Senior Health Coordinator

BACKGROUND:  The International Rescue Committee, one of the world’s largest humanitarian agencies, provides relief, rehabilitation and post-conflict reconstruction support to victims of natural disaster, oppression and violent conflict in 42 countries. The IRC is committed to bold leadership, innovation, and creative partnerships. Active in public health, education, livelihoods, women's empowerment, youth development, and protection and promotion of rights, IRC assists people from harm to home.

The IRC started work in Liberia in 1997 and has since been providing humanitarian relief, as well as post-conflict and development programming for women, youth, girls and boys in the country. While Liberia has achieved significant progress since the end of the civil war 10 years ago, the security, social and economic situation of most Liberians remain fragile.

Most recently, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa—unprecedented in scale and in the response required— has further challenged and exposed significant weaknesses in Liberia’s recovering health care system..  The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the region’s borders, inaccessibility of the terrain and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission across the region. The outbreak in Liberia started on 22^nd March 2014 and over the country is still working towards achieving and maintaining “Ebola Free” status over a year later. The IRC response to the Ebola outbreak has included coordination and collaboration (, surveillance and contact tracing, support to facilities for infection prevention and control through health worker training and provision of supplies and adherence audits as well as social mobilization and psychosocial support .  The IRC also set up a 100-bed treatment unit in Monrovia, the funding for which has been shifted towards the revitalization of health services at Redemption Hospital and its surrounding communities due to the evolving EVD context in Liberia.

At the same time, the IRC currently supports, in partnership with the Liberian Ministry of Health (MOH), a substantial portfolio of health programming in outlying counties in Liberia, including Lofa, Nimba, Bong, and Maryland.  This programming focuses on building the capacity of the MOH and CHTs to manage health systems and services, providing direct support to strengthen secondary, primary, and community health systems, and increasing access to and utilization of quality services at the facility and community levels.  The IRC has coupled this support with concurrent EVD recovery and preparedness programming in line with the national policies and plans for the EVD transitional period.

SCOPE OF WORK: The Senior Health Coordinator (SHC) will be the focal point for health programs in Liberia.  The SHC will provide strategic leadership for IRC health programs in Liberia. This will involve supervision of the Health Coordinators for Lofa and Maryland. The position is based in Monrovia with regular trips to IRC’s health programs throughout Liberia. The SHC will report to the Deputy Director for Programs (DDP) and receive technical support from the Technical Advisor Health Programs.

SUPPORT TO HEALTH PROGRAMMING IN LIBERIA

• Provide technical support and mentoring to health coordinators and other health staff implementing projects in the field
• Contribute to reviews and evaluation processes which will inform project implementation and direction.
• Develop new/complimentary concepts/proposals to sustain and/or expand funding for IRC health programs in strategic areas
• Work closely with the senior staff of the Health, WPE and other sectors to address any non-health interventions and advise in relation to the Ebola response.
• Work with the DDP on the development of new proposals for the Ebola response.
• Work with the IRC Senior Management team in Liberia and advise on contingency planning as the Ebola outbreak evolves.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Grant Management

• Ensure that all health grants are implemented according to internal IRC and donor regulations.
• Participate in grant opening, midterm review and grant closing meetings for all health grants and ensure that the same process is implemented in the field.
• Support field staff in use of grant management tools such as budget tracking tools, activity progress monitoring tools, procurement plans, etc.

Budget Monitoring

• Conduct monthly BVA reviews and make appropriate recommendations to the finance and logistics staff in Monrovia as well as to the field-based health staff. Work with finance to undertake budget recoding as required.
• Ensure that budgets are spent according to plan and as per contractual agreements with respective donors.
• In collaboration with field staff, develop spending plans and monitor the implementation of these spending plans for each grant. Ensure that program spending is in line with original plan and burn rate goes in line with the activity implementation progress.

Monitoring & Evaluation and Reporting

• Ensure the stated goals and objectives of all health projects are met with strong monitoring and, evaluation follow up and reports are written and submitted to concerned bodies in a timely manner.
• Lead the design, implementation, and monitoring of robust program M&E plans, including ensuring timely and accurate reporting for MOH health information systems in IRC implementation areas, using project and MOH data for analysis, feedback, and decision-making
• Review all reports prepared by the field staff and provide appropriate feedback to the concerned staff.
• Prepare regular reports as required for the respective donors and for IRC New York health unit.
• Conduct regular project review meetings with field-based staff to assess the level of achievement of project targets for the various health grants. Undertake project performance reviews.
• Visit all program sites regularly and provide on-site mentoring to the health staffs in the field.

Human Resource Management

• Participate in the development of staff development plans based on performance reviews in collaboration with the human resources department and contribute to the training of health staffs (mentoring, on-the-job sessions as well as formal trainings). Review performance evaluation of Health staff in Liberia.
• In consultation with the Health Coordinators, DDP and Admin & HR Coordinator, review applicants for all health positions and assist in the recruitment of qualified health staff.

Representation and Coordination

• Represent IRC to local communities, government departments, international agencies, local partners and donors as required.
• Represent the IRC at the national and county level for health sector, including Ebola response, transition, and revitalization of health services as well as national-level health coordination forums in key technical areas. Prepare meeting notes with key strategic information and follow-up points as required and share these with all concerned.  Track follow-up of action points identified and share feedback from field teams with national-level stakeholders as appropriate.
• Coordinate and collaborate with key stakeholders including but not limited to the Ministry of Health (MOH), World Health Organization (WHO), and other International Non-Govermental Organizations (INGOs) to support EVD response and recovery as well as general health service delivery and health systems strengthening initiatives

Miscellaneous/General

• Other duties as assigned by the DDP and Country Director.

REQUIREMENTS

• Health professional  with clinical degree and/or strong public health qualifications (i.e., MPH, DrPH, PhD, etc) with least 10 years of experience implementing public health programs in a developing country context. Experience with community health, primay health care, and reproductive health programs is an asset.
• Experience working in a rapidly changing emergency/post-emergency transition context. Previous experience responding to epidemic diseases in developing countries is preferred but not required (i.e. outbreaks of Ebola, meningitis, measles, cholera etc).
• Demonstrated knowledge of public health and surveillance practices. Experience with reinforcing infection prevention and control in health facilities is an asset.
• Extensive experience as a coordinator with strong management and training capacity in developing countries. Experience in capacity building and mentoring of health staff.
• Background in situation analysis, health assessments and program implementation; Experience implementing and managing health programming in hard-to-reach areas/displaced communities
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, and facilitation skills; Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Strong program development skills.  Experience managing grant proposal processes, including design of project budgets, staffing structures, strategy, technical narratives, etc.
• Excellent technical writing skills for project proposals, reports, and strategic communication
• Willingness to travel extensively in Liberia
• Excellent computer skills in programs such as: MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint.
• Additional qualities: ability to multitask, ability to handle pressure well, ability to improvise, be flexible , and adaptability to transitions.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:  The SHC reports to the DDP and supervises the Health Coordinators for Lofa and Maryland. Close working relationship with the Chief of Party and Deputy Chief of Party for a USAID-funded Community Health project, as well as the grants coordinator and other sector coordinators is important. Collaboration with human resources, finance, supply chain and operations teams is required.