Senior Health and Nutrition Manager in Sudan

 Senior Health and Nutrition Manager Location: Nyala, South Darfur with roving responsibility to all Merlin programme sites in Darfur, Sudan Responsible to: Country Health Director Responsible for: Health Coordinators, Nutrition Coordinator, and Reproductive Health (RH) Coordinator Duration: ASAP for 24 months Salary: £37,180 – £37,930 per annum pro-rata (dependent on relevant experience) inclusive of cost of living allowance. Benefits: Insurance cover, accommodation, travel, R&R, annual leave entitlement of 24 days per annum rising to 30 days at the completion of 12 months of continuous employment with Merlin Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date. Please note that this is an unaccompanied position Merlin Merlin is an international health charity, saving lives in the world’s toughest places. Merlin responds with healthcare, when people are overwhelmed by natural disaster, conflict or disease and in need of immediate help. We focus on treating those who are beyond the reach of existing health services. After the immediate crisis, Merlin stays on to assist recovery. Using our expertise, we support health workers and strengthen existing health services. We build resilience by helping those at risk of future health disasters, to be better prepared. We think everyone should have access to lasting healthcare. We believe good health is fundamental to transforming people’s lives, that’s why Merlin is A Force for Health. Context and Background The goal of Merlin Sudan mission is to address the health and humanitarian needs resulting from widespread displacement of the population caught up in conflict and incapacity of the local health system to meet the needs both in emergency and transitional context. Over two million people are now thought to have been displaced since the commencement of hostilities in the Darfur region, many of whom continue to be in acute need of emergency assistance. These needs are further exacerbated by seasonal rains & food shortages due to interruptions of agricultural cycles. Developments at the peace process level have initiated population returns in certain areas, while other areas continue to experience displacement. In addition, the capacity of the national health system is heavily disrupted due to long term conflict that has led to the host community being underserved/unserved in essential health care. Merlin Job Description 2 Merlin has been working in Darfur since late 2004, and currently runs 5 field project offices across South Darfur. However, the long range strategic plan (2012 – 2015) includes expansion of its programme within Darfur and into other parts of the Sudan, deepen its working relationship with host government partners at all levels, develop a gradual exit strategy to allow the smooth transfer of specific health facilities to MOH, and support affected people with emergency response, recovery and resilience programmes. The primary focus of Merlin program is primary health care and community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). The special emphasis is given to maternal and child health care. The program strategy includes establishment of static and outreach clinics in the IDP camps and unserved rural areas to ensure access to essential care and building local capacity through a community based outreach component and engage with Ministry of Health at State and Locality levels in regards to collaboration, coordination and technical support supervision. The new 2015 long range strategic plan allows Merlin to integrate emergency response with early recovery and building resilience and expand country programme portfolio in Darfur states and elsewhere in the country. In 2012, Merlin plans to be operational in West Darfur to be able to provide improved primary health care services to IDPs, returnees and host communities in the selected locations to consolidate program quality, improve the community involvement in the program planning and implementation through a revised community based approach, capacity building of national staffs and strengthen the capacity of local health system by increased engagement with the renowned partnership with MOH in regards to support, supervision, training and policy development. Main purpose of the role The Senior Health and Nutrition Manager employed by Merlin will be responsible for providing technical support for effective implementation of quality health and nutrition program in East, West and South Darfur. Due to the nature of the program and the geographical locations of the projects in three different states, the health and nutrition manager will be roving between these three states and the country office and thus will not be based in any states or in the country office permanently. The SHNM is part of the senior management team reporting directly to the Country Health Director. This position has no budget management responsibility. Reporting to the CHD, the SHNM position holder will be the technical line manager of health coordinators, nutrition and reproductive health coordinators in all projects in Darfur. And as a counterpart and team mate, the SHNM coordinates work with the Operations Manager, and respective project coordinators to ensure required support is provided to the programme in all states. Overall Objectives (scope) Merlin Job Description 3 The SHNM is responsible for the technical management of health and nutrition programme in all states. Merlin will be working closely in partnership with the Ministry of Health and communities to provide Primary Health Care and nutrition services to vulnerable populations. Responsibilities Technical support to projects and country team • Provide technical support to all project medical team members in fulfilment of their duties according to project objectives. • Support the project medical team to ensure the availability and compliance to international and national policies and guidelines regarding primary health care and nutrition program • Support the country logistic team for management of warehousing, monitoring consumption and stock transfer of medicines, consumables and medical equipment. Assessment mission and Emergency response • Lead the assessment team for any health need assessment mission that may be conducted in the states. Write the assessment report and submit to CHD. • Assist the CHD in the analysis of the health and humanitarian situation of the states and the country. • Develop, maintain and update of an emergency response preparedness plan for possible health emergencies in the three states • Lead the outbreak investigation team to conduct any outbreak investigation that may be conducted in the states • Lead the emergency response team for any emergency response initiated at state level Programme development and reporting • Assist the Country Health Director in developing concept notes and project proposals. • Guide the project medical teams while implementing new projects • Regularly carry out operational research, program achievement review and lessons learnt study to provide evidence for further program development • Ensure project medical team submit monthly technical reports on time, provide