Introduction:
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - the U.S. Government initiative to help save the lives of those impacted by HIV/AIDS around the world - is the largest commitment by any nation in history to combat a single disease internationally.
Within the Department of State, the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (S/GAC) is responsible for coordinating the implementation of PEPFAR. Additional information about S/GAC and PEPFAR is available at www.pepfar.gov. In Eswatini, PEPFAR is implemented through the U.S. Department of State (DoS), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DOD), and Peace Corps (PC).
Although the PEPFAR Country Coordinator (or “Coordinator”) is hired under a USAID contract, the incumbent is not a representative of USAID diplomatic priorities. S/he should not be partial towards any PEPFAR implementing agency but represent the goals and objectives of the Mission at large that are in line with S/GAC priorities.
Eswatini is a monarchy with limited democratic checks on the king’s power and has a total population of approximately 1.2 million people. There is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate and House of Assembly, each composed of appointed and elected members. The king appoints the prime minister, and political power remains largely vested with the king.
Dissatisfaction with the lack of economic opportunity, poor government services, and diminishing entitlements (e.g., scholarships), combined with anger over perceived police impunity, prompted unprecedented civil unrest in 2021, demonstrating the need for reforms. King Mswati III committed to a National Dialogue Forum process, to be facilitated by SADC. Although the security situation has calmed, underlying conditions that sparked unrest remain unaddressed and tensions could easily flare again.
Eswatini is a member of the South Africa Customs Union (SACU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, providing Eswatini with liberal tariff rates in some of Africa’s largest economies. Although the country benefits from fertile agricultural land, limited internal conflict, and minimal population pressures, its development is held back by its public sector financial dependency on SACU receipts, inefficient government spending, and the world’s highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. Eswatini’s Gini coefficient is 0.51, and youth unemployment is estimated to be 46.2 percent. Youth under the age of 35 comprise 70 percent of the total population of Eswatini, and young people face some of the greatest challenges, including limited access to education, high rates of unemployment, and disproportionate vulnerability to the devastating effects of HIV. Like youth populations, women face higher rates of unemployment, earn less than their male counterparts, and are more adversely affected by the HIV epidemic than men. Addressing Eswatini’s gender and age-based inequities will be an essential part of any successful strategy for the country to capitalize on its competitive advantages and reach its full economic potential.
Despite having the world’s highest HIV prevalence, over a decade and a half of US government and Global Fund assistance, coupled with strong political will and leadership from the government, Eswatini has pivoted the situation from a humanitarian crisis to one of the fastest reductions in new HIV cases documented.
Eswatini is one of the first two counties in the world to reach the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals – with 95 percent of people living with HIV being diagnosed, 95 percent of them on treatment and 95 percent of those on treatment virally suppressed. Despite the gains, the reality remains that nearly 30 percent of all adults require daily antiretroviral (ARV) medication for their survival, in a highly donor-dependent health system. U.S.
health investments over the past 17 years have focused on preventing new HIV infections, identifying and treating people living with HIV, addressing factors that make people vulnerable to HIV infection, and supporting health systems to be able to deliver prevention and treatment services. Epidemic control measures now need to mature, focusing on remaining gaps in coverage for vulnerable populations and improving treatment retention of the young and newly initiated on treatment while effectively and efficiently sustaining the impact.
PEPFAR represents the significant majority of the U.S. Mission’s foreign assistance budget in Eswatini and is the largest contributor to the host-country response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While the country is on the right track towards controlling the epidemic, addressing underlying economic, social, and health challenges that create vulnerable populations will be critical for the country’s progress toward the national goal of an AIDS-free generation. Health systems strengthening is necessary for a broader public health response - the disease surveillance and outbreak control mechanisms necessary in the future to ensure HIV impact is sustained and capacity is developed to respond to future pandemics. Using the HIV funding through PEPFAR to establish, maintain and support the country to sustain a health platform is critical for Eswatini’s future, both in maintaining the gains in HIV as well as for future pandemic readiness. U.S. government investment in Eswatini must be positioned to ensure availability of critical strategic epidemiological information, strengthen key public health institutions, health workforce, leadership, and infrastructure, establish strong public health laboratory networks, implement data driven public health programs, and support critical operational and applied research. The required health sector strengthening necessitates a multisectoral approach for efficacy and sustainability. Engagement with Ministries of Education, Finance, and Economic Planning, as well as with traditional and religious structures and the private sector is required to address the underlying factors leading to health vulnerabilities of individuals and populations and to support the health system to be self-sustaining and capable of swiftly and effectively responding to future health threats and challenges.
