The his part of a partnership between DFID and Ethiopia FMoH, and aims to provide Technical Assistance and Capacity Building to the FMoH and RHBs to improve quality, equity, choice and financing for comprehensive family planning and safe abortion services in Ethiopia

The FMoH aims to provide equitable and quality health services for all with compassion and patient-centered care. The ministry needs to envision beyond the capacity to implement agreed at national policy, strategic plans and guidelines to deliver these services and address public demand. This required to set up a “delivery unit”, which is a small group of highly-skilled people who help to achieve outcomes for multiple initiatives that the leadership considers as critical or top priority.

Marie Stopes International Ethiopia and FMoH seek applications from experienced technical expert to serve as a member of Regional Health Bureau Delivery Units (RHB-DU), Health System Strengthening (HSS) and MH/FP Regional Advisor for the awarded project, Family Planning by Choice (FPbC) Program.

The Maternal Health/Family Planning and Adolescent and Youth Health (AYH) Advisor will be part of the RHB advisor’s team seconded to Regional Health Bureau(RHB), Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process through the DFID funded Family Planning by Choice (FPbC) programme. The Regional MH/FP/CAC and AYH advisor provide strategic, technical and programmatic support to RHB, Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process in areas of FP/CAC and AYH Programming. S/he will work, Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs/ZHDs), CoE sites, QAHs and other relevant partners in enhancing equitable access to high quality, efficient and effective family planning/CAC and youth friendly services. More specifically, the advisor provides high-level technical assistance to the Maternal health team leader and other staffs at the RHB, ZHDs and district health offices as it relates to family planning, CAC and youth friendly services. S/he will work with relevant team of professionals at the RHB, CoE sites and QAHs to make sure that regional project objectives and planned activities by the RHB Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process are implemented as per the national policy, strategy, and guidelines. Besides, s/he provides guidance and support to the Family Planning by Choice (FPbC) programme and Marie Stopes International Ethiopia Country Program in areas of FP, CAC and youth friendly Programming.

DUTIES/TASKS

Technical Assistance to RHB and its subsidies, CoE sites and QAHs

• Provides technical expertise/guidance and support Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process on Family planning, maternal health and comprehensive abortion care (CAC) on implementation of strategies and standards, quality assurance and build capacity on FP/CAC program management. and national adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health strategy (2016-2020)
• Identifying skill gaps and training needs of the team and create capacity within the RHB, ZHDs, District Health offices and Health facilities  to provide effective technical leadership on planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of FP/RH programme and strategies including improving standards and job aids on FP/RH and AYF.
• Provide Technical assistance to the RHB to Assess, Monitor and identify potential barriers for FP/CAC and AYF service uptake in the region and develop mitigation plan to address gaps
• Provides support to strategic approach for designing and core activity interventions towards successful implementation of Center of Excellence (COEs) and Quality Assurance Hubs (QAHs) as part of the FPbC program.
• Support gender sensitive planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation across COEs and QAHs with focus on FP and safe abortion care;
• Scale up and implement innovative strategies and approaches that help Family Planning by Choice (FPbC) programme and its partners to strengthen AYH awareness, referral linkages and service delivery, with focus on LARC and CAC.
• Provides Technical assistance (TA) and programmatic oversight and ensure that adolescents and the youth are benefited from technical assistance for FP by Choice (FPbc) project
• Provides appropriate support and technical guidance for the implementation of FPbC supported ‘Centers of Excellence” initiative and national adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health strategy (2016-2020)
• Provides technical guidance and support to RHB/ Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process to lead and coordinate national policy, regulations and strategies on adolescent and youth health are implemented and to ensure the presence of a formal structure at regional and sub-regional levels that is responsible for the implementation of adolescent and youth health programe.
• Provide technical guidance and support to RHB/ Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Core Process  to Conduct strategic communication activities on the new national strategy to sensitize and create awareness about the shift in paradigm in AYH including the current global initiatives to decision makers including the regional administration council, the cabinet, the judiciary, youth leadership, and local communities
• Provide technical assistance in the implementation of sound social and behavior change communication and messages on FP, abortion care and related SRH services and document the outcome/effect in enhancing service utilization