technical feedback on the quality of the reports, collate all state specific reports and submit one combined report to CHD on time. • Guide the project medical team to draft donor reports on time, provide technical feedback on the quality of the reports, collate all state specific reports and submit one combined report to CHD on time. Monitoring and Evaluation • Conduct regular monitoring and supervision visits to all three projects located in three different states, write visit report with clear objectives, achievements, findings and recommendations. Merlin Job Description 4 • Ensure the health information system (HIS) is implemented and used by all project teams for monitoring progress of achievement against set indicators and targets. • Monthly checking HIS submitted by the project teams for data validity, inconsistencies and errors. Provide feedback to the project teams on the quality of the data. Collate all HIS files and submit the corrected version to CHD on time. • Carry out project evaluation as per designed and requested by CHD or country management team. • Carry out periodic review of the achievements against project indicators and targets in collaboration with project medical team. Share the report of the review exercise with CHD and CMT. • Lead nutrition surveys in collaboration with nutrition coordinator and write survey reports. Human Resource Management and staff health • Technically manage and support health coordinators, nutrition coordinator and RH coordinator. This includes updating job description, setting performance objectives and conduct performance appraisal on time. • Support the project team in ensuring first aid kit is available at all level and updated, staffs are trained on first aid. Training and capacity building • Support the project medical teams for capacity development and training of all medical staffs through on the job and formal training. • Lead the training need assessment for technical staffs in collaboration with project health coordinators; identify the training needs for the health care staffs. Develop annual training plan based on the need. • Design and implement a training calendar for Darfur mission. • Coordinate with SMOH, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA and other key stakeholders for addressing the training needs across the projects. • Ensure a set of standard training manuals available in all project sites for reference • Maintain a training database for technical staffs in collaboration with HR manager. Coordination and Representation • Regularly organize quarterly coordination meeting for technical staffs in all three states • Participate in health and nutrition cluster meeting as per the need arise • Participate meetings with different stakeholders for the purpose of Merlin’s program interest at state level whenever there is a need arise. Other • Fulfil other roles as per specific terms of reference developed by the line manager. Merlin Job Description 5  Respect all Merlin organizational and country specific policies, procedures and regulations and ensure that they also adhered to by all Merlin staff in the district. Person Specification Essential Qualifications, experience and competences • Qualified Medical Doctor with Masters in Public Health • Substantial experience of health and nutrition programming in developing countries and in post conflict environments • Substantial international experience of working in health and nutrition sector managing a team • Experience in developing and managing CMAM program, conducting nutrition surveys and making decision based on analysis • Experience in epidemiological analysis. Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, MS Access, SPSS, ENA, SMART • Substantial experience of emergency preparedness, planning and response. • Strong experience in maternal and child health program, IMCI, Immunization and safe motherhood. • Experience in Malaria, TB, HIV programming • Strong experience in drug management including working with logistics to develop procurement plans • Experience in leading a response team after a disease outbreak • Experience in leading an assessment mission • Experience in managing a project with multiple sites • Experience in programme development and proposal writing, report writing • Specific donor experience of OFDA and ECHO • Experience in writing donor reports for an entire country program • Experience in Monitoring and Evaluation, • Knowledge and understanding of project management tools • Experience of representation and interagency coordination (cluster mechanism) at national and provincial levels • Experience in strategic discussion and coordination • Strong understanding of key issues in health system strengthening • Excellent management and personnel skills to enable the motivation, encouragement and participation of the medical team, • Demonstrable experience of building local capacity • Considerable experience of developing effective working relationships with stakeholders from government agencies, international organisations, NGO, community leaders including successful influencing. • Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English • Experience of a flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines • An understanding of and commitment to Merlin’s mission and values • Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures • Experience of proactively identifying and addressing issues Merlin Job Description 6 Desirable Qualifications, experience and competences  Experience working in Sudan, especially Darfur, or a similar environment  Knowledge of Merlin systems and procedures  Arabic language skills

How to apply:

To apply for this position IMPORTANT NOTE: Please point out in detail how you meet the mentioned essential requirements by describing the programs that you have managed. To apply for this job, please go towww.merlin.org.uk/jobs and apply using our online recruitment system. In order to apply for a job with Merlin online you will need to complete a short registration process and create an account – the online recruitment system explains how to do this. Once your account has been created, you will be able to save the information that you have entered in your application and re-visit it at any time before you submit it. If you are unable to apply online for any technical reason, please contact applications@merlin.org.uk. Please note that we do not accept CVs. Unfortunately due to the number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Data Protection Please note that in accordance with the 1998 Data Protection Act, Merlin will hold and use personal information that you have given for the purpose of recruitment and employment. This information can be stored in manual and/or electronic form. This information may also be disclosed to third parties in accordance with the Data Protection Act. In cases where a job offer is conditional on ensuring that potential employees’ names do not appear on counter terrorism lists generated by the United Nations, European Union or the United States due to donor funding requirements, Merlin will use the information that you have given for checking that your name does not appear on these lists.