Emergency Health Coordinator, Monrovia

Job posted by: International Rescue Committee (IRC)-USA - Fri, 15 Aug 2014

Job Details:

Organisation: International Rescue Committee (IRC)-USA

Deadline Wed, 15 Oct 2014

Job type: Permanent

Location: Liberia

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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 Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in scale and in the response required. No previous outbreak has had as many confirmed cases, or as wide of a geographic spread.  The situation is complicated by the porous nature of the regions’ borders, inaccessibility of the terrain and the presence of multiple active sites of transmission. The outbreak in Liberia started in March 2014 and has rapidly spread due to pourous borders, insufficient contact tracing, community fears and misperceptions.  The government has instituted a 90 state of emergency, has closed borders and deployed its military personnel to assist in the containment.  To date, 498 cases have been either confirmed, probable or suspected, most of them originating from Lofa and Montserrado Counties.

 

Currently, the IRC response to the Ebola outbreak has included coordination and collaboration (with co-chairing of the Ebola intervention committee meetings in Zorzor and Salayea districts, providing technical advise to the Lofa County Ebola task force and supporting the Lofa County Health Team (Lofa CHT) in preparing contingency plans for the Ebola intervention activities), surveillance and contact tracing ( with provision of community health staff to Lofa CHT to lead and be part of the contact tracing teams, provision of gasoline to district health offices for case follow up as well as health information management), case management ( provision of medical staff to Lofa CHT to lead case management, training of health staff in Salayea, Zorzor, Voinjama and Kolahun districts, distribution of infection control materials and other medical supplies to 40 health facilities in Lofa County as well as fuel support for transportation of suspected and confirmed cases as well as for the burial team), as well as social mobilization and psychosocial support ( with community awareness raising and health education in health facilities in Salayea, Zorzor and Voinjama districts and provision of transport for awareness raising teams to visit various communities.

 

SCOPE OF WORK: The Emergency Health Coordinator (EHC) will be the focal point for health programs in Liberia, specifically taking the lead on the Liberia country program Ebola response apart from overseeing other health activities implemented by the IRC in Liberia.  The position is based in Monrovia with regular trips to IRC’s health programs throughout Liberia. The EHC will receive technical support from the Technical Advisor Health Programs.

 

  • Support to Ebola response in Liberia
    • Represent the IRC at the national and county level for Ebola response; coordinate and collaborate with MoHSW, WHO, MSF and other INGOs to identify gaps in the response, advocate and coordinate for activities to improve the effectiveness of the strategy.
    • Provide technical recommendations to the MoHSW at the district level to improve  clinical case management, disease surveillance, social mobilization, and coordination
    • Update the IRC Ebola team with pertinent information on alerts and progress of the outbreak as well as provide training for staff on preventive measures as needed.
    • 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 Country Director on the development of new proposals for the Ebola response.
    • Provide technical support to the refugee program with the implementation of their ongoing health programs, Ebola contingency planning and response. 
    • Work with the IRC Senior Management team in Liberia and advise on contingency planning as the Ebola outbreak evolves.
  • Coordination of IRC health program activities in Liberia
    • The EHC will provide leadership, strategic vision and technical support to all aspects of the Health program.
    • The EHC will over see the proper management of the programs, grants and human resources under the health sector.
    • The EHC will maintain regular contact with all partners, including the  Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), UN agencies and other NGOs
    • The EHC supervises other health staff,  ensuring a high quality of program delivery by IRC health programs in Liberia.
    • The EHC will ensure delivery of health program activities in a timely fashion, identifying new areas for program expansion and improvement as well as input on proposal development and report writing.
    • The EHC will ensure that the health program is implemented in accordance with established Ministry of Health and international protocols, guidelines and best practices.

                                          

REQUIREMENTS

  • Medical Doctor with experience in infectious disease control and/or holding public health qualifications (i.e., MPH, DrPH, PhD, etc), with at least 10 years of experience implementing public health programs on communicable diseases in humanitarian emergencies. Experience with primay health care and reproductive health programs is an asset.
  • Experience of working in an emergency context. Demonstrated experience in responding (i.e., case management, case identification and contact tracing, surveillance, social mobilization and/or logistics) to Ebola or other viral hemorrhagic fevers is preferred. Responses to epidemic diseases in developing countries are also relevant (i.e. outbreaks of meningitis, measles, cholera etc).
  • Demonstrated knowledge of public health and surveillance practices. Experience with reinforcing infection control in health facilities is an asset.
  • Extensive experience as a coordinator with strong management and training capacity in developing countries.
  • Background in situation analysis, health assessments and program implementation; Experience implementing health programming in hard to reach areas/displaced communities
  • Experience in capacity building and mentoring of health staff; Demonstrated leadership, communication, and facilitation skills; Excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
  • 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.

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=a2ltbC41NDY0My40ODEwQGlyYy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20


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