code of Conduct and the Programme Participant Protection Policy and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these two documents.
Clearance Checks
Concern receives a substantial amount of funding from external donors each year. Increasingly donors are introducing requirements whereby future funding is conditional on Concern ensuring that the names of any new employee or volunteer do not appear on terrorism lists generated by the European Union (List of person, groups and entities to which Regulation (EC No. 2580/2001 applies), the US Government (Office of Foreign Assets Control list of specially designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) and the United Nations (Consolidated List).
Any offer of employment (either paid or voluntary) with Concern Worldwide will not be made pending a clearance check being conducted on the applicant. For additional information please consult our web site or contact the Human Resource Division in our Head Office.
HOW TO APPLY:
All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net by the closing date. CV’s should be no more than 4 pages in length.
Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be shortlisted on a regular basis and we may offer posts before the closing date.
Concern Worldwide is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
