Health and Nutrition Program Manager

Position: Health and Nutrition Program Manager (Interim)

Location: Asia, Africa or Middle East

Reports to: Country Director

About RI: Relief International (RI) is a home to teams of humanitarian activist-professionals committed to transforming adversity into renewal for the world’s most vulnerable populations. By partnering with beneficiaries and communities on the front-lines, RI innovatively bridges the gap between immediate relief and long-term community development.

About RI Interim Positions:

We are currently accepting applications for interim positions for short-term assignments (varying from weeks to months) to manage periods of transitions within Relief International.

Occasionally, Relief International has a need for various interim positions including the following throughout the three Regions that Relief International services, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

• Country Director
• Operations Manager
• WASH Program Manager
• Program Managers
• Protection Technical Officer/Manager
• Finance Manager
• Health Program Manager
• Education Program Manager
• HR Manager

If you are interested in short-term assignments and would like to be considered for future interim positions, please apply below. In your cover letter, please let us know your rate, length of assignment you are interested in, what country or countries you will not work in.

As an InterimHealth and Nutrition Program Manager, you may be asked to handle all or some of the following responsibilities and duties.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

Reporting to the Country Director, and working closely with the Health team in Relief International’s Country Office will:

• Lead and assist in the comprehensive field assessment and analysis of health / humanitarian contexts in the country where working;
• Plan and implement Relief International’s response to the present health and nutrition needs, in line with approved proposals and budgets and in close collaboration with the other members of the Country Management Team, MOH and other relevant actor
• Together with the Country Director and other relevant Sector leads actively define and develop the medium-long term strategy of Relief International in the country in line with national and organizational priorities.
• Provide leadership, planning, technical support and management to Relief International’s country programs and ensure the program adheres to and is in line with best practices and quality standards
• Responsible for developing an effective monitoring and evaluation framework for the program based on the organizational Results Framework
• Ensure an effective surveillance system is in place
• Represent Relief International and advocate on health and nutrition issues to national authorities, international donors, international organizations and other NGOs at the national level

Responsibilities
Leadership

• Coordinate and technically lead Relief International’s health and nutrition programs and activities
• Develop, maintain and adapt a coherent program (health and nutrition) strategy
• Ensure the effective and qualitative implementation of Relief International’s programming
• Create a shared vision, among all staff, of Relief International's health program aims.

Program Development

• Do scoping of potential new areas for engagement through desktop secondary data, stakeholder analysis and field assessments.
• Assess scope for partnership opportunities and strengthen the existing with UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNDP, IMA/WB, DFID, EU, USAID, CIDA and MoH etc.).
• Provide in-depth gap and bottleneck analysis of the health system at all levels, with focus on the district and community levels that will inform the medium to long term strategy
• Develop Relief International’s emergency preparedness capacity in relation to the humanitarian context and advise the Country Director accordingly
• Prepare and write timely and accurate donor proposals and reports. These documents should reflect progress against set objectives and/or newly defined needs supported by appropriate data presentation and contextual analysis
• Lead the preparations and write up a timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and donor technical (health and nutrition) reports submitted to the Country Director, MoH, and other relevant actors.

Program Support

• Ensure implementation of programs in line with the approved project proposal and budget, anticipating and communicating issues/problems in advance to CD and preparing written amendments as required
• Provide technical assistance and oversight to Relief International’s (health and nutrition) programs in close collaboration with relevant country and sector leads.
• Ensure quality of the program through compliance and adherence to Relief International, Donor and National policies, procedures and guidelines, as well as internationally recognized standards (e.g. the Sphere standards)
• Support the project teams in the fulfillment of their duties according to program requirement in particular providing supervision, direction, coaching, mentoring and training based on training needs assessment of staff.
• Develop emergency preparedness plan for the area / Counties of operations in collaboration with the Sector leads and County Health Department members
• Ensure that appropriate systems and plans are in place for dealing with emergencies, and provide leadership for staff and volunteers in emergencies
• Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework in line with Relief International’s program indicators and results.
• Ensure appropriate monitoring tools (data collection forms, tally sheets, supervisory checklist, HMIS, DHIS, etc.) are in place and staff are trained in their use.
• Promote and encourage community participation in and ownership of health and nutrition activities at the community level.
• Ensure that medical stocks, supplies and other logistic supports are properly planned, procured, stored, distributed and managed, to avoid stock outs
• Ensure good medical and nutrition commodities management and procurement systems are in place

