Senior Technical Advisor – Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health

Job Description

Improving women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, as a technical practice area, is an MSH priority focus of our program offerings, program delivery, external communications and advocacy efforts. The Senior Technical Advisor will spearhead MSH’s technical excellence in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) care, including through our integrated health projects at the intersections of RMNCAH, infectious diseases, and nutrition. She/he will expand and encourage innovation in MSH’s approaches to strengthening health systems to provide primary health care, particularly related to RMNCAH, including for large scale projects in multiple countries. She/he will also be a critical thought leader for MSH’s work in Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH), ensuring collaboration across MSH’s practice areas and implementation of MSH’s WCAH strategy. She/he will build MSH’s competencies and expertise in RMNCAH and will be actively engaged with the global technical community, strengthening MSH’s position as a recognized thought leader in this space.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide technical oversight and strategic direction to MSH’s work on integrated RMNCAH projects and the implementation of MSH’s Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health strategy, including work to address gender-based violence
• Contribute to development of strategies for integration of RMNCAH with primary health care and into universal health coverage packages
• Ensure that evidence-based RMNCAH and cross-cutting approaches inform and are integrated into MSH’s programs. Provide leadership in developing technical approaches to adolescent and youth reproductive health and gender-transformative approaches across MSH’s programs.
• Provide technical assistance to MSH global and bilateral projects in the area of RMNCAH programs with particular emphasis on improving technical excellence, data capture, analysis and lessons learned.
• Analyze all RMNCAH programs across MSH and distill approaches to addressing issues of integration, quality and scale.
• Document impact of RMNCAH interventions and capture and share innovations being developed by project teams.
• Provide technical inputs to proposals and be active in positioning with donors through thought leadership, publication, presentations, blogs and representing MSH at technical meetings.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with US Government (USG) and non-USG donors and partners.
• Identify potential strategic partners and funders, contribute to diversification of MSH’s portfolio.
• Actively participate in relevant technical advisory/working groups and professional forums to increase MSH’s engagement in RMNCAH technical spaces.
• Contribute to the global public health knowledge base by preparing case studies and technical briefs, and leading efforts to ensure MSH is published in peer reviewed journals in areas related to RMNCAH.
• Work with MSH’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team to review and provide guidance on standard indicators for RMNCAH. Ensure that project performance monitoring plans are in line with latest thinking in the technical area.
• Develop and lead implementation research with country based projects in coordination with MSH’s MEL team.
• Communicate concepts of RMNCAH through a variety of mechanisms, including the MSH website, fact sheets, publications, and blogs.
• Identify and lead the development and design of WCAH practice-related opportunities for MSH in partnership with governments, international organizations, donors, the private sector, NGOs, academia and others.

REQUIRED MINIMUM EDUCATION :

• Postgraduate degree in relevant field: MPH, MSN, or healthcare field, with a focus on family planning/reproductive health, maternal and newborn health, child health, adolescent health, and/or primary health care
• Preferred: MD/MPH, DrPH with demonstrated expertise in one or more relevant technical areas including family planning/reproductive health, maternal and newborn health, child health, adolescent health, primary health care.

REQUIRED MINIMUM EXPERIENCE:

• Minimum of eight (8) years, preferably 10 or more, of progressively responsible experience managing, monitoring, and contributing to the design and implementation of RMNCAH components of health-related projects, including service delivery projects, in low and middle income countries
• Minimum of eight (8) years of experience providing technical assistance for strengthening health systems to provide primary health care, particularly related to RMNCAH, including for large scale projects in multiple countries.
• Experience in using RMNCAH indicators and data in project and program management.
• Recognized expertise and technical achievement within RMNCAH technical communities, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications and/or participation in technical working groups
• Demonstrated experience in operations, implementation or other types of research. Expertise and/or education in applied research and proficient in analysis of quantitative data. Publication record in peer reviewed journals desired.
• Knowledge and demonstrated experience successfully mobilizing resources for RMNCAH programs, including significant proposal development experience with USAID in addition to other bilateral, multilateral, foundation, private sector, host country, and other funding sources.
• Experience in supporting person-centered, integrated care through co-creation and co-design with community participation a plus.
• At least 5 years of progressive technical and field-based programmatic experience implementing and providing technical assistance to RMNCAH focused projects in the developing world.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• Demonstrated strong writing and oral presentation skills in English and French. Written and spoken fluency in English and fluency or advanced proficiency in French required.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships, work well as part of a team, and incorporate views of other disciplines into his or her work.
• Demonstrated organizational, managerial and supervisory, skills and abilities; sound judgment; high ethical standards; flexible and able to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines.
• Demonstrated capacity to work in a variety of cultural settings, complex environment and fragile states.
• Ability to network and collaborate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders—global, regional, national, local, and private-sector partners
• Demonstrated computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Skills in statistical programs (SPSS, EPI info, etc.) are an added advantage.

