Regional Health & HIV Advisor, East & Southern Africa

Grade: 2

Reports to: Regional Programme Manager, East & Southern Africa

Child Protection Level: 3

Based: Nairobi or Pretoria

Length of contract: 2 years fixed term

Job Purpose

The purpose of this role is to support Save the Children country programmes in East and Southern Africa (ESA) in the design and delivery of quality health programmes.

This support will cover a number of key areas, including programme development, quality assurance, advocacy, recruitment, capacity-building, knowledge management and networking, and will be delivered both from a distance and in regular country visits.

The Regional Health Advisor will be expected to work closely with a range of colleagues in country programmes, the ESA Regional Office and London, in particular the Health & HIV Team.

Save the Children is committed to making a significant contribution to the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals, in particular MDGs 4 and 5, through its global EVERY ONE campaign.

In countries with high levels of maternal and child mortality Save the Children is scaling up its work in support of programmes aimed at saving children’s lives and strengthening the health systems that are vital for the health of children and their mothers; working with governments and other stakeholders to ensure the design and implementation of costed national plans for maternal and child health; and raising public awareness and building coalitions so that high levels of child and maternal mortality will no longer be tolerated.

The Regional Health & HIV Advisor will play a key role in helping the EVERY ONE campaign achieve its objectives in East and Southern Africa.

Key Accountabilities

Support to Programme Development & Delivery

• Provide technical support to the design and implementation of country health programmes, ensuring they are in line with Save the Children’s global EVERY ONE campaign, the Health & HIV Strategy and other Save the Children strategic documents, national policies and international best practice.
• Contribute to the development of country programmes’ advocacy strategies, including stakeholder analysis and message development, and support them in the delivery of strategic advocacy towards government, donors and other key health stakeholders.
• Liaise with Technical advisors in Headquarters on all programmatic issues including Nutrition, Health, New Born & Reproductive health.
• In cooperation with the EVERY ONE M&E Advisor in London, support the design and development of M&E systems to enable country programmes to demonstrate measurable outcomes and impact of their work, and facilitate the incorporation of M&E findings into country and global programming and policy.
• In cooperation with the Emergency Health Advisor in London, support country programmes in the development of Emergency Preparedness Plans, advise on the potential need for and content of emergency interventions and, where required, directly support the emergency response in health.

HR, Mentoring and Capacity-Building

• Support country programmes in effective health resource planning and management, including identifying and addressing technical capacity gaps.
• Support country programmes in the selection and recruitment of senior health and EVERY ONE technical staff.
• Provide mentoring support to senior country programme technical staff.
• Encourage the development of peer networks of health colleagues in the country programmes in the ESA region.

External Networking & Representation

• Represent Save the Children’s work to relevant regional bodies and fora, identifying changes to their policies and priorities that may create opportunities or threats for Save the Children’s objectives and funding goals.
• Engage with other technical advisors from Alliance.

Internal Networking and Cooperation

• Promote the sharing of good practice and learning in relation to health programming and other EVERY ONE activities among country programmes in the ESA region, including country programmes managed by other members of Save the Children International.
• In cooperation with the Regional Programme Manager, support co-ordination and ensure synergies across country programmes and thematic activities.
• Advise the Regional Director, Country Directors and other relevant colleagues on health-related developments at country, regional and global levels.

Person Specification

• Internationally recognised qualification in public health (MPH or equivalent).
• Demonstrated experience in the design, implementation and management of public health programmes in an international development context.
• Technical expertise and understanding of key issues in the field of maternal, newborn and child health, and HIV and AIDS.
• Good understanding of health systems, planning and financing issues at national and sub-national levels.
• Demonstrated experience of emergency preparedness planning and response, including responding to epidemics.
• Demonstrated experience of developing effective working relationships with senior stakeholders from government agencies, international organisations, donors, academics and opinion-leaders, including successful advocacy and influencing.
• Strong inter-personal and advisory skills, including the demonstrated ability to guide and influence colleagues.
• Successful track record in securing programme funding from international donors and other financing sources.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills and the ability to think and plan strategically.
• Excellent communication skills, including fluency in written and spoken English and demonstrated experience of proposal and report writing.
• Commitment to Save the Children’s mission and values.
• Willingness / ability to travel regularly.
• IT skills (Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook).

To Apply

Interested candidates should apply online via: www.savethechildren.org.uk/jobs

Job reference - 6125