Position Overview:
The primary purpose of the position is to provide support, coordination, and managerial expertise to Mission Eswatini’s PEPFAR program. The PEPFAR Country Coordinator’s main role is the facilitation, planning, coordination, and reporting of program performance for the inter-agency field programs in Eswatini. Primary responsibilities include facilitating routine coordination with S/GAC in Washington, D.C.; supporting the development of reporting for quarterly performance cycles; coordinating the quarterly PEPFAR Oversight Accountability Response Team (POART) reviews and meetings; and preparing responses to both local, congressional and ad-hoc requests. The PC plans and coordinates processes to ensure that the bilateral funds deployed by PEPFAR Eswatini are wisely and effectively used to address the national HIV/AIDS epidemics.
The PEPFAR Country Coordinator coordinates with the PEPFAR implementing agencies to ensure that funds are allocated strategically across agencies and technical areas; are coordinated with inputs from the host country government and other donors; are consistent with U.S. Government laws and policies, especially legislation pertaining specifically to PEPFAR; and that the allocations support the national goals and plans of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini (GkoE). This position requires an experienced individual with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills; the ability to foster interagency collaboration and strategic cooperation; the ability to foster interagency technical teamwork; the capacity for strategic thinking; and an understanding of the programmatic and policy requirements to achieve the PEPFAR goals in Eswatini.
The incumbent must be familiar with and be able to work well in an overseas environment and with a wide range of governmental and non-governmental counterparts.
Position Title of Direct Supervisor:
The incumbent will report to the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and will receive direct supervision from him/her.
Supervisory Controls:
The incumbent will be responsible for directly supervising additional members of the team.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Program Oversight and Coordination (40%)
The PEPFAR Country Coordinator decides, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy Mbabane
leadership and PEPFAR implementing agencies, how best to direct the funds allocated to the country for successful program impact. The PEPFAR Country Coordinator ensures the use of data collection and knowledge-based program management regarding all aspects (implementation, technology, costing) of treatment, prevention, and care strategies; provides leadership, advice, and counsel to USG interagency leaders in-country in the implementation and monitoring of the PEPFAR program portfolio; and facilitates interagency decision-making to ensure program sustainability with greater country ownership and mutual accountability. The Coordinator analyzes the unique operational context strategy for responding to this context within the guidelines of S/GAC policy and U.S. diplomatic priorities.
The Coordinator should remain acutely focused on coordination of the PEPFAR program; involvement in the larger USG COVID-19 response should be based on and limited to the intersection of HIV, HIV/TB and COVID-19. PEPFAR Coordination Offices should stay abreast of the ways in which PEPFAR program investments are being leveraged for the larger USG COVID-19 response and
potential adaptations necessary to implement the PEPFAR program safely in an environment of COVID-19. PEPFAR Country Coordinators are not, however, responsible for coordinating the larger USG COVID-19 response.
Collaboration Among Major Non-USG Stakeholders (30%)
The PEPFAR Country Coordinator ensures coordination and linkage of USG bilateral assistance with other bilateral donors, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and international multilateral organizations engaged in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, including the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund). S/he collaborates and shares information with multilateral partners, other donors, and S/GAC relevant to the success of broad efforts to mitigate the impact of the HIV epidemic in-country.
The Coordinator liaises with these external partners and, in particular, with the Country Coordination Mechanism of the Global Fund, to ensure complementarities between the USG investments and other donors. S/he may act as the USG representative member on the local Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM).
Along with other USG PEPFAR implementing agency leadership, the Coordinator establishes appropriate protocol for collaboration with the GKoE, including providing oversight and developing the vision of USG interaction with the GKoE on all aspects of HIV/AIDS, including the various executive branch bodies from the health sector to social welfare systems to finance. The Coordinator promotes alignment with and understanding of the GKoE priorities and policies among USG staff implementing the PEPFAR program.