Planning, monitoring of execution of project activities and monitoring service quality

• Provides technical support for the implementation of consolidated annual work plan on Family Planning /CAC including the design and implementation of initiatives to scale up FP services and strengthening integration of Family Planning (FP), Adolescent and youth health services (AYHS) and Maternal Health (MH).
• Develop region specific plan for FPbC project, liaise and support RHB to make sure that planned activities are included and harmonized with the RHB plan. Monitor region specific performances against regional targets and KPIs
• Together with FMOH/RHB and FPbC staffs, produces a regional costed implementation plan, with milestones, for family planning and support cascading at zonal, woreda and facility levels.
• Monitoring the effectiveness of demand creation activities in addressing prevailing challenges of community awareness, misconceptions including availability and use of IEC materials and job aids to ensure IVDM.
• Monitor region specific performances against regional targets and KPIs
• Work with the COE and QAH officers as well as other existing systems and structures of quality assurance toward ensuring quality of services.

Liaoning and partnership

• Use all opportunities in the region to sensitize and advocate about the project to ensure ownership, enhance regional commitment and ensure sustainability.
• Engaged with the regional/Zonal RH forums to sensitize stakeholders and address ongoing operational challenges
• Liaise with the RHB teams and FPbC project teams on how the Multidisciplinary teams at MTC and QAHs will include and organize AYH trainings to ensure availability of trained providers to establish youth friendly services at Health facilities
• Collaborate with relevant other regional stallholders for inclusion of strategies/activities to ensure consideration of underserved population (including youth and rural women)
• Facilitates effective partnership with stakeholders engaged in FP/RH and AYH program, assist in coordination and support existing regional and zonal level FP/RH related platforms.
• Coordinates and actively participates in regular FP/RH technical working groups, joint supervision and other relevant regional and Zonal level activities. Initiate revitalization of FP/RH taskforce and networks at regional /Zonal level.

Capacity building and training

• Guide and support RHBs, ZHDs and Woreda Health offices and other relevant sectors as they lead the establishment of AYFS services in health facilities within their respective jurisdictions
• Actively work with other relevant bureaus (Bureau of Education, Bureau of Youth Affairs and Sports, Bureau of Women and Children Affairs, Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs), Youth Federation, and other organizations, and networks to establish the AYH Multi-Sectoral Coordination Forum at national and sub-national levels
• Support RHBs/ZHDs and Liaise with CoE / QAHs officers to identify appropriate CoE sites and QAHs and in making the training /mentorship system functional.
• Facilitate and support technical assistance to enhance technical capacity on training, mentoring and supportive supervision to FP/CAC and AYH experts and health service providers on CAC, youth friendly services, Long Acting and Permanent Contraceptives (LARC/PM) including Postpartum FP, Post Abortion Contraceptives, quality of care (QOC) and other SRH areas to enhance competency and performance.
• Participates in establishing COE for family planning and safe abortion services to provide training, mentoring and supportive supervision to QAHs at referral/general/primary hospitals and to other institutions.
• Ensure strategies, plans, standard and implementations are gender responsive and ensure youth and social inclusion.

