Senior Newborn and Child Health Advisor

Save the Children is the world’s leading independent organization for children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. In Zambia, Save the Children works in the following Thematic areas: Education, Health& Nutrition, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance and Child Poverty; including Humanitarian response.

Project Description

Save the Children seeks a Senior Newborn and Child Health Advisor for the anticipated USAID Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent and nutrition (RMNCAH&N) Continuum of Care (CoC) program. USAID Zambia supports the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) to improve the health of mothers and children through strengthened capacity to engage with communities for health, to deliver quality services, and strengthening systems at national and subnational levels. This activity will provide technical assistance to the government-led RMNCAH&N Continuum of Care (CoC) program. It is a program that aims to provide quality health services as close to the community as possible through implementation of high impact interventions that saves lives. USAID will support the MoH CoC program in four provinces of Zambia (Luapula, Muchinga, Southern and Eastern province) through the CoC TA Activity and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Grant that provides funding to MoH CoC program.

Position : Senior Newborn and Child Health Advisor

Duty Station: The duty station will be Lusaka but the post holder will be required to travel to the four project provinces (Eastern, Luapula, Muchinga, Southern) and target districts as needed.

This position reports to RMNCAH&N Technical Director.

Job Summary/Responsibilities

This position will provide direct technical support to RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) Provincial Coordinators in collaboration with National and provincial health teams in designing, planning, implementation, and monitoring of integrated newborn and child health activities. He/she will ensure the quality of key newborn and child health interventions approaches to strengthen service delivery and documentation of implementation activities. The advisor will support provincial level staff to ensure program deliverables are achieved in a timely manner, as consistent with the activity work plan. The Senior NBCH advisor will also ensure key lessons learned and best practices are captured and documented.

Specific responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Lead the newborn and child health related technical assistance and capacity building within RMNCAH&N (CoC TA).
• Coordinate and provide newborn and child health technical support to central MOH and Provincial Teams for key activities within existing integrated RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) provincial and district annual plans and address any identified gaps
• Collaborate with the MOH staff to ensure technical integrity and quality of newborn and child health program implementation within the context of RMNCAH&N at all levels
• Build capacity of provincial MOH staff and RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) Teams in newborn and child health, using proven training approaches, mentorship and quality improvement methodologies strategies to improve RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) service delivery and quality
• Incorporate newborn and child health best practices into strategic planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of activities to improve RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) services
• Provide newborn and child health technical support to RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) trainings, meetings and workshops at the national, provincial, and district levels, as relevant to the Program
• In collaboration with the provincial teams, co-facilitate the periodic review of newborn and child health programming within the project
• Coordinate with relevant RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) technical advisors and programmatic staff working on other public and donor funded programs, to minimize duplication and support learning across programs
• Contribute to the analysis, synthesis, and reporting of program outputs and results in close collaboration with the M&E team, and ensure incorporation of lessons-learned into ongoing implementation.
• Provide joint technical oversight to RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) team
• Represent RMNCAH&N (CoC TA) at GRZ, MOH and other relevant stakeholder meetings and conferences, as may be appropriate
• Contribute to development of annual work plans and budgets, training plans, quarterly reports and other reports as needed
• Ensure the timeliness and quality of required reporting

Qualifications and Experience

• Medical doctor, clinician, midwife or post-diploma nurse with a post graduate degree or public health degree or equivalent combination of training and experience. Pediatrician is preferred.
• At least 7+ years of relevant work experience in successful implementation of a neonatal and child health program
• Previous working relationships within USAID programs and with key multilateral agencies, bilateral donors, academic institutions is added advantage
• Demonstrated ability to work within a multi-faceted health development program in collaboration with national MOH personnel and local and international partners
• Familiarity with evidence-based neonatal and child health interventions and best practices that are the focus of this project
• Ability to work in a complex environment with multiple tasks, short deadlines and intense pressure to perform
• Ability to work independently and also as a team leader/member with diverse team of partners and counterparts
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (oral, written and presentation)

Child Safeguarding:

Level 3 – the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people.

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