Job Title: Senior capacity building officer HeRON

·        Sector: Health

·        Employment Category: Regular

·        Employment Type: Full-Time

·        Open to Expatriates: No

·        Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria

·        Work Arrangement: In-person

Job Description

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, IRC offers life-saving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in more than forty countries and in 22 U.S. cities, IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted by conflict or disaster. IRC leads the way from harm to home.

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND

The IRC has been present in Nigeria since 2012 when the organization responded to flooding in Kogi state. In February 2014, the IRC moved into Adamawa State in NE Nigeria to provide humanitarian interventions through a multi-sectoral, integrated approach for conflict affected populations. IRC Nigeria now operates a country office in Abuja and field offices in Mubi and Yola of Adamawa State, Maiduguri and Monguno of Borno state and Damaturu of Yobe State. Currently, IRC Nigeria implements programs primary health care, nutrition, environmental health, women’s protection and empowerment, protection, child protection, education, food security & livelihoods

Job Overview/Summary

HeRON Project Overview

USAID/FCDO Health Resilience of Northeast Nigeria (HeRON) Service delivery project in Borno and Yobe states supports delivery of quality integrated primary healthcare, reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services, to improve evidence-based decision making, accountability at all levels of service delivery.

IRC leads a consortium of humanitarian and development implementing partners (Action Against Hunger – ACF, Society for Family Health Nigeria).

The Project team is working work alongside states and local government authorities, strengthening their capacity to effectively deliver quality integrated primary healthcare, reproductive, maternal, and newborn and child health and nutrition services.

Scope of Work

The HeRoN Senior Capacity Building Officer (Senior CBO) will report to the HeRoN Project Manager Borno. S/he will be work closely with health facility staff, community structures and LGAs to ensure implementation of HeRoN health system strengthening approaches and initiatives and ensure activities are aligned with the States Strategic health Plans and Health Sector priorities. The position holder must maintain collaborative working relationships established among key government structures and officials. The position requires experience with government health care system, Experience of working in partnership with or directly with the Ministry of Health, Ability to plan and collaborate with States & LGAs, and the Ability to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders through coordination and consultation. S/he will work directly with Program field staff from Consortium partner organizations (AAH and SFH) and Consortium technical program officers.

Major Responsibilities

Program Management, Technical Quality, and Strategy

  • Provide Capacity Building needs support and on the Job mentoring/coaching to the MOH Staffs at the facility level to ensure that Health System strengthening initiatives are implemented according to the approved project work plans and in accordance with donor requirements.
  •  Lead in coordinating the delivery of a comprehensive quality primary health care package at the facility and LGA level
  • Track the performance of the project activities and targets against the expected results, and coordinate with the LGA and facility to fast track implementation process to ensure the project is progressing towards the set deliverables
  • Conduct joint monthly review of facility performance using standard facility monitoring tool to ensure facilities are supported to meet the criteria for readiness to deliver comprehensive Primary health care package
  • Conduct joint ISS in collaboration with state primary health care development agency and LGA, develop action plans based on findings of the ISS and provide technical support to the LGA and the facility to improve on the plans.
  • Provide capacity building and on-job coaching to Facility staff on reproductive, maternal neonatal, child, and adolescent health Antenatal care, delivery care, postnatal care, family planning counseling, STI counseling and treatment, post-abortion care and SGBV services in supported facilities, nutrition activities with emphasis on improving quality of care
  • Support the roll out of implementation of the PDIA and organization development plans across IRC supported facilities and LGAs
  • Activate or Reactive and ensure functionality of WDCs across supported LGAs and provide on the Job mentoring and capacity building to enable them provide oversight to the facility activities
  • Monitor the activities of CHIPs and identify gaps in community activities and strengthen referrals from community to facilities for coverage.
  • Support the CHIPs and CEPs, WDCs to meet regularly (monthly to discuss success, challenges, and draw action plan and ensure follow up and implementation of the plans)
  • Support health facility-level reporting by providing on the job mentoring and reviews of data collected from the entry points for consistency and quality and flag any discrepancies to the LGA’s and States M&E staff for improvements
  • In line with the communication strategies of the consortium, ensure visibility of the project and project strategies at field level
  • Support collection of stories and photographs that demonstrate the positive impact of the project
  • Support in all logistical preparations for project activities, working in close collaboration with IRC Supply Chain and Finance teams.
  • Follow-up and track action plans from stakeholder meetings (Produce and archive meeting minutes and reports)
  • Support field assessments and dissemination activities as required
  • Strengthen state and LGA systems for procurement and supply chain management and inventory management of health commodities.
  • Support the redistribution of tracer commodities between facilities in Borno and Yobe states to other to avoid Stock Out. Participating in routine quality control audits of all drugs in stock at the health facilities supported together with the LGA LMCUs.
  • Technical support to/and/with M&E teams to collect appropriate baseline data over the life of the project
  • Support the facilities and LLMCU to Compiles and submits periodic LMIS reports
  • Support the facilities and LGA LMCU to appropriately forecast and quantify commodity needs of the facilities/LGA.
  • Ensure that all required health inventory checks are conducted, and all variances reconciled
  • Perform any other related tasks as may be assigned by the line manager

Coordination & Representation:

  • Participate in technical Coordination meetings at the LGA and the State levels, as required.
  • Facilitate the planning processes at LGA levels, to ensure an inclusive approach that engages stakeholders and communities to reflect health needs in the local context
  • Jointly planning with stakeholders and organizing community-level and facility-level meetings
  • Participate at program coordination meetings with consortium and implementing partners
  • Coordinate with other consortium partners program staffs to ensure harmonization of implementation of activities at field level

Key Working Relationships

  • Position Reports to: 
  • Line Manager: HeRoN Manager Borno
  • Position Directly Supervises: N/A
  • Key Internal Contacts: HeRON M&E, HeRON Pharmacy Manager, HeRON Consortium Senior Managers, HeRoN Governance manager, HeRON Deputy Team Leader, IRC’s sector leads (Health, Nutrition, Wash), Supply Chain, Consortium Finance.
  • Key External Contacts:
  • HeRON Implementing partners (Program Staffs)
  • Ministry of Health, HeRON Technical Staff seconded to MoH, Health Facility staffs, Community Leaders, and Members

Qualifications

Education:

  • Graduate Health professional (Nurse, Clinical or Medical Officer), or any other relevant health related field with public health/system strengthening and Governance background.
  • Post-graduate training in public health, added advantage

Work Experience:

  • Minimum 3 years of professional experience, of which 1 - 2 years in health system strengthening, or in humanitarian/development settings
  • Experience in local governance, social accountability, public administration, institutional development, public-sector capacity building or related technical areas highly desirable.
  • Knowledge and understanding of governance in service delivery, particularly in health, highly recommended
  • Previous work experience with INGO, especially with project planning and reports writing, is an added advantage
  • Have experience in general management (including financial and budget management, logistics management, etc.)
  • Familiarity/ knowledge of operational contexts Borno

Demonstrated Technical Skills:

  • Background in situation analysis, Health System strengthening, health assessments M&E and program implementation.

Demonstrated Managerial/Leadership Competencies:

  • Flexible, diplomatic and have ability and willingness live and work under pressure of workloads
  • A mature person of high professional discipline and moral integrity, proactive and able to work under stress as the situation may dictate.
  • Languages:  English. Knowledge of local languages is an added advantage

Computer/Other Tech Requirements:

·         Full professional competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Ability to Travel: 30 % of time