Coordination and representation

• Works collaboratively with RHBs, ZHDs, PFSA, health facilities, NGO partners, to enhance family planning commodity security including providing training, information and knowledge-base and methodologies to regional counterparts, planners, policy makers, programme managers and service providers.
• Together with the RH financing advisor and the FPbC project team, Sensitize and advocate stakeholders and government officials on fostering financing for FP and CAC services using the opportunity of the current HCF system and other innovations including supporting facilities to develop costed implementation/ business plan to sustain project activities and adequate financing for FP and safe abortion services.
• Coordinate and follow up of the proper implementation of technical resource material (operational frameworks, guidelines, training material for capacity building) for all thematic areas identified in the national AYH strategy, FPbC project and train health workers
• Coordinate the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all adolescent and youth health programs in the region in line with the Adolescent and Youth Health Strategy 2016-2020; and the strategies of related programs
• Represent and attends meetings (technical working group, advisory group etc) with or on behalf of the FPbC programme where issues of significant importance on AYH programs are discussed and provide technical assistance as requested by government partners;
• Prepare periodic reports of programme results and disseminates results in a wide range of venues including project reports, publications, summaries and special reports.

Monitoring and documentation

• Ensure that FPbC strategies are aligned with the government strategies and reforms to ensure sustainability of the project activities to the government system
• Provides technical leadership and support to identify, document and disseminate evidence-based best practices in relation to family planning.
• preparation of periodic reports or inputs into reports, attending meetings, preparing summary reports on meetings, preparing advocacy documents and briefs, assisting in the organization of related panels or round tables, perform demographics analysis and projections, publications, summaries and special reports and dissemination of results.
• Provides technical support and inputs to prepare periodic reports of programme results and disseminates results including by project reports, publications, summaries and special reports.
• Carries out other duties as appropriate and as assigned by immediate supervisors at RHB, and Marie Stopes International Ethiopia.
• Strengthen Health Management Information System (HMIS)/monitoring and supportive supervision of AYH program; ensure that the AYH agenda is addressed at all coordination forums
• Advise RHB on the need to Identify institutions that need special attention and priority for AYH service in the region (University, refugee camps, IDPs…)
• Carry out other duties as appropriate and as assigned by immediate supervisor, the FPbC programme and Marie Stopes International Ethiopia

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualification Requirements:

Education

• MPH specialization with background in BSC Midwife or Nurse or Public Health Officer or Medical Doctor.

Experience

• At least 5 years’ experience in the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of FP/CAC/ADYH and other SRH programmes in Ethiopia.
• Demonstrated experience in improving access to a range of FP options including LARC (Implants and IUCDs), permanent methods of FP and post-partum FP and CAC and youth friendly services.
• Demonstrated programmatic and technical experience in implementing in-service training, mentoring and supportive supervision in the areas of FP/SRH.
• Proven experience in preparing policy documents such as strategies, guidelines, training materials and job aids.
• Experience in providing technical assistance for FMOH, RHBs or similar entities is highly required

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• In-depth knowledge of Ethiopian heath sector transformation plan (HSTP) and regional level policies, guidelines and standards on FP/RH.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of Ministry of Health structure and health service delivery system.
• Demonstrated leadership in working and collaborating with a wide range of partners including FMOH, RHBs, universities/teaching hospitals, and development partners.
• Ability to interact with experts and collaborators across multiple disciplines, programme areas, and cultures.
• Proven capacity to oversee development/implementation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation activities, and reports.
• Proven skills in report writing and publication of articles on maternal health, family planning and other related themes.
• Ability to lead, manage and mentor team with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills including written and oral communications in English.
• Computer literate, with knowledge of Windows applications, including Excel spreadsheets.
• Demonstrated commitment to principles of gender equality and women empowerment
• Ability to travel up to 50 % of the time.
• Pro-Choice

Leadership Competencies

• Demonstrated ability to take critical decision while building a shared vision with others; acts as a catalyst for change, manage conflicts effectively and inspire others to translate vision into action.
• Proven capacity to keeps up to date with trends in the field and develop a climate in the programme that is conducive to creative thinking.
• Ability to recognize and act on internal and external factors that affect the work of the organization/programme.
• Demonstrated good communication, advocacy and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate with various stakeholders: express concisely and clearly ideas and concepts in written and oral form.

Number of Position: (01)

Duty Station: Secondment to Addis Ababa Regional Health Bureau

Employment Type: Contract until December 2020

Salary:  As per MSIE Salary Scale