Technical Support

• Ensure staff has copies of and trained on relevant protocols and treatment guidelines (CMAM, IMCNI (Integrated Management of Childhood and Newborn Illnesses)), etc.
• Ensure provision of EPI services in all supported facilities with coordinated targeted outreach to hard to reach communities
• Implement a Health Management Information System with integrated disease surveillance and reporting system according to the MoH Guidelines and Relief International and Donor systems
  Setup a coordinated referral system linking the primary health care facilities to the secondary level hospitals
• Support identification and training of community health volunteers to conduct basic health care preventive interventions including health and nutrition education, support to EPI, sanitation and other outreach activities in the target areas
• Establish Supplementary and Therapeutic Feeding Programs operated through Health Facilities, targeting children under five and PLW using the CMAM approach / protocol.
• Ensure proper communication, coordination and harmonization of activities with the different stakeholders involved in food/nutrition activities
• Ensure IEC materials and key messages in nutrition for the targeted beneficiaries, through pamphlets, posters, Radio spots etc. are in place take the lead in the preparation and implementation of nutrition surveys when required supervision
• Ensure program activities are implemented in accordance with the proposed activities including ensuring that procurement is carried according to project plan
• Conduct baseline and periodic capacity assessment for all the community and health facilities’ staff with on the job mentorship and formal training for national staff in close coordination with the Sector leads.
• Lead the Sector coordinators to design a supportive supervision plan to/for clinical staff and other community based health workers to monitor the implementation of the emergency project activities as well as operational functions and provide feedback to the field staff
• Regular on site and remote supervision of staff and their activities

Monitoring and Evaluation
Develop a Monitoring & Evaluation framework and corresponding tool and systems including Relief International’s HIS for the program:

• Constant assessment and monitoring of the medical and nutritional needs of the community and guiding of activities to respond accordingly
• Help the Sector leads to monitor and continuously assess health risks and disease outbreaks in the project are
• Prepare the technical reports including monthly and quarterly donor reports and data analysis and management
• Guide the Sector leads to monitor the progress of project activities and core Key Performance indicator targets outlined in the proposals
• Ensure that the MOH and other partners receive regular activity reports and statistics
• Conduct and train health staff on surveys, causal analysis, coverage monitoring and other assessments of nutritional status of target groups
• Support Sector leads to collect HMIS data forms, and correct, and discuss trends/data with MHTs and Heads of Clinics to monitor health and nutrition surveillance and responses

Capacity building

• Enhance program and technical (health and nutrition) management skills of Sector leads and national team through formal and non-formal training
• Actively assist and/or Supervise the recruitment of key project staff at national level
• Assess the Sector leads to identify the training needs of health staff and develop a training program to meet these needs

Representation

• Co-ordination and representation with the MOH to ensure all project activities are carried out with their agreement and, as far as possible, their participation
• Co-ordination and representation with UN, donors and other NGO
• Build professional networks with stakeholders in-country
• Contribute towards the dissemination of Relief International’s health work through publications (general, health sector, academic literature, etc.) in consultation with Relief International Country Director
• Represent Relief International in coordination meetings at governmental levels when possible
• Encourage discussion with stakeholders as to how the prevention and treatment of malnutrition can be more effectively addressed at provincial and national levels

Staff Management / Human Resource

• Manage Health and Nutrition Sector leads effectively, including appropriate and systematic delegation
• Co-ordinate and support, national and international staff teams, ensuring that the individuals work effectively together and achieve the program objectives
• Establish and/or maintain HR management tools for the medical teams e.g. staff appraisals
• Maintain good inter-team communications, engender good team dynamics, and take suitable action when problems occur
• Undertake medical staff appraisals for staff under direct line-management and ensure for others to undertake appraisals of medical staff under their management
• Take an active role in the development of a training plan for the Relief International project and in the capacity building of staff
• Identify staffing requirement and recruit national staff as required to fulfill program goals and requirements
• Participate in national staff work supervision and performance appraisal
• Responsible for training of all medical staff to ensure the maximum use of their skills and their full and effective participation in medical activities whilst conforming to Relief International and MOH protocol
• Responsible for international staff health within the project areas including first aid provisions, medical evacuation and general monitoring of staff welfare

Essential Qualifications, experience and competences

• Medical doctor with a Masters in Public Health, and strong post qualification experience, preferably in health development or humanitarian aid field work.
• Extensive experience of managing health projects in emergency and transitional / development contexts
• Proven experience of using appropriate management tools to ensure effective running of the programs, staff management and development
• Strong experience in training, capacity building and community participation
• Experience with HMIS and epidemiological data analysis
• Strong experience in nutritional programming including assessment, survey, supplementary and therapeutic feeding
• Strong experience communicating and representing, at a senior level, with a range of people, organizations and culture
• Experience of managing health teams with the ability to motivate and encourage staff
• Consistent experience of identifying and analyzing opportunities that contribute to strategic aims and translate them into practical plans and action
• Good ability and flexibility to understand the cultural and political environment and to work well with local health representative
• Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English
• Ability to work independently and as a collaborative team member in complex and often difficult operating environments
• Experience of living or working in different / challenging cultures and countries
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, especially Word and Excel
• Proven ability to reflect on and learn from personal and program performance and act upon lessons learned
• Experience of establishing and maintaining strong working relationships with colleagues from different departments and cultures
• Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
• Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues
• An understanding of and commitment to Relief International’s mission and values

HOW TO APPLY:

Please visit: http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH07/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=RI&cws=4&ri...