JBC BLOG & NETWORK: State Technical Director (Ebonyi) at Palladium Group

Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact - the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with foundations, investors, governments, corporations, communities and civil society to formulate strategies and implement solutions that generate lasting social, environmental and financial benefits.

For the past 50 years, we have been making Positive Impact possible. With a team of more than 2,500 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of more than 35,000 technical experts, Palladium has improved - and is committed to continuing to improve - economies, societies and most importantly, people's lives.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: State Technical Director

Location: Ebonyi

Project Overview and Role

The proposed USAID Integrated Health Program is a five-year flagship service delivery project covering Ebonyi State that is an expanded effort to identify and support rapid scale-up of proven interventions through improved access to and quality of primary health care service delivery and strengthening of health systems. It will focus its support for six intervention areas: family planning/reproductive health, maternal and newborn health, child health, malaria, and nutrition. It has a strong emphasis on monitoring, evaluation and learning.
This program will work closely with state-level government officials to support established state-level Health and Development Plans, build capacity, and promote ownership of interventions, systems, and results. Specific interventions will need to be tailored to local contexts and will be fully developed at state and Local Government Area (LGA) levels.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and technical expertise in high impact reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health, nutrition and malaria (RMNCH+NM) services that is sound, evidence-based and responsive to the needs of the State and USAID.
Provide advice on the integration of these services into established service delivery systems at different levels of care in the State.
Collaborate with other stakeholders, including other IHP states to apply lessons learned, innovations and quality methods to ensure evidence-based practices are translated to improved implementation of interventions.
Provide technical advice on the integration of RMNCH+NM into established service delivery systems at different levels of care
Collaborate with other stakeholders, including other IHP states, to apply lessons learned, innovations, and cutting-edge quality improvement methods to translate best practices into improved implementation of interventions
Provide technical leadership to the building of local capacity using proven training approaches and quality improvement methodologies.
Provide technical support to key stakeholders including review of technical documents and provide input to relevant policies and strategies.
Provide technical leadership in the development of primary health care strategies for the reduction of maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality.
Identify evidence-based innovative approaches to strengthen health systems strengthening interventions including service delivery
Provide technical assistance to key stakeholders including review of technical documents, and provide input to relevant policies and strategies
Provide technical assistance and advice on the relevant latest health developments, publications, and other information generation activities being undertaken both in Nigeria and globally
Supervise Technical Advisors as needed.
Coordinate closely with other USAID activities and development partner programs in the State.
Contribute to and coordinate with the program’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) team on activities to ensure that the program meets set targets in accordance with national and USG standards.
Represent program at state level stakeholder meetings and technical working groups in relation to RMNCH+NM and related technical areas.

Management:

Contribute to annual work planning, training plans and quarterly reports and other required technical reports.
Provide leadership on the timely, accurate and appropriate reporting of program activities and results.
Advocate and ensure quality program implementation consistent with MOH Nigerian Guidelines, global best practices and USAID Nigerian Strategic Directions including advice on relevant latest health developments & publications.
Coordinate the evaluation of program progress against deliverables on a quarterly basis.
With the Integrated Primary Health Care Advisors, oversee program design, implementation, quality assurance and monitoring of work plan.
Coordinate with the other members of the technical team and NGO partners to develop and implement feasible facility and community-based approaches.
Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor which contribute to the achievement of program goals.
All other duties and tasks as assigned.

Requirements

The State Technical Director must be a proven leader in the field of RMNCH+NM with senior-level management experience in public health programs.
S/he must be well recognized by the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health, nutrition, malaria (RMNCH+NM) community in Nigeria.
The Technical Director must be intimately familiar with the primary health care context in Nigeria and have in-country experience with USAID programs.

Additional qualifications include:

A medical doctor, nurse or any other closely related health care professional; specialization in obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics or Public Health and other health related courses (e.g., MPH, MSC in international health, social sciences or other relevant degree) will be an advantage.
Minimum of 10 years working experience in the areas of RMNCH+NM.
Previous experience working on a USAID funded project will be an added advantage.
Familiarity with the FMOH, SMOH, NPHCDA, or SPHCDA structures and functions
Demonstrated expertise in working directly with host-country senior government officials and policy makers in health.
Strong skills in leadership, design, implementation and monitoring of program components; e.g., services, training, quality improvement, advocacy and coordination.
Demonstrated capacity to develop technical materials and providing training to improve service delivery, advocacy and resource mobilization for expanding RMNCH+NM.
Strong verbal, listening, writing, and intrapersonal skills essential for effective coordination among several institutions and staff involved in a broad range of activities
Strong ability to multi-task will be highly desirable.
Fluent in English, (written and oral communication)
Willingness to travel throughout Nigeria as necessary.