The Coordinator evaluates the relative need, local conditions, and capability of the GKOE to develop or improve their infrastructure and programs necessary to provide or strengthen the quality, availability, and sustainability of HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care services. The Coordinator leads discussions, as appropriate, about the timing and planning for transition from USG resources toward other types of funding for sustainable HIV responses. The Coordinator counsels and advises S/GAC decision-makers regarding the optimal mix of funding support for Eswatini.
The Coordinator ensures outreach to and engagement of private-sector partners, including advocacy groups, faith- and community-based organizations, and businesses in the HIV/AIDS response and encourages the engagement of these groups by all USG agencies responding to the epidemic incountry.
Program Representation and Special Initiatives (30%)
The PEPFAR Country Coordinator assists in assuring the accountability of USG-supported HIV/AIDS programs and related programming to USG Administration officials, members of Congress, and the general public through the development and communication of appropriate statements, reports, and representation. In collaboration with various PEPFAR implementing agencies, the Coordinator serves as the representative of the USG, and the Ambassador’s office in particular, in country-level and, when appropriate, international-level fora such as working groups, country coordinating mechanisms, steering committees, etc., with a focus on responding to the HIV epidemic and to integration of HIV services into broader health efforts in Eswatini.
The Coordinator counsels and advises S/GAC and U.S. Embassy Mbabane staff on relevant HIV/AIDS policies and related issues that emerge in various settings with stakeholders. As requested by S/GAC and the U.S. Embassy, s/he speaks on behalf of the USG about specific country HIV/AIDS epidemic needs based on a comprehensive knowledge of the overall country, regional, and global context, incountry HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care programs, and the status of implementation of PEPFAR. Supported by a PEPFAR Program manager (PPM) at S/GAC, the Coordinator communicates field-based and headquarters priorities upstream and downstream. With the PPM, s/he facilitates interagency dialogue between the field and headquarters interagency teams.
In collaboration with PEPFAR leadership from other USG agencies, the Coordinator serves as a representative of the USG at international meetings, conferences, etc., whose sponsors or attendees may include donors and others with significant equities and other contributors in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The Coordinator recommends and promotes positions and views for the USG on strategies, initiatives, and current programs that aim to improve the prevention, treatment, and care of HIV/AIDS. In coordination with PEPFAR leadership from other USG agencies, the Coordinator plans and directs the identification, development, implementation, and monitoring of outreach and/or liaison activities and initiatives with USG representatives, including Congressional staff, the partner government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and regional donors to foster greater leadership, commitment, and resources on their part in the global fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The Coordinator informs and engages the U.S. Ambassador to Eswatini, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, USG representatives in-country administering HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care programs, non-governmental organizations, and partner government officials and their medical professionals on PEPFAR program achievements, concerns, and needs to reinforce initiatives to accomplish the goals of PEPFAR through bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts. The Coordinator is expected to respond to requests from the U.S. Embassy Front Office, S/GAC, the GKOE, and cooperating partners regarding special initiatives, regional meetings and conferences and other PEPFAR and/or HIV and AIDS related activities. S/He works with the USG interagency team to ensure that PEPFAR Eswatini is adequately represented in meetings and conferences and responds to initiatives and special assignments, as appropriate. S/He facilitates the development of PEPFAR Eswatini materials that are disseminated internally and externally including informational materials, press releases, speeches, strategy documents, etc. The incumbent ensures that all materials emanating from the PEPFAR Eswatini office are of the highest professional quality.
The Coordinator devises and maintains appropriate management and internal control systems to ensure all resources are safeguarded against waste, fraud, unauthorized use, or misappropriation; obligations incurred comply with applicable laws and regulations; and revenues and expenditures are promptly recorded and accounted for in accordance with Department of State procedures. S/he proactively identifies program areas where potential for waste, fraud, unauthorized use, or misappropriation exist and pursues systematic resolution.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION
Education:
Prior Work Experience:
Job Knowledge:
Language Ability:
SUBMITTING AN OFFER
Methods of application submissions:
For applicants to be considered for this position the following guidelines will be adhered to and forms completed, signed and submitted to jobapplications@usaid.gov, to allow the evaluation committee to thoroughly and objectively review your application vis-a-vis the requirements of the position
If sent via email:
Thabang Mothupi
Human Resource Contracts Assistant
Telephone: +27 12 452 2198
E-mail address: jobapplications@usaid.gov
CLOSING DATE AND TIME FOR RECEIPT OF OFFERS: May 20, 2022
