Health Advisor

HEALTH ADVISOR

I. Background

The Office of International Programs is accepting resumes for a full-time position with benefits. USAID's Bureau for Africa requires a qualified and experienced Health Advisor to support assistance programs in Sudan.  The position reports to the Senior Executive Assistant to the President and Executive Director of International Programs. Salary Range is $73,100–$113,007.  (Note: Salary is equivalent of a GS 12/13). Employment is contingent upon being able to obtain a secret level security clearance.

The Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed on January 9, 2005, ended Africa's longest running civil war and was a major achievement for the President and the U.S. Government, which played the key role in brokering the peace. USAID has a large and rapidly expanding program in Sudan to support the peace process. USAID's FY 08 funding for Sudan may exceed $850 million, approximately $350 million of which will be programmed by the Africa Bureau (AFR).

USAID's Africa Bureau established the Office of Sudan Programs (AFR/SP) in 2005 to respond to the rapidly growing needs of the Sudan program, which evolved from a non-presence country program managed out of a USAID regional platform (REDSO/ESA), to the Sudan Field Office in Nairobi in 2004, and later to a full-fledged Mission in 2006. The principal function of AFR/SP is to backstop the Mission in Khartoum and field office in Juba with respect to program operations, and to provide support to programs in other areas of Sudan (e.g. Darfur, Three Areas, etc.). In conjunction with the Mission, AFR/SP has responsibility for planning, coordinating and monitoring all USAID activities in Sudan.  All requests for information from the Mission in Sudan must be submitted through the Supervisory Program Officer in Khartoum. In carrying out its responsibilities, AFR/SP is guided by program, budget and legislative policies established by the USG, the Agency and AFR management.

In executing its Mission support functions, AFR/SP staff work exceptionally closely with the Assistant Administrator and Deputy Assistant Administrator of AFR, the Africa Bureau's technical advisors in its Office for Sustainable Development (AFR/SD), the Global Health Bureau (GH), and the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), in coordinating Agency policy toward Sudan and assisting field staff in designing, evaluating, and reporting on USAID/Sudan's development programs. The office also interacts directly and on a daily basis with the State Department, National Security Council (NSC), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other agencies, as well as with other pillar bureaus within USAID.

II. Duties and Responsibilities 

Under the direction and supervision of the Director of the Office of Sudan Programs or his designee, the Health Officer will work closely with the USAID/Sudan Mission and AFR/SP office team in carrying out the following functions:

• In collaboration with the Global Health Bureau, maintain regular communication with the USAID/Sudan Health & Nutrition Team to keep abreast of program developments, support needs and other programmatic and USG policy-related issues. Circulate information and action items, as appropriate.
• Liaise with the Sudan Health & Nutrition Team, AFR/SD and GH members, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator; Food For Peace  and other sources of health and nutrition-related technical expertise to ensure that:  1) the Mission receives staff support and supplemental resources, as required and appropriate; 2) the USAID/Sudan health and nutrition portfolio embodies technical best practices and institutional "lessons learned"; and 3)  Agency reporting requirements are met without unduly burdening USAID/Sudan field officers.
• Serve as a health and nutrition technical expert and USAID/Sudan representative in meetings with inter-Agency counterparts.
• Resolve technical questions that may arise during frequent communications with the USAID/Sudan Health & Nutrition Team and Food Security counterparts.
• Draft technical narratives and performance reports for multiple audiences, as requested by USAID/Sudan, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, or AFR/SP.
• Provide TDY assistance to the USAID/Sudan Health & Nutrition Team, as required and appropriate.
• Assist the Health and Nutrition Team with new program design, including Washington approval processes; assist with the coordination and development of complementary activities with Food Security counterparts, as appropiate.
• Assist in the preparation of mandated reports to Washington, including the Annual Operational Plan, the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Country Operational Plan, performance reports for the Department of State, Congressional Notifications and other periodic reports.
• Prepare and conduct health and nutrition-related technical briefings for senior staff in USAID/AFR, the inter-agency and public audiences in collaboration with Health & Nutrition Team.
• Work in close collaboration with the Health & Nutrition Team Leader and the USAID/Sudan Documents Outreach and Communications Officer (DOC) to ensure that health and nutrition-related briefing materials are current and well-crafted.

Monitoring & Evaluation:

• With the respective USAID Cognizant Technical Officers (CTO, the staff person with primary responsibility for managing each agreement), develop quarterly site visit plans to ensure proper on-the-ground monitoring of project implementation.
• Share information compiled from site visits, analysis, and other insights gained on the job with relevant CTOs.

• Understand the indicators for each implementing partner's established baselines and targets and the relevant data collection methods; assist in consolidating performance measurement data for Quarterly Portfolio Reviews and the Annual Performance Report.
• Participate in assessment, evaluation, and special study teams and facilitate data gathering and analysis for those efforts, as needed.
• Participate, as needed, in Data Quality Assessments; gather supporting documentation and source material for performance indicator data; upload information to the appropriate areas in the Mission's Information Portal.
• Serve on any Mission-wide monitoring and evaluation teams.
• Visit and complete site check lists for projects implemented by other USG agencies, as permissible.

Most work is performed in an office setting at USAID headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. However, the incumbent may spend up to 50% of his/her time in the field where he/she may be exposed to environmentally stressful and challenging conditions.

III. Qualifications:

Qualified candidates will have:

• A master's degree in public health (MPH, MD, PhD, or DrPH) required, with a specialization in at least one of the following areas: international public health, epidemiology, clinical medicine, or nursing especially within developing country contexts.
• A minimum of seven years' experience managing public health programs.
• Experience in post-conflict setting is preferred.
• Africa-specific experience is preferred.

• Strong working knowledge of USAID operations, rules, regulations, procedures, and priorities; previous experience working directly for USAID is highly desirable.

• Proven ability to work effectively on multidisciplinary teams.
• Proven interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral).
• Ability to obtain a secret-level clearance.

Review will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Qualified candidates should submit a letter of application, resume, and have three letters of professional reference sent directly to the Department of Human Resources, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland 21853-1299. E-mail:

*Note*:   You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.   The successful applicant must be able to obtain a Secret Security Clearance.

UMES is an EEO/AA employer.  The successful candidate must be able to show acceptable documentation establishing the right to accept employment in the United States of America.  Minorities, women and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.