National Malaria Specialist

  • Full Time
  • Zambia
  • - / Month
  • Applications have closed

Jhpiego

Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For 40 years in East and Southern Africa, Jhpiego has empowered front-line health workers by designing and implementing effective, low-cost, hands-on solutions that strengthen the delivery of health care services, following the household-to-hospital continuum of care. Jhpiego partners with organizations from the community to the national levels, building sustainable, local capacity through advocacy, policy development, human resources for health and quality and performance improvement approaches.  For further information about Jhpiego, please visit our website at www.jhpiego.org.

Jhpiego is partnering with PATH to implement the USAID-funded End Malaria Program (EMP).  Guided by the National Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan and in collaboration with the End Malaria Council (EMC), EMP will build on achievements of the USAID-funded Program for the Advancement of Malaria Outcomes.  Jhpiego will provide technical leadership for EMP’s case management (CM) and malaria in pregnancy (MIP) portfolio that assists the government of the republic of Zambia (GRZ) to accelerate progress toward its goal of eliminating local malaria infection and disease in Zambia. This will be accomplished by achieving high levels of effective coverage with high-quality malaria control interventions, leading to major reductions in malaria prevalence, incidence, severe disease, and death in the four geographical high-burden provinces: Luapula, Northern, Muchinga, and Eastern., five-year End Malaria Program (EMP).

Jhpiego invites applications for the following position for EMP. All successful candidates selected for these positions will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Position: National Malaria Specialist

Location: Jhpiego Zambia Office

Reporting to: National Senior Malaria Advisor

Overview

Working with the National Senior Malaria Advisor, the National Malaria Specialist will oversee implementation of EMP’s malaria CM and MIP portfolio.  The position will provide technical guidance in the development and implementation of activities in districts and facilities, promote the uptake of intermittent prevention of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) through antenatal care clinics, participate in National CM technical advisory groups, and use databases that monitor MIP and CM achievements. This position will ensure the technical and methodological soundness of activities and, in collaboration with the EMP consortium, and support the design of service delivery strategies, based on sound and current scientific evidence. The position will sit at the National Malaria Elimination Centre.

Responsibilities

  • Provide oversight of implementation in MIP and CM at National provincial and district level ensuring activities meet of EMP’s technical expectations.
  • Promote WHO’s new recommendations on intermittent prevention of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) uptake and guidelines, as a core component of the WHO three-pronged approach
  • Support NMEC and Provincial, District Health Management Teams to include male involvement in MIP to improve IPTp uptake.
  • Assist in sustaining and improving existing databases that monitor achievements in MIP at district and contribute to provincial and national level achievements
  • Provide leadership in creating  demand for antenatal care services and MIP services through community approaches targeting pregnant women
  • Guide integration of MIP services with maternal, newborn and child health
  • Ensure NMEC participate in the national Safe motherhood TWG, contributing technical updates
  • Ensure use of evidence-based clinical training materials, job aids, and curricula, supervisory systems and other training materials for implementation of MIP in line with the needs of USAID and the Government of Zambia
  • Provide mentoring and capacity building at the individual and organizational level in MIP prevention and treatment
  • Lead “train the trainer” sessions, site strengthening, in-service and/or pre-service education, follow-up and supportive supervision to project-supported health facilities within the scope of the project
  • Work with colleagues to develop a cadre of MIP champions who will facilitate links to other community-level health programs/services
  • Lead the formulation of approaches for scale up of MIP services in districts, including accessing hard-to-reach populations and integration of services
  • Support the NMEC to coordinate MIP technical working groups at national and district levels. Actively participate in MIP technical advisory group meetings, and represent EMP in professional forums by participating and presenting in pertinent meetings and conferences
  • Analyze potential MIP and CM strategies within the context of the program and explain these, as necessary, to policymakers, funding agencies, and/or program staff
  • Work with health care providers, local authorities, community members and program team members to identify clinical, community-based service delivery issues that impede access to care
  • Identify appropriate facility and community-based strategies to address MIP service delivery gaps
  • Identify clinical training needs and assist in the design and implementation of measures to address those needs
  • Formulate and test sustainable solutions to service delivery gaps, utilizing cross-cutting approaches such as performance and quality improvement and in-service training/pre-service education
  • Advocate with national, provincial, district and community-level health institutions to raise awareness about their role in improving health outcomes in MIP
  • Guide district health teams, professional associations, other district stakeholders in the use of evidenced-based standards for competency in MIP
  • Mobilize national level clinical/technical expertise to resolve clinical issues that affect local public policy or program design
  • Collaborate with all local stakeholders and implementing partners, especially the Ministry of Health, and other implementing partners, in order to ensure that all activities conform to the national requirements and regulations
  • Conduct regular reporting to the National Senior Malaria Advisor and EMP Technical Director and program and technical staff, of successes, challenges and lessons learned in implementation related to areas of technical expertise
  • Document and maintain an inventory of successful tools and approaches for MIP
  • Lead in development and submission of abstracts, papers and presentations to journals and conferences
  • Contribute to annual work planning and preparation of donor reports
  • Work collaboratively with finance staff to prepare activity budgets and track expenditures
  • Contribute to maintaining excellent relationships with USAID Zambia and in-country stakeholders and develop rapid responses to USAID and Mission requests
  • Work closely with the technical team on setting program priorities and directions, and responding to requests for support from local counterparts.
  • Work with M&E staff to design, implement a plan to track data/results related to maternal, newborn and child health
  • Contribute to development of the project strategic plan, annual workplans, and program monitoring, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, USAID and other stakeholders
  • Ensure timely implementation of all program inputs related to MIP and CM, including planning and implementing assessments, site strengthening, follow-up and supervision, advocacy, demand creation, policy support, capacity-building and M&E across program sites, in close coordination and collaboration with USAID
  • Oversee data collection, analysis and development of conclusions and recommendations to further strengthen program implementation
  • Advocate for availability of resources and supplies required for MIP and CM activity implementation

Required Qualifications:

  • A medical doctor /licentiate or nurse with Master’s in Public Health.
  • At least 7 years’ experience applying maternal and child health, malaria in pregnancy and case management programs
  • Qualification as a “master trainer”; experience training health workers on clinical aspects related to family planning/reproductive health/Malaria
  • Experience in building capacity at individual and organizational levels
  • Skill in at least two or more of the following technical areas: strengthening service delivery programs, training, pre-service education, performance and quality improvement, monitoring and evaluation
  • Experience with a mix of practical technical skills in malaria necessary for strengthening malaria service delivery at the provincial, clinical and community-level
  • The ability to liaise with senior MOH officials and dignitaries, executives of NGOs, FBOs, CBOs, the for-profit business community, and senior members of the donor community;
  • Demonstrated in-depth understanding of Zambian healthcare system, particularly the public health system, experience living and working in Zambia preferred
  • Strong oral and written communication and presentations skills in English
  • Strong skills in word processing and Excel spread sheets
  • Proven track record managing a project team composed of several technical experts and fostering team work
  • Ability to coach, mentor and develop technical capacity in national programs and technical staff
  • Ability to travel up to 50% time
  • Familiarity with USAID or other USG administrative, management and reporting procedures and systems preferred

Please send your application letter and curriculum vitae only in a single document, stating the position and location e.g. (Provincial Program Officer – Luapula) in the subject line to the Human Resources Manager: [email protected]

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted 

Closing date is Tuesday December 1, 2020


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