Job of the day

National Professional Officer (Family & Reproductive Health), Freetown, Sierra Leone
Closing date: Tuesday 31st Jan

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME : Under the guidance of the Technical Officer, (Reproductive & Maternal Health), the position will understudy, and provide technical assistance on a wide range of issues pertaining to RMNCAH. In close coordination with the maternal, child, nutrition, and ATM technical officers, assist the Ministry of health to plan, implement and monitor an effective RMNCAH programme, advocating an integrated primary health care approach. As a response to the EVD outbreak of 2014/5, the Government of Sierra Leone developed the National Health Recovery Plan which is being implemented in phases. The initial 6-9 months focused on Getting to Zero and Transition from a full scale fight against EVD using the right-sizing approach. The second and current phase of the plan - the 10-24 month Presidential Recovery Plan - has prioritized accelerated reduction of the high burden of maternal and child mortality as one of the key result areas. Furthermore the Reproductive Newborn and Child Health Policy and Strategic Plans 2011-2015 which pre-dated the EVD outbreak are undergoing review, an exercise which will provide insights with respect to the factors of success that should be further facilitated, and remaining barriers and bottlenecks which should be urgently addressed to end preventable mortality and enhance the health of women, newborns, children and adolescents in Sierra Leone. Building and strengthening health systems remains an imperative for Sierra Leone, alongside assisting the Ministry of Health & Sanitation to plan, implement and monitor an effective RMNCAH programme at national and district levels, as part of the GOSL's basic package of essential health services.
Description of duties: Under the supervision of the Technical Officer (Reproductive & Maternal Health), the Technical Officer, (Family and Reproductive Health) will: 1. Review and familiarize with national RMNCAH health policies, strategies, programmes and related legislation; major players; coordinating and TWG forums in order to plan and prioritize for the most effective coordinated delivery of technical assistance 2. Assist and advise the Directorate of RCH; the Directorate of Nursing and Midwifery; and as required the Directorates of Nutrition and Disease Prevention and Control; in the development of and implementation of strategies for RMNCAH including Family planning, Nutrition and PMTCT 3. Provide technical assistance in the development of operational plans and tools for RMNCAH and facilitate their dissemination and use 4. Establish effective partnerships and liaise with sister UN agencies and other partners to support the MoHS' convening and coordination function with key stakeholders and donor agencies, and provide coordinated technical assistance for RMNCAH including prevention of teenage pregnancy, and scale up of adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health and rights 5. Collaborate in the facilitation and supervision of central and district level RMNCAH in-service and on-the-job trainings, with follow on quality supportive supervision, mentorship and corrective actions, in order to ensure that trainings are more effective and result in sustained positive changes in knowledge, competencies, attitudes and practices 6. Assist in the documentation and diffusion of lessons learned in RMNCAH programming; and promotion and implementation of operations research 7. Participate in monitoring and evaluation of RMNCAH programmes 8. Prepare fortnightly technical and quarterly progress reports against agreed detailed work plan milestones 9. Perform all other related duties as assigned.
Education: Essential: University degree in Medicine, Nursing or any other Clinical discipline Desirable: Master's degree in Public Health from a recognized University or College. Verification of Educational qualifications: "In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and these will be reviewed individually".
Skills:   Strong technical skills and knowledge in the area of Midwifery  Skills and ability to timely synthesize key components and working group outputs.  Ability to build and promote partnerships across the organization and beyond.  Demonstrated ability to produce results, while respecting WHO's professional, ethical and legal framework
Experience: Essential: At least 7 years' of experience in Clinical practice Desirable: Three years at the international level especially in low and middle-income countries. Experience working scaling up delivery of public health programmes at decentralized levels
Additional Information: WHO offers an attractive compensation package including an annual net salary (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), dependency benefits, pension plan, health insurance scheme, and 30 days annual leave. Please visit the following websites for detailed information on working with WHO: http://www.who.int Click on: . to learn more about WHO's operations http://icsc.un.org Click on: Quick Links > Salary Scales > by date Candidates will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. Position for Sierra Leone national only.