Senior Technical Officer; Gender and Youth Sexual Risk Reduction

TITLE: Senior Technical Officer; Gender and Youth Sexual Risk Reduction – SHIPP
PROGRAMME: South African Sexual HIV Prevention Programme (SHIPP)
REPORTS TO: Technical Director: Gender and Youth SHIPP (EngenderHealth)

EngenderHealth works to improve the health and well-being of people in the poorest communities of the world. We do this by sharing our expertise in sexual and reproductive health and transforming the quality of health care. We promote gender equity, advocate for sound practices and policies, and inspire people to assert their rights to better, healthier lives. Working in partnership with local organisations, we adapt our work in response to local needs.

JOB SUMMARY:
The South African Sexual HIV Prevention Programme (SHIPP) strengthens the leadership capacity of the South African government (SAG) to achieve HIV prevention impact through a project structure of seconded experts and short term technical assistance (STTA). Seconded technical officers are key members of cross-functional leadership capacity teams (LCTs), who will work across the health and education sectors and across jurisdictional levels. Technical officers will be technical resources alongside permanent government staff and will be responsible for daily on-the-job learning, coaching, and mentoring to build SAG ownership of leadership tools and approaches. Technical officers will actively support the implementation of SHIPP project activities and ensure high-quality implementation of HIV prevention initiatives at national and district levels through close collaboration with the SHIPP quality improvement and evaluation teams. Specifically, technical officers will coordinate technical support and capacity building across the team of seconded staff at their assignment location. Technical officers will train and mentor the permanent staff at the assigned institution or organization, to build the leadership capacity of relevant government and community stakeholders.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Provide technical support to Department of Basic Education (DBE) and subsequent SAG partners in HIV, Gender and Youth sexual risk reduction activities.
• Coordinate all logistics for stakeholder and advisory board meetings as well as the development of effective and evidence-based policies, strategies, guidelines and programmes to reduce new HIV infections amongst adolescents and youth, and to mitigate the impact of HIV infection on the education sector at scale,
• Manage and conduct formative research that will inform the development of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) curriculum,
• Provide support and advise on the development of Life Skills curriculum
• Develop and deliver capacity building events and activities “in and out of school” settings,
• Assess needs and resources through literature review, focus groups and interviews in order to inform the development of Life Skills lesson plans, Align policies, strategies, grant frameworks and programmes to national and international reporting requirements on adolescent friendly SRH services,
• Bring innovation and an evidence-base output to adolescent friendly services especially in existing programmes within the districts.
• Identify and/or develop and integrate HIV indicators into adolescent SRH monitoring and evaluation systems,
• Liaise and cooperate with national, provincial and district SAG counterparts in health, education & research sectors and civil society organisations that offer programmes targeting adolescent and youth sectors on SRH services,
• Liaise with SANAC partners that work with the adolescents sector on HIV prevention activities and
• Represent SHIPP at , conferences or meetings as required;
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
• A Master’s Degree in Health Promotion, Public Health, Health Sciences, Psychology, Social Sciences, or related fields.
• Understanding of the policy mandate on HIV prevention and health services and education within schools and out of school.
• Technical experience and expertise in adolescent development, curriculum development and learning theory.
• Technical expertise and experience in HIV prevention programming, adolescent friendly services and gender integration.
• Minimum 10 years’ experience in capacity building, technical support and integrated service delivery with a focus on youth.
• Three or more years of experience in teaching, training or facilitating groups.
• Knowledge of DBE Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), its rationale and its background.
• Previous work with government organisations preferred.
• Ability to work well in teams and across sector with multi-stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, and to manage several tasks concurrently.
• Excellent interpersonal, organisational, oral communication and writing skills.
• Ability to speak fluently about sexuality in English and one other local language.
• Excellent interpersonal skills (e.g., active listening, cultural competence, responsiveness)
• Demonstrated computer competence including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Valid drivers license and ability to travel within South Africa.

Short-listed candidates may be required to make a presentation to the interview panel and undergo a writing test.
To apply for this position please visit the careers page at www.engenderhealth.org

EngenderHealth provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

Senior Technical Officer; Gender and Youth Sexual Risk Reduction