COMPETENCIES:

• Systems Thinking: Ability to understand, affect, connect, and leverage various parts of a system while maintaining sight of the whole system
• Assessing / Managing Work: Ability to set clear objectives, coordinate resources, people, and processes, and manage feedback loops to adjust approaches as necessary
• Communication: Able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles. Can get messages across that have the desired effect
• Learning: Ability to learn new technical skills and knowledge quickly
• Political Acumen: Ability to maneuver through complex political situations, demonstrating an understanding of power relations and sensitivity to how people and organizations function
• Integrity: We aspire to earn the trust of our partners, our clients, and one another by upholding the highest ethical standards. We strive to do what we say we will do.

MSH CORE JOB COMPETENCIES:

• Navigating the Environment: Country perspective and orientation, donor responsiveness partner collaboration and collegiality, organizational agility, political and strategic agility.
• Ensuring Delivery of Results: Technical RMNCAH skills, client (donor and country) focus, measuring work in terms of effort and progress, negotiating positions in terms of beliefs and principles, information sharing within and across the GHSI. Priority-setting supports activity requests and schedules, with necessary problem-solving and timely decision-making.
• Leading with Credibility: Based on extensive experience in RMNCAH programs and service delivery, at country and global levels.
• Managing Others: Building effective teamwork and collegiality across and within the WCAH team, dispute management through collaborative pursuit of products and objectives, managing and supporting agreed visions and purpose, demonstrated integrity and trust through transparency. Motivating others through example and productivity. Full approachability and development of direct rapport with others.
• Core Personal Competencies: Maintain highest professional ethics and values. Style of work is based on proven principles of effective technical cooperation, integrity and trust. Ability to listen to partners and clients. High level of professional verbal and written communication.
• Core MSH Competencies: Responsive communications within and across technical areas. Problem-solving through collaboration and collegiality. Creativity and innovation in support of organization and practice success. Generate highest quality and timeliness of work while maintaining close team relationships. Maximize effective human and financial resource utilization.

About the Organization

Management Sciences for Health, an international nonprofit organization, is dedicated to closing the gap between what is known and what is done about public health problems. MSH saves lives and improves health by helping public and private organizations throughout the world to effectively manage people, medicines, money, and information. Working from more than 30 country offices and our US headquarters, our staff from 65 nations is highly regarded for its technical expertise, integrity, and commitment to making a lasting difference in health.

Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is a nonprofit international health organization composed of more than 2,000 people from 73 nations. Their mission is to save lives and improve the health of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people by closing the gap between knowledge and action in public health. Together with their partners, they are helping managers and leaders in developing countries to create stronger management systems that improve health services for the greatest health impact.

EXPERTISE

MSH takes an integrated approach to building high-impact sustainable programs that address critical challenges in leadership, health systems management, human resources, and medicines. Simply put, they support stronger health systems for greater health impact.

Their expertise in these areas falls into the broad categories of management functions—for example, leadership and governance or pharmaceutical management—and health areas like tuberculosis or maternal, newborn, and child health. They apply their expertise by

• Partnering with governments, local organizations, and communities in developing nations to build their own capacity for long-term health impact;
• Providing global leadership in critical areas of health management and health care delivery;
• Bringing the best of MSH from around the globe to the people we serve, working as One MSH with a focus on lasting health system improvements.

­

­

Leadership, Governance, & Management

They work with in-country partners to build stronger health systems to improve:

• the management and leadership of priority health programs, health organizations, and multisectoral partnerships such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, developing a critical mass of managers at all levels of the health system who can lead and inspire teams to achieve results;
  
• the management systems of health organizations in the public and private sector, transferring practical approaches and skills to ensure that management structures contribute to sustainable organizational success;
  
• the governance and management of health organizations and multisectoral partnerships, facilitating change and transferring knowledge to enable organizations to administer their resources efficiently and scale up their services.

­

Health Service Delivery

MSH combines extensive public health expertise, proven service delivery approaches, and evidence-based interventions in five critical areas:

• HIV & AIDS
• Tuberculosis
• Maternal, newborn, and child health
• Family planning and reproductive health
• Other communicable diseases, including malaria and pandemic and avian influenza

Human Resources for Health

MSH helps governments develop multisectoral strategies and policies to plan and manage their health workforces. We use a comprehensive approach that addresses all the facets of human resources for health needed to achieve an adequate supply of well-trained and motivated health workers. MSH offers capabilities in leadership, human resource management, education, partnerships, policy, and finance to achieve these goals.

Pharmaceutical Management

Vital to our success is a participatory approach to project design and implementation, which cultivates broad-based support from all stakeholders. We also build and improve infrastructure and local capacity to effectively purchase, store, deliver, and use quality essential medicines.

Health Care Financing

MSH helps governments and NGOs assess their current financial situation and systems, understand service costs, and develop initiatives to use existing funds more effectively and generate additional revenue—all with the goal of supporting a nation’s health priorities.

Health Information

MSH has developed proven methods for rapidly strengthening the analysis and use of existing health data—normally at the province, district, and facility levels—without revising existing recording and reporting requirements. With an emphasis on learning through action, district teams undertake assessments of health services, identify gaps in performance, and design solutions to support better decision-making and, therefore, better management of improved services.

MSH has worked closely with the Health Metrics Network of the WHO to develop a comprehensive approach for enhancing the performance of health information systems and data by employing a practical, strategic planning process that can be carried out by